Kings Of Leon, Glasvegas - O2 Arena, London - Tuesday 16th June 2009

With a free evening on the horizon, I headed to Scarlet Mist, to see what if any gig I could pick up a late ticket for. I was very excited to see a Kings Of Leon show, with Glasvegas supporting them - but less happy that tickets seemed to be like gold dust. Nothing on Scarlet Mist over the week or so I was checking, and tickets being touted for silly prices on eBay. So, I was rejoicing when, having almost given up hope of getting a ticket, one popped up. A couple of quick emails and texts later, and it was mine. All good stuff.

Before the gig, I headed down to the O2 early, to have a bit of a better look around - last time I'd been there, I'd been whisked in and out, and not really had much chance to nose around. The venue is like a little piece of America, with seats like a big multiplex cinema, and lots of identikit eating and drinking places. Nando's, check. Frankie And Benny's, check. More than one Starbucks, check. A minimum of Four English Pounds for a beer, check. The American owners must be very proud, they have created the ultimate corporate venue, in the richest market in the world for that kind of thing.

Anyway, with the £4 beers, I got settled into my (very comfortable) seat for the show. Glasvegas were on first, and although they played an excellent set, it got lost a bit in the hugeness of the venue. There seemed to be a few people up at the front who were getting into what they were doing, but for everybody else, it looked like something vaguely exciting that was happening a long, long way away. The lights were up a bit too high (maybe to help thousands of people find their way to their seats), the air conditioning was on full blast, and the sound was echoing around the venue. If you didn't already know and love Glasvegas, you wouldn't have been converted by seeing them here (and through no fault of theirs). Even for a convert, it was a struggle to enjoy their set from half a mile away.

Kings Of Leon, on the other hand, were altogether much easier to enjoy. The venue filled up by the end of their first song, and although there were a lot of what you can only describe as "new fans" (you know, the kind that had heard Sex On Fire on Capital Radio, and decided to come along), the atmosphere was pretty decent. They opened with Closer and Crawl, before throwing in a load of songs from their first 2 albums. California Waiting, which had been missing from the previous night's set, made a most welcome appearance as well.

Generally, when you watch Kings Of Leon playing live, the thing that strikes you is how damn good they are. A few years ago, they were a well kept secret - now, with 3 sold out nights at the O2, and festival headline slots, they seem to have accidentally become one of the biggest bands "in the UK", (at least for UK audiences), and have attracted a crowd who seem to hang on every word from all four of their albums. They have undoubtedly courted the mass market recently, and it seems to have responded, in a big way. Sex On Fire is the biggest selling download track ever, and that is a huge achievement for a guitar band - KoL are a real mainstream band now.

Anyway, this was a very accomplished gig as expected, from a band that are now well and truly in the big league. Apparently their home country is also starting to realize what a great band they are now, so they will be busy in the Autumn, touring US arenas. We can only hope that they remember how well their UK fans have treated them, and helped them on their rise - we hope to see them back soon.