Kings of Leon & the Media

Was there some sort of God of Rock n Roll having a bad day power trippin', while hangin' at a bar tossing back shots and tossing darts at magazine cut-outs of the The Kings of Leon? Never a dull moment around those precocious good old boys. From an Assassins clever Pigeon poop bombs debacle to fried vocal chords under a scorching Texas sun. A little something for everybody.

KOL sure enjoys keeping us on our toes. Hey dee ho, I'm light on my funky toes as I write this, this, whatever this is. All I know is....we shall be entertained keeping an eye on whatever the hell is unfolding between that family O' Nutters....“The Foursome Will Fearsome” (think about that for a min). New KOL motto baby!

I will not lie, I had center section seats to see KOL, so I am indeed disappointed that the U.S. Leg of their tour was deep sixed. I will not lie, I had to check myself from head to toe, as I am pretty friggin' positive that I am of an age that certain noises and words should not have spilled forth upon finding out the unfortunate news. I suppose I was a little embarrassed. Though I expressed my displeasure with a few sounds and words o' creative cussing, it was over immediately. I will not lie, every, er, um, mature dude reverts to acting 12 years old at times. Whatevs!

Honestly, I vacillated snagging tickets because I wasn't 100% sure that I wanted to see them live. I consider their stage presence deficient, so that gave me pause. Lack of stage presence is nothing new in the history of bands. It's about the music right? Oh, those five words belong over every fireplace dangling from a beautifully carved mantle of subjective.

In my little corner of the music world, I don't actively pursue listening to lyrics. In this case, it's all about how the band members sync. I wasn't sure if I wanted to taint that side of their music which contains a special aspect for me. I'm speaking specifically to their instrument synergy. That became obvious from deconstruction, followed by the lighter side of general cultivation of their music. Not many bands with this special type tightness. No doubt my brain has been somewhat branded by the experience. How could it not?

I've nothing personally invested in KOL, other than free time spent deconstructing them some years back. Now that was a taxing body of work. As singled minded and dogged as I became researching KOL, it turned out to fall in my lap at the perfect time. Though I remain confounded as to why I developed that specific path. It was intense how deep I mined. Outside of that, whoop-dee-do, they canceled. Cry me a river. Small blip in the game of life. Whether the healing of vocal cords, or the healing of a different variety. Healing is the key here peeps. Healing takes time.

Also, I didn't want my KOL listening style to be muddled with my perception that they often seem bored while performing. Again, nothing new in the history of bands. Nathan Followill looks as though the light is on, but no ones home when he plays drums. His version of “The Zone” I would surmise. Make no mistake, he is a high quality pocket drummer.

I do prefer more enthusiasm and lots of walking/running/dancing about the stage during a live rock experience. Many, many moons ago I saw Helen Reddy (free tickets) in concert. She didn't move but a few feet either side of the Mic. A concert lacking inspiration. For me, she earned high marks on the boredom scale. Snooze fest! The Bruce Springsteen Anti-Christ. Now Bruce is the best concert experience I have enjoyed to date. And I wasn't much of a fan prior to the concert.

Going back many moons again, I was roped, hog tied and kidnapped. When the blackout hood finally came off, I found myself smack dab in row 2 of a Barry Manilow concert. Oh the torture I thought. Jesus! Barry blew me away with his stage presence, ebullience and general nice guy approach. Three of several important factors for Musicians to consider when preparing a business model for the live setting. And the best part of those three is no layout of money. It's all in your control. It's free. It can carry a huge impact on the concert goers psyche. Not to mention directly affecting what green-backs get spent post concert and beyond.

Uh oh, my laptop keyboard is forcing me to take a timeout. Cheeky bugger. It called me on the carpet. Says if I have less than flattering things to impart about KOL, I will not be allowed to continue. Hey, just who the hell is in charge here eh? Perhaps inanimate objects will take over the world one day. Electrical devices are becoming more and more intelligent. Wait, wasn't I momentarily engaged in deal-making with inanimate? Oh my! Negotiation completed. I can continue, however, the “Sarah Palin-Bonkers Funny Farm Sanitarium for the Habitually Confused and Spontaneous Drooling” has been alerted and put on stand by for my possible emergency extraction.

Boy there were lots KOL rumors swirling around that hover pretty damn high on the bust a gut scale. Sadly, I can't remember the rumor quote, but I got a laugh out of an Online Pakistani publication. Pakistan man! That is not the 1st nor the 141st country that jumps to mind were I matching KOL music to the world. That might fall under the heading of the Devils music. Color me stupid, I just don't recall seeing a large group of Pakistani peeps rockin' to the Kings of Leon. I best start paying closer attention. That would be pretty cool actually. Speaking of Pakistan, I'll bet you dollars to donuts that KOL was the choice for “music to motivate”, prior to the Special Forces helicopter going dark and dropping in to say howdy to you know who!

Whatever situation the band is facing, it will be resolved one way or another. Bands usually do, whether toxic or not. Whether a good conclusion or not. Some band member says “I'm out”. Then no contact for years. Not great but it is resolved for that time frame. They are Human and share the same problems like you and me, our family members and friends. Nobody is impervious. After I deconstructed KOL, I felt pretty damn strongly that should they ever break up, Caleb would be the catalyst. That feeling has not wavered. And that feeling means a big, fat zilch. A mere observation or opinion generated from the considerable info I sifted through.

Post dust up in Dallas, it took a while to come across the piece of info that KOL managed to rock 11 songs. 11 songs is not a mini concert. I could be happy with an 11 song set. Is that fair in regards to the price paid? Subjective again. The feeling I got from the early negative stories was that KOL perhaps only performed a song or two. 11 songs man. Nothing to sneeze at if you truly enjoy The Kings of Leon.

Again, why such a frenzy of foolishness in those silly stories? Ding dong. Many Media Monkeys surely have a closet full of their very own, custom built family problems. Big, nasty Skeletons maybe. Yet very little compassion for whatever malady Caleb Followill may be suffering from. Apparently half a thimble of love is too costly a price eh?

When I first began my Australian crawl through websites, reading, watching video about the Kings Dallas concert, you Bashers were foaming at the mouth, ready to descend upon the first negative that came along. You could be Crows losing their minds, the closer they fly to their beloved road kill. Slamming Caleb Followill so fervently was reckless, unprofessional, and bloody UN-necessary. Plus one of those Hanson Brothers negatively chimed in. He might do alright in the music profession, however, his talent pool pales in comparison to KOL. Shut your pie-hole Hanson dude. In this immediate age of twitter, I've got to say, even that Vanilla Pudding Pop of a Hanson could have waited a while to see what is what.

If there is concrete evidence fine. Yo, I haven't read or heard of any. What I read and heard was highly underwhelming info in these Media stories reveling in slamming Caleb Followill for this and that. Basically, they use crap as filler. Yeah, kick him when he is down, especially when offering nothing more than empty words of wankerness! Nothing of real value! Me thinks there are more than a few in the Media who need slamming themselves....by a big, narly, sweaty, bronzed, over muscled body builder. What is it with society? Build them up, tear them down. Build them up, tear them down. Society is flat out cold and mean. Chomping at the bit, ready to spring into action and pile it on even more! Without those pesky little thangs called facts. Media, you dropped the ball yet again.