Kings of Leon's Disastrous 2009 Reading Festival Appearance and the Aftermath that followed in their subsequent years.
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In 2009 Kings of Leon were virtually inescapable. The group’s fourth album Only By The Night established the Nashville four piece as a household name. But to their longtime fans, the band had sold out and left behind their southern rock sound. Kings of Leon fourth album and the success that came along with it, soon revealed cracks in the band that showed up during their live performances and those problems would follow them well into their fifth album.
The history of Kings of Leon begins with the three Followill brothers -
- Caleb (guitar), Nathan (drums), and Jared (bass) The brothers would grow up in a religious household with a father who was an evangelist who travelled across America preaching at Pentecostal churches and tent revivals. It would be kind of funny that his father, before becoming a minister was an avid fan of groups like Led Zeppelin, Bad Company and Thin Lizzy. But by the time he had his sons, he found God and was now listening to oldies, which was really the only music his kids were allowed to listen to ‘The Ronnettes and The Beach Boys). But it would be Jared who’d recall to New Musical Express it was when he heard Pixies record Surfer Rosa from a friend in Spanish class that it had a profound impact on him.
Inspired by a stranger’s story about how he made $500 bucks writing what he described as country songs, Caleb and Nathan who were already contemplating becoming musicians and this gave me the nudge they needed.. They thought, hey we can do the same. Their parents would divorce in 1997 and by 1999 the Caleb and Nathan would move to Nashville. They would meet a big time manager Ken Levitan whose clients included Lynyrd Kynyrd and Emmy Lou Harris.. Soon enough the brothers were in New York being courted by major record labels & They would sign with RCA, signed by the same A&R man that signed the Strokes. Caleb and Nathan were soon sent back to Nashville with a record deal and told to assemble a band. They soon added younger brother Jared to play bass in the band. It was now 2001 and soon enough their first cousin cousin matthew who was also a guitarist would join them rounding out their lineup. Soon enough they were living a hard partying lifestyle their father preached against.
Kings of Leon’s initial sound was more southern rock.. Between 2003 and 2007 the band would release three albums that soon established Kings of Leon as a cult band with their third record Because of the Times being the bridge between their southern rock sound and where they were headed. . Despite being from America, the first country to really embrace them was the UK. Their third album would top the UK Charts with Caleb telling BBC6 at the time "We're just making music for ourselves and luckily people are with us. Especially you guys,". "You guys (the British public) have always been with us and the fact that we've made a record that's a little different and a little riskier, and it got to number one here, that's the best thing. We feel like it's going to be bigger everywhere else than the others have, so as long as you guys stick with us and keep us afloat, we'll be happy." The band soon ditched their retro looks taking on a more polished appearance.
The band would talk to Rolling Stone in 2013 and discuss how they felt fake during their early years together with guitarist Matthew telling Rolling stone . “We used to grow our hair out really long, wear tight clothes - we were being kind of fake back then,” with Jared adding about their newly polished look. “Now we’re just normal and comfortable with ourselve“God, I hate it. And I can barely listen to our first and second records. It’s very cringe-worthy for me. To me, Because of the Times is like our first record. We were finally being ourselves.”
The following year the band would release their breakout record 2008’s Only By The Night which would make the group a household name thanks to the inescapable hits Sex on Fire and use Somebody. Kings of Leon were soon criticized by fellow musicians with Jim James of My Morning Jacket commenting on the band’s new success “I don’t want to write about my sex parts being on fire just to
Are you guys a bigger fan of Kings of Leon's earlier stuff or their later material? I remember seeing them in the early 2000's on TV. and becoming a fan.I swear, they seemed like they were on Jay Leno's tonight show every other week. Even Stuttering John referenced them in his audition tape.
I love all their music.
I never liked their music.
It's a cliche at this point to just say about a band that 'their older stuff was better', but honesty I became quite indifferent to their material from Only by the Night onwards. I still think Aha Shake Heartbreak is a brilliant and innovative record. But unsurprisingly, the artistic compromise of a radio-friendly modern arena-rock album (Only by the Night), intended to net as many listeners as possible, was overall quite uninspiring to me.
Best band you've covered. They're 2000s LPS were awesome!
The older stuff, of course.
