Kings of Leon, reviewed by John Brooks Pounders

This is the inaugural installment of 90.7's new venture, Capstone Concert Consulting. We send our staff to shows and events and they report back to us.

On October 10, John Brooks and I (MJ) attended the Kings Leon concert at the Alabama Theater in Birmingham. Pictures from the concert will be coming soon.

Manchester Orchestra opened the show and everyone around us in the audience kept asking one another, "Who is that band? They're really good!" You may recognize Manchester Orchestra if you subscribe to Paste Magazine. Their songs have been included in two Paste CDs so far. I managed to catch up with their lead singer after the show and gave him my business card (shamelessly promoting 90.7 The Capstone, of course). : ) Maybe we can convince Manchester Orchestra to come to Tuscaloosa.

After a short break, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club followed Manchester Orchestra. They definitely didn't disappoint the audience. I'm looking forward to seeing them again at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans October 26-28 (Kings of Leon will be at Voodoo Fest also).

Finally, Kings of Leon... I confess that I had not listened to Kings of Leon very much before, but after this concert I find myself playing and replaying the album that John Brooks graciously loaned me. They're fantastic live. I enjoyed watching the crowd's response to the music; their faces shined with an almost religious zeal - a cliched phrase, yes, but so applicable in this case.

I'll let John Brooks elaborate according to the questions I sent him:

1. Artist Quality:
Kings of Leon put on a really good show. They seemed like class acts, even though I couldn't understand what they said between songs. The main singer rocked a v-neck and gold chain like no other. Sometimes I did feel like they might have missed a few queues musically, but that could have been my imagination. They were nonetheless very good performers and left the audience happy.

2. Song Selection/Line Up:
The song selection was right on for me. They played their "classics" like Molly's Chamber and newer songs like Charmer. I was suprised that they would sing Charmer because of the painful screeching the song requires. Kings of Leon also wisely chose to play one of their newest songs, Knocked Up, as the lead song for their encore. The set list was strong and dynamic leaving new and old fans pleased.

3. Pretend I’ve never heard this band before, and try to describe their sound/genre to me:
Kings of Leon is best described as Southern Garage Rock. Using poetic and sometimes painful words mixed with usually up-tempo beats, Kings of Leon creates a slightly modded and very approachable southern rock sound.

4. Venue Atmosphere and Appearance:
The Alabama Theatre is a beautiful theater built in the 1920's by Paramount Studios. From Alabamatheatre.com, "It was used primarily as a movie palace for 55 years, with the exception of the annual Miss Alabama pageant and the weekly Mickey Mouse Club." The staff is very eager to fill any patrons in on information about the theater's history and significance to Birmingham, Alabama.

5. Venue Acoustics – and other technical issues that come to mind:
The Alabama Theatre has really good acoustics; the Kings of Leon sounded just like they did on their cds.

Voodoo Fest is coming up, Oct. 26-28!

The Capstone just finished giving away tickets to Voodoo Fest in New Orleans. Congratulations to all the winners! This is going to be an awesome weekend. Here's some info on it, sent to me by Voodoo Fest itself. Impressive, eh? ;) Check out our Archives for more press releases and information.

VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE:

CULTURAL INFLUENCE OF NEW ORLEANS

REFLECTED IN 2007 POSTER

In a city known for its unique mix of cultures, this year’s VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE poster will reflect the varied influences of New Orleans.

The 2007 poster created by acclaimed New Orleans artist Lionel Milton--who has designed the posters for five prior VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE’s--will be unveiled this Thursday, October 4 at Milton’s Elleone Gallery space and will remain on display there throughout the month. The evening’s festivities will also include the music of Big Sam’s Brass Band and DJ Soul Sister and will mark a weekend long grand opening celebration at Elleone Gallery (2001 Magazine Street) in the historic Lower Garden District of New Orleans.

“This year's Voodoo Music Experience poster was inspired by the gumbo of musical contributions from my hometown of New Orleans,” says Milton. “The Crescent City has its own feel of funk, groove, rock & roll and of course jazz. That mixture of creativity gave me more than I needed to project the image of funk I created this year. New Orleans has its own way of seeing and doing things. I think Voodoo captures that well and it made it easy for me to be inspired visually.”

VOODOO’s three full days of music--October 26, 27 and 28--will kick off with appearances from Rage Against the Machine, Kings Of Leon, Toots & the Maytals and M.I.A. (Friday); the Smashing Pumpkins