Kings of Leon rocks the Fillmore Detroit
By Andrea Keelan
Lance Writer
October 10, 2007
 On October 4, the Fillmore Detroit hosted three bands that brought the house down— almost literally. Kings of Leon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Manchester Orchestra put on a solid rock’n’roll show that left fans cheering.
Opening act Manchester Orchestra from Atlanta, Georgia was a band of talented and emotionally charged musicians who kept the surprises coming. A burly bearded guy walked on stage but when he started singing, the voice that came out of his mouth did not seem to match his body. His voice was sweet and vulnerable and just when you think this band is somewhat tame, the songs switch into some serious rock and the singer belts out a harsh scream. If you haven’t already heard this band, hurry up because they’re going to be big.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club was kick-ass. There is no other way to put it. Fans of BRMC know that they produce intense, adrenaline- pumping rock. Toss them into a live venue and that rock is so fi erce that you wonder if you’ll make it out alive. BRMC played a rather large venue, but made it feel as if they were playing some tiny dive bar in the Deep South that Hell’s Angels members would frequent. This is music that could produce a bar fight. Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes’ soulful voices combined effortlessly with screeching guitar riffs and Nick Jago’s precision drumming to produce music that is extremely sultry at times. And really, what girl doesn’t love a bad boy in a leather jacket?
BRMC played for a little over an hour and the crowd seemed to be pleased with their song choices. Spread Your Love, Ain’t No Easy Way, Berlin, Took Out a Loan, and 666 Conducer were a few songs on the bill as well as the single played on 89X, Weapon of Choice. Fans clapped, stamped and howled along with the pure, unadulterated rock from the three-piece. As if the crowd wasn’t bleeding from the ears yet, enter rock royalty: Kings of Leon to a mob of high-energy loyal subjects. The band of brothers and a cousin opened with Tapered Jean Girl and kept the hits coming all night. Songs like King of the Rodeo and Soft produced dancing, singing and beer cups raised in praise from fans. For the slower, barer song Milk, four disco balls were lowered from the ceiling, which gave the Fillmore a very pretty and intimate feel.
The boys kicked it back up into high gear with Four Kicks, Kick the Bucket,Razz, Spiral Staircase, and the song made popular by a Volkswagen Jetta commercial, Molly’s Chambers. Needless to say, this show was directed toward fans of Aha Shake Heartbreak and the 2007 release Because of the Times. Fans who were hoping to hear songs mainly from Youth and Young Manhood would have been disappointed since the band focused more on their newer material. However, this didn’t stop the followers of the Followills from enjoying the show. Because of the Times song Black Thumbnail was an instigator for crowd surfi ng, My Party produced so much foot stamping and clapping that the venue was literally pulsing, and the entire crowd seemed to be singing along to True Love Way.
Before exiting the stage, singer Caleb Followill raised his plastic cup to the mob of fans, saying cheers and that it was the Kings’ pleasure to be playing for such an awesome crowd. After a short time, the band came back onstage to play Knocked Up, which was supported by rhythmic clapping from fans. On Call was also played during the encore complete with Caleb’s ear-splitting screech and pulsing bass line from Jared Followill. The final song of the night was appropriately Slow Night, So Long and gave the fans of the band of brothers a final chance to sing, scream, dance and clap for an absolutely awesome rock’n’roll show.
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