Gig Review: Kings Of Leon w/ M83 @ Bournemouth BIC 14/12/08

M83 are a band who's sophistication and grandeur really amazes me, and i always thought them an interesting choice of band to open for the much more direct alternative rock which is Kings Of Leon. For the people who arrived on time, M83 left them more in awe than warmed up for the chaos which ensued when Kings arrived on the stage. Opening with 'Closer', by no means an upbeat track, your typical large group of sweaty and drunk 25 year old men more often seen at Pigeon Detectives or The Enemy gigs descended upon the front section of the floor, looking more for a fight (several of which were started) than for any kind of genuine enjoyment for the music. I was glad very few of these arrived on time for M83, but the cringeworthy football crowd chant of 'who are ya?!' was still heard echoing from somewhere near the left hand side as Antonio Gonzalez and band entered the stage. When M83 began they humbly demanded respect, and this they got, playing through mostly songs from the new album namely the sweeping 'Graveyard Girl' and single 'Kim & Jessie'. An extreme passion was clearly visible in the performance with M83 really acting like they meant what they were singing. They didn't particularly acknowledge the crowd but put in a very polished and tight performance, tainted only by the lack of organisation which led to M83's lead guitarist spending the third and fourth songs of the set searching for his second guitar backstage.

This was the first time i had seen Kings Of Leon after missing tickets for their date at the BIC last year. I much prefer Because of The Times to Only By The Night but after hearing how fantastic the gig was last year I was expecting better from the evening. At times they seemed like they weren't really with it and none of the band members really moved away from their places on stage. Maybe a lack of enthusiasm for their new album, which whilst opening new doors in terms of mass popularity, has alienated both themselves the longer term fans of the garage rock Kings of Leon became established for. Sex on Fire provoked both the best crowd reaction and the worst, one half of the crowd visibly disgusted (the tickets for the gig went on sale before Only By The Night's release) and the other half acting as if it was the reason why they attended.

I hope that the lack of enthusiasm i saw at the recent gig combined with the drop in standards seen on the recent album are not signs of a sellout, especially since so many bands with the same fan base have released weaker albums than the standards they set with their others; Snow Patrol and Razorlight to name but two. There was no question that the gig would fail to create a crowd reaction in the sense that the gig almost played itself, with Caleb losing what little singing voice he began the gig with around the half way mark. The band played twenty songs before and four songs after the encore and wrapped up with 'Black Thumbnail'. Waiting at the front after the gig, merchandise was being hurled of the stage, and although i did not win the scrap which ensued following the landing of several drumsticks, i came away with a setlist, and here it is:

M83
Graveyard Girl
We Own The Sky
Kim & Jessie
Teen Angst
Skin Of The Night
Up!

Kings Of Leon
Closer
Crawl
My Party
Razz
Molly
King Of The Rodeo
Joe's Head
Fans
Revelry
Milk
Four Kicks
Pistol Of Fire
Wasted
Sex On Fire
The Bucket
Notion
Use Somebody
On Call
Cold Desert
Trani
___________________

Knocked Up
Charmer
Slow Night, So Long
Black Thumbnail