Great band - I still enjoy some of their last few albums. Come Around Sundown was really underrated. Because Of The Times is damn near perfect. Honestly still think they have another masterpiece (or at least not so lackluster) album left in their tank.. one of these years
Once you clean up and marry the supermodel, there's nothing left to be inspired by .
i think it’s this year. the teaser for “mustang” sounds pretty awesome
WALLS was pretty amazing, financially speaking , by critics and the album slaps
I really liked when you see yourself I thought it was a masterpiece
They got signed before they even had a band? wild.
Same with Puddle of Mudd
I remember a friend of mine saw them while visiting their friends in college and a bird crapped in that one dude's mouth.
Lmfao damn
😂😂
🐦
🐦💩
Twitter backlash
Best "Live" band around! I like all of their music from the beginning to their last album, I've seen them three times and each time was awesome!
Same Their new song Mustang is dope. Love that one liner , “and there’s a misty mornin’ in your eyes!” Sounds like something off because of the times overall.
Glad Caleb got on top of the alcohol. It's a crummy feeling. Bravo.
I've watched this set many times. People are cheering and singing along to every song. Sex On Fire did get a bigger cheer, but like Jared said. It's on the radio with Kanye. They did an interview a few hours before this set and Caleb said that they flew in, no sleep, on Adderall and were about to down a bottle of wine. Probably didn't help.
Best band on earth! The live performances are usually amazing they are like machines hammering through an 80 minute gig. Legends!
I wish I could just travel to Nashville with no resume and get a record deal with RCA. Just gonna gloss over that, huh?
You can't find the quote anymore (because internet search is basically dead), but a mainstream artist revealed that every big star goes through 3 major institutions. 3, 3-letter agencies that start with a "C". My speculation is that it would be the CIA, CFR, and CAA. If someone can find the quote, that would be awesome
just say they suck lol Year of October. That's the Tennessee band to check out. Queens of s*** time always sucked
The tiny hats control the music industry .
The "everything is a conspiracy" crowd has grown too large. Our population is turning into a bunch of paranoid androgenous morons. KOL are cool with me... Nobody ever says they like the new anything when referring to a band that put out multiple albums. We all think it's cool to say " their first album was the best" because we all want to think we had such great taste that " we were there before they got big and sold out" because it suits our inflatied egos... Obviously we know what good music is and discovered these guys when they were just on the scene... Because our taste in music is above the average Joe's. Music is purely subjective not right or wrong or good or bad... It's just personal opinion and whatever resonates with us at any particular time....but humans are so tribal we have to bust each other's balls over musical tastes. I discovered KOL early on because they were from my local state and had a big college age following.... I didn't actually take time to listen to them til after they "sold out" as people seem to claim. But I really enjoy many of their songs across all of their career. Great documentary as usual from this channel btw.
@@T-Tronic either you take long dumps or you have way too much time on your hands. Revaluate your life bro
Yeah I like the southern rock look and sound
Anytime a band starts traveling in separate tour busses, it's "Uh-Oh." time.
the dumbest backstory: we had a religious parent. The parent started listening to the oldies. then rock music "freed" us from middle class oppression. we did drugs, made money, and sucked after a while.
Should be out within the next couple of months if I had to guess! They have finished the mixing and mastering they are actually headlining the F1 race in Singapore in September so I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear something around that time frame of September 16-17th
Love these back stories. As an older guy that paid no attention to this band at the time i can catch up.
I know being older I only heard of this band from the regular hype of modern acts. To hear them saying long hair and jeans weren't them. Then you see pics of them looking like Duran Duran or some other fashion band makes me laugh. But we are still indie, lol. No wonder rock music is in the trash heap. Old bands are selling more records in a year now than new acts do. And its because half these guys look like they would be more comfortable in front of a makeup mirror than a amplifier. Ratt and Van Halen had their style but at least they tried to look like rockers. These guys are what your grandmother would want you too look like.
Thank the gods I didn't have to grow up in a house like that. I couldn't imagine it. Even now in my mid 40s when I find out that a friend I've had for more than two decades "found Jesus," it's like they've died. Worse actually, because they're still around, like specters of the person they once were. Sometimes you end up running into them, and it's always the same thing: All they can talk about is God.
God that guy sounds awful. I don’t know how people can choose God over a petty shallow lying society. I don’t want to be around anyone unless they talk about tv shows and entertainment and tell me how great they are.
