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Live at the Kia Forum

August 25, 2024 Review by Jimmy Alvarez

It was another beautiful night in the City of Angels. The endless summer of 2024 continued with the Kings of Leon coming to the Kia Forum.

There was quite the crowd; eclectic was a good word to describe the concertgoers. All ages, and segments of society were represented and the who’s who of media and Hollywood elite could be seen walking the hallowed halls of the Forum.

We were all there for an epic night of music with the amazing catalog that spans the life of its concertgoers; Kings of Leon were on everyone’s mind.

The show opened with Greenwich, New York’s Phantogram. As the clock struck 8 p.m. on the dot, the lights dimmed, the crowd rushed in from concessions, and front and center were Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter.

The duo was amped for this one; they opened with “Don’t Move,” followed by “Fall in Love.” With a cheer from the crowd, Barthel thanked Los Angeles for coming out.

With her big black boots and wicked smile, Barthel kicked it up a notch and delivered on the next set, featuring “All a Mystery” and “Pedestal.” The keys kicked for “Run Run Blood” and “Mister Impossible.”

As for their sound, it was electric. Josh Carter slayed on guitar for the Forum crowd. Carter reminded us of just how cool some of the older songs were, then delivered on “Happy Again,” “Answer,” “Black Out Days,” and before they closed, they thanked everyone for coming out and delivered a special thanks to KOL for having them along for this night of great music; then they closed with “When I’m Small,” which drew quite the ovation from the near-capacity crowd.

As the lights came up, electricity was in the air, and the crowd filling the Forum was buzzing. I noticed the concertgoers who surrounded me – my mates for the rest of the night – were all telling each other stories about moments in their lives and how music from Kings of Leon were part of the personal soundtrack to their lives.

It did not take long for the stage crew to get things ready; it seemed like the blink of an eye. Truthfully, hearing all those wonderful stories took my mind away from the normal break between bands. But when the lights came down again, and the silhouettes of the Followills were apparent, the crowd stood up and cheered on their sonic heroes.

As the music began, front-man Caleb Followill stood behind the mic, holding his guitar in that regal stance of majestic splendor and off we went with “Ballerina Radio.” Kicking into a song off their current album, “Can We Please Have Fun,” the crowd sang along and knew every word of the song.

Just like out of a movie, as the song ended, the roar of the crowd engulfed the arena. Followill thanked all for coming out and let us know we were going to be there for a minute and we would get new music and some familiar songs as well, and the band went off into “The Bucket.”

The brothers and cousin were at the top of their game; Matthew on lead guitar was shredding, Jared was slapping his bass, Nathan on drums, and Caleb on guitar and delivering on vocals that were nothing short of jaw dropping.

They ran off a set of hits, “Waste a Moment,” “On Call,” “Manhattan,” “Actual Daydream,” and “Razz.”

I think the crowd got a kick out of the video element as lyrics appeared as if we were at a karaoke bar, and the crowd ate it up. Never have I been to a show where the crowd sang at the top of their lungs for three hours to each and every song at the high voltage level they did.

From there, we went on a journey of music, new and not so new. The biggest cheers came from their uber-hit, “Sex on Fire.” The roar of the crowd mimicked a jet flyover from nearby LAX. “Revelry,” also got a jet flyover ovation.

Caleb knew how to work the crowd. This clearly was not his first rodeo and said that this crowd was the best he’d ever performed in front of in Los Angeles, getting the response only a crowd of that size at the Forum could give – it was nearly deafening.

Other highlights that captioned the moment in their musical mastery were “Pyro,” “Mustang,” “Milk,” “M Television,” “Back Down South,” and “Split Screen.” By then my seat neighbors were almost hypnotized by Matthew and his insanely cool jam sessions.

Being true gentlemen from the South – Mount Juliet, Tennessee, to be specific – they delivered on a closing set that perfectly captured the night. “Find Me,” “The Bandit,” “Closer,” and “Seen” made the night transcendent in their delivery of each song. As KOL left the stage, the crowd cheered and cheered and cheered. It was so loud, I could barely hear myself think. As expected, those silhouettes re-appeared for an encore.

“Rainbow Ball” hit the mark, so did “Knocked Up,” but to hear Caleb Followill sing “Use Somebody,” that was a moment in time nobody at the Forum will forget anytime soon. There were people in tears as they all sang along. That song was so emotional to fans, I think we all felt a connection to not only the band, but to everyone in attendance.

There are good bands that come to SoCal, and then there are great bands. Then there are the bands we won’t stop talking about: Kings of Leon are the latter of that pantheon of greatness.

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