What the hell is going on with Kings of Leon?
Since their Glastonbury headline slot two years ago their status as a powerhouse of indie rock has been cemented across Europe and the UK. Sadly though they have chosen to ignore the cliché that with great power comes great responsibility and behave like big babies instead.
At Scotland’s T in the Park festival in summer 2009 guitarist Caleb Followill behaved like a spoilt brat, having a tizzy fit and smashing his guitar because the sound quality wasn’t quite right – like the tens of thousands of festival goers noticed or cared.
The band had a similar dodgy turn at the Reading Festival a month later, barracking the crowd and whining about the sound quality.
And then this year they stomped off stage at a concert in St Louis after being pooed on by pigeons in the rafters above. Ok, so I admit being covered in pigeon poop is pretty unappealing but there were a lot of people who paid a lot of money to watch them to consider. Since airing these concerns it has been pointed out to me by a friend that I would not sit at my work desk while pigeons did their business on me.
Not on my current salary. But if I was being paid as much as Kings of Leon, I’d have happily put up with it.
Sure, we at Neon Filler like our rock stars to behave like rock stars. Have the occasional fight, get a bit tiddly, turn the amp up to 11. But we don’t expect them to behave like children and throw their dummies out of the pram every time they don’t get their own way.
And just like Kings of Leon’s tired seventies rock, their behaviour is also nothing new in the world of music
Chris Salewicz’s excellent biography of Joe Strummer, Redemption Song, recounts how Clash guitarist Mick Jones refused to even get on tour buses at the height of the band’s fame until a joint was provided for him.
And I remember seeing the Smashing Pumpkins at the Reading Festival in 1992, when Billy Corgan had a similar Followill tizzy fit on stage, while the band sniped at each other and played a lack lustre set. It was the end of their tour and they were tired and irritable. Aah diddums.
In contrast to the hissy-fits of Followill, Corgan and Jones, Blur guitarist Graham Coxon staggered off his hospital bed after a bout of food poisoning to perform at T in the Park last year. Now that’s brave, that’s commitment, that is a lesson in the responsibility of fame that the Kings of Leon need to learn.
Another problem Kings of Leon have is that while they may be an indie-rock powerhouse in the UK they still lack credibility in the US. Last year they decided to ridicule the US for only liking ‘kiddy pop and hip-hop.
Perhaps the real reason for the outburst is that they are just bitter as US indie and alternative music fans do not see them in the same way that the British and Europeans do.
Commenting on our Kings of Leon stories on Mog News, blogger Augusts1 perhaps sums up US indie rock fans view of the band best.
“They’re just pissed ’cause their sound hasn’t caught on big here in the states. I’ve actually tried to get into them (I’m American) and even seen them live at a music fest but even thought they put on a great show sounding fantastic live, their music does little for me,” says Augusts1, adding, “I certainly loathe the Disney set & top 40 pop here in the U.S. This phenomena has happened numerous times with U.S. bands who just didn’t click w/the public here but ended up being huge in Europe.”
by Joe Lepper
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