Gosh wonder why talking about Jesus triggers Tim's demons. Oh wait I already know lol
@@knowbody9679Your sarcastic tone just proves his point even more 😂 most of you have a superiority complex while simultaneously claiming oppression and that just makes it unbearable to listen lmao
@@poindextertunes Your not wrong.
@@poindextertunes lmao!!
"When you see yourself" is a great album, of course any band that has their kind of longevity is gonna evolve their sound. Im down for it!
For real it is a masterpiece
He forgot to mention the St. Louis pigeon poop incident.
I was there for Reading Fest. Was strange because we were loving the gig and everyone around us seemed into them but saw then throwing guitars off the sage at the end. Didn't know what was going on but now looking back and how Reading Fest is now, makes sense which is a shame.
Idk, even with the festival "becoming like it has", every single headliner this year (bar maybe The 1975) was more interesting than KOL (in 2018), and actually put the effort in. Sam Fender is a fraction of the size of KOL, but he acc put on a captivating performance, because he understands winning people over. KOL in 2018 just seemed like they didn't care.
I was there too and also felt it was odd how they smashed their guitars up at the end. Also, if I remember correctly, wasn't it super windy and I think it was causing the sound to travel weird and they were getting pissed by that?
First two records were great. They don't even realize It. Weird.
The first two albums were amazing. The first one still kills. I don't think I listened to anything after the third until the 2021 album.
Even Kings of Leon dont wanna be in Kings of Leon
totally, what a shitshow with so much promise.
Lmfao!🤣🤣🤣
The singer became a shoegazer, just look at his feet all the time while playing rock music....
They got tired bro.
@@robertsteinberger5667your point?? That music is awesome.
Jared is one of my favorite bassist
Nice work.
Tough crowds are a part of the deal, especially when a band makes a conscious change in musical direction.
That's what separates the greats from the wannabes. Every band has its lows. But coming back even stronger is the key.
What did you expect though? If you want 'your' crowd, don't expect that at a giant mainstream festival - they are there for the festival, not for just you
Only by the Night is a classic!
The crowd felt like the band Used somebody you know...
Found out about them when their song "Red Morning Light" was the intro song on FIFA 2004
I've followed King's since their first album, they were one of the few bands that I overheard just part of a song and said "WTF is that?" Southern rock? As stated the King's were very much a reaction by southern boys to the ubiquitous country music and influenced by the Pixies and other indie acts. The idea that they were "Southern Rock" was merely a result of who they were and where they came from as opposed to a conscious choice. I never thought that the King's "sold out", To me those "commercial songs" just made sense and felt like the inevitable culmination of a band that was building and growing and mastering their instruments and craft. As a person who's always sort of rejected commerciality I understand the backlash and I always found their origin incredibly odd. How do a couple guys who really don't even have a band, haven't toured, or performed; suddenly have a real record deal!? It would hardly raise an eyebrow today in the age of TV talent shows, KZhead, and streaming acts. But, at the time in the indie space? It was unheard of. Still, the proof is in the pudding as they say and King's definitely bring the heat. My take on the backlash to their commercial hits was merely that they were mainstream. The fact that they were playing Reading and arenas instead of the big clubs I'd seen them in before was a bit of a drag for me personally. But, at the end of the day music and rock are a business and the inevitability of a band that was born out of a business deal. Still, a great band and nobody can deny that.
I was there, weird show, I was near the front left, everyone around was into it as much as ever but he was getting more and more angry shaking his head. It was really windy and kinda felt like they didn't hear the crowd singing to everything but as the big hits got louder response it makes sense. I remember him really mad when he heard singing in the choruses of I'm on call, like oh this one you like huh!? Still love them, Corner stone is my favorite.
I think you mean Pyro lol
It was incredible the few times they had Eddie Vedder on stage with them. So magical
Great video
I always felt the band should give the people that paid to see them what they want, not the other way around !
I was at Leeds festival this year. I remember them saying reading crowd was awful! Was a great gif at Leeds
I can't imagine playing the same set for three years, they must have been miserable.
Lol thats why you're supposed to change up your set
Just ask GN’R on their reunion tour. From 2016-2019 they rarely changed Setlist. Today they’re Setlist looks a lot different
Imagine getting up everyday for 35 years and going to work somewhere you hate destroying your body building houses you can never afford all for less than fraction of the money that these guys did. I can just imagine it.
I don't know, man, Metallica, ACDC, Rolling Stones are old as hell they don't look the part anymore but kept at it forever, as if they were trapped, no right to a retirement, playing the same songs, the same concerts, the same stage, the same airplane, the same balllickers fans over and over, so much money but no time to enjoy it, so great mansions and no time to be at home, it's just pathetic. At least a construction guy gets to be with his family and grab a beer with friends.
Ramones did it for 20 yrs🤯
It's incredibly hard to "make it" So it's sad when bands implode on themselves.
I saw them at Reading in 2018 and they were great.
"Closer" is a masterpiece.
lmao Liam Gallagher? didn't Oasis have a rolls royce in swimming pool for the third album Be Here Now ? They were all about money and fame back in mid 90s.
They wrote good songs tho
@@jamesdavies5266KOL write great songs too. Complete albums full of great songs.
Loved the first 3 albums so much. OBTN is really good too but definitely more mainstream. After those 4 albums they have become less consistent though, at best there are maybe 3 great songs on each the last 4 albums. I think them having families now has changed their priorities. Great live band through, Caleb has a great voice.
Mechanical Bull and Come Around Sundown are both great albums from beginning to end. Some of their finest work.
@@michaelharrington75They said themselves they weren't that happy with CAS and they were not getting along. I do like some of the songs on those albums but they are nowhere near as good as the first 4 albums, the first 3 in particular are flawless imo.
Redding and leeds can be brutal. My fist leeds festival 50 cent and g unit had to beg the crowd to stop thowing bottles of piss at the stage.
Saw them in Dallas in late 09 or early 10. The singer was telling the crowd that anyone who left early was there for the wrong reasons. It was a good show. But I think he was still pissed about Reading.
You'd think they'd be happy anyone showed up at all.
I was there. The crowd were absolutely fine. The singer was absolutely pathetic for his tempter tantrum.
I read on Reddit somewhere that it was a very windy day at reading so the noise of the crowd was getting swept away from the stage so they couldn’t hear it
I'm sorry but that as never happened at reading festival. It's in the middle of a town, it's not in the middle of a field. Wind does not affect the sound there. Reading is a weird crowd, mainly full of idiot student's lol
I was hoping you would talk about the concert where birds literally shit on them.
When did this channel do a face reveal? It's nice to see the face behind this awesome channel
Over the past few months
I got to work with the producer of the strokes. He's awesome and lots of fun.
To me the worst thing is a band who s**ts on their early and often best records, then go full main stream losing their soul, their early fanbase and their s**t in the process, gather a new huge crowd of generic fans and then b**ch about when realizing they're only there for those two songs all mass media forced in everyone's throat for months. I understand you gotta make it at some point but goddamnit.
All their albums are good. When they were writing their third album they were opening up for U2 and playing and writing songs in arenas and that is going to make your sound change. Everything after the first few songs on their third album sounds like it is made for a huge audience because they were taking notes and playing in a different setting but the new Mustang song sounds like it was written in a garage. Also, there are several different accounts by different members they didn’t just sh.t on their first albums in another account Caleb basically said they had captured magic in a bottle on their first records and it was basically impossible to keep up that energy.
Man that would really suck, as a musician nothings worse than people standing with arms crossed and no reaction
Put on an interesting performance then. You cant go into a healine set and expect everyone to know all of, if any of, your music. Its a headline set. Thats just entitled
Reading is a weird crowd, mostly full of annoying students. No one takes notice of it really.
I was there with a group of mates, a couple of us sat on top of an ice cream truck watching this. There was a few signs that came up on the screens saying "FUCK KOL". There was a mixed sentiment but they were the minority. In my opinion Caleb was responding to some of these signs and the undercurrent of criticism the band were facing. I think that year at Reading was following RATM headlining the year prior too which didn't help that what was regarded as a "pop rock" band headline the year after.
KOL is my all time favorite band. When they were on top of the world, Caleb was sort of a jerk. But over the last decade the entire band has matured and now they are having fun and making great music. It's a beautiful thing to see.
i saw them in Dallas a few years back i was there to see openers Band of Horses bur a couple of my friends liked Kings ..they played 2 songs and then the singer said damn its hot i will be right back and he never came back. I felt bad for the rest of the band they offered to play without him and they got booed. Anyway Band of horses came back out and saved the day.
Lol wtf!!!
Wasn't that because of Caleb's drinking problem? If I remember, the band even addressed it on stage.
@@markshadows3667 Yeah the very next day he was in rehab i think
Reading always was a shit festival. I remember Meatloaf being plastic bottled off stage, and he told everyone to F off as he quit the gig. I don't blame him. Facilities were always crap, and too cramped. Felt like I was being ripped off by the organisers so its hard to feel good about anything in that place.
I was at that! About 87? He walked on,bottle in face,fuck you and stormed off.. Bonnie Tyler dodging bottles of piss?😊 line up was terrible.
Closure is my favorite song of theirs
A friend gave me a ticket for the 2004 Sydney show with the Strokes. Great gig. The strokes were terrible but tkol weer very tight.
Was at their St.Louis show where they ran off stage after a pigeon shit on the drummer.
Saw these guys at a Big Day Out in Auckland. Probably the grumpiest band I've ever seen play live. They played a great set tho.
Fans are just fans. They just get to hear and go to shows. Bands have to keep thinking how can I keep in living as a musician. So they have to adapt here and there. Some fans might not like it, some (old and/or new) might. So live with it.
Their first album was/is very very good
A boutique record store employee recommended them to me. Because I was a fan of good southern rock such as Skynyrd. I returned the Kings of Leon CD the next day.
Lol 😂
Which cd did you return?
@@crowkid5553 It was the one that had the sketch of the band members heads on the front.
@@Ontariosound youth and young manhood? That album is great, but fair enough
Sad. That first album is awesome.
Damn they used to be so good back in the day. The first 3 albums are still some of my favorites. Why turn into the band they did today 🙄 well I’ll just stick to listening to the 1st and 2nd album. Sometimes the 3rd.
In the words of the the English people, "what a bunch of pansies".
Lol that’s how they come across.
Can't fault them for wanting to make some dough playing music. Can't be a 300 seater forever and have a life or families. Touring and recording is expensive unless you wanna either play the game or play backyard bbqs forever. More power to 'em.Everybody in every profession "sells out" to some degree. Bob Dylan says "You Gotta Serve Somebody". Truth.
Having been born in Nashville and living most of my life here I can say that any artist that starts in music with a southern or country bend to it but then moves away from that style always bums me out. It can be a eater limiting form of music though so I guess it shouldn't surprise me.
Yeah same as Taylor Swift
I was and am a huge fan of the Drive By Truckers and Whiskeytown and some damn magazine said something like the KOL were like the Truckers but even BETTER ! So I ran out and bought it. It was about as gritty as Journey and the lyrics as witty and wise as the Spin Doctors. So I just emailed the magazine and told them I'd bought the Kings Of Leon entirely on the basis of their effusive review and they now owed me 15 bucks. If you really want some Southern rock listen to Abba. They're more downhome sh-tkicking than Kings Of Leon.
Lol
Seen them live at Pukkelpop 07 and they were amazing.
Their peak
I’m going backstage to throw up and get a beer.. 😂😂😂 fucking legend.
Went to this,and glastonbury and they never were the most exciting band live.
If you’re standing in a crowd of thousands of people I assume you’re there for more than one song
They got a new album coming
Saw them in 2009 in Amsterdam, very good... and later in Rotterdam, that year too I think. The band didn't return to play the encore for that show... the heat was immense but Caleb seemed pissed off for other reasons (people didn't know the first 2 records, which I looooved)... What a diva lol. After that I didn't really bother to listen to them anymore... but I did watch their Live in Hammersmith Apollo 2007 concert a few times. Such good stuff.
Hey, hey, we're The Monkees...
I was a big KoL fan through their first 3 albums. Loved ‘em. But when the 4th album was released it was screamingly obvious that a full-blown commercial sell-out was in effect. The vast majority of their original audience bailed and were replaced by teenage girls. It was a sad thing b/c they could’ve had a great career.
They are good live tbh
Are they still a band?
I saw these guys at the forum in LA in like 2007. I almost fell asleep, no shit.
Who were they opening for?
U got bad ears
@@rnrtruestories They were headliners. I don't remember any other bands that night. We might have got to the show right when they were going on.
@@aaronvasquez4605 I like a multitude of music styles and bands. I live and love music. I like everything from Zappa, Allman Bros, Phish to Judas Priest, System of the Down, Rage Against the Machine to Tyler Childress, Devil Makes Three, The Wood Bros, Steeldrivers etc. And I was really excited to see these guys. They just dragged and it felt like they were sub-tempo and burnt out. I listen. I've been playing live for 20 years. I appreciate musicians and bands. These guys were boring. That's all there is to it.
I love the kings of Leon. They always made great music. Unfortunately, hip hop, pop has taken over. So bands like them have lost some popularity.
That’s not how anything works.
Bullshit
Unfortunately what you call hip hop is now trash. R&B is gone and Alt Rock is now pop music. We're all screwed
Hey editor, weird audio overlap at 9:26. Please fix
The band ,’self’......from the 90s
always gave a manufactured vibe, from Mollys Chamber and the "Almost Famous" look, I wasnt surprised when they progressed with the Sex on Fire era
I've been to a lot of shows, and even one where the headliner kinda slagged off the crowd for not giving back enough energy. I won't say which band, since I've seen them a couple other times, and they were great, but one particular show, the lead singer was getting legitimately pissed that the crowd wasn't reacting the way he wanted. Thing was, they weren't getting a bad reaction. It had been a great show, and the crowd loved it. The only point if contention came about when the singer wanted the crowd to jump and really go crazy. This was the 20th anniversary of their biggest album...most of the crowd was nearing 40 lol. Me personally, I love showing my love for the band, but I got bad knee these days, I ain't jumping. He actually stopped the song talked some shit to the crowd, and then restarted the song. I appreciate how much energy they put into their set, and i get that you want that level back, but you've gotta be reasonable. Your fans aren't kids anymore. Most of them probably have kids now, and mortgages, and work the next day.
Sounds like slipknot lol
@@-redacted_by_youtube I've actually yet to see Slipknot live...but, I WILL say, it's a band from around the same era as Slipknot.
Why don't you just say say band it is?!
@@michaelfoley906 because I prefer to maintain a respectful amount of brevity, rather than trash a band I like for one off show.
Gallagher saying theyve sold out is laughable. His garbage band "sold" millions of records by Columbia House record club forcing that album on everyone. They didnt sell millions of records, Oasis was manufactured fame he needs to be quiet.
Yea, I had a little chuckle at that doozy.
Lmao wat was that ending
Was that you in the video? Hi mate, I'd never seen you before.
They use to be like “punk/rock” Now they are … what ever they are … “sold out “ call it what ever you want just not the same..
the crowd didnt seem that bad at all
To hear them shit in their first two albums is wild. Really great rock albums that I still listen to a lot. Their 3rd album is also very good but they kinda lost me after that.
No idea how they got so big. They're terrible
According to you. Bet you listen to some bands plenty of other ppl would label overrated 🐂💩.
Oh, how I miss old Kings of Leon!
Biggest problem with them when I saw them headlining was that they are not a good live band . They play the songs as they are on the CD.It's hard to see the difference and seems like they are going through the motions
I really only like their first two albums, it's a shame they distance themselves from them.
sex on fire is a classic
So where I worked before Only By The Night I was the only person who would listen to KOL. When that album came out everyone in the kitchen owned a KOL album. More specifically that album. It was that album where I kind of lost interest in the band.
The worst thing a good rock band can do is write a hit. Every single thing about their lives changes in a week & then they all get together in a room to jam & every one looks at each other like “Who are we?”
That thing you do!
I really enjoy Kigns of Leon. The old and the new stuff.
I was at that gig and I don't remember any negativity... To be completely honest I don't remember much but I overall had good feelings about it :)
As a lifelong KoL fan, I've always been confused by this. I know the video doesn't get close to capturing the full vibe of the night, but I wouldn't say the crowd is any "quieter" or "more subdued" than any crowd in any live performance video I've ever seen. Must be a "had to bet there" kind of thing...
"Only By The Night" is a spectacular musical achievement. I don't blame KOL for their response.
Oh, do a video about "Matthew Good" if you can. He's Canadian, but regardless of his regional birth flaw, he's a good guy.
There a gift don't lose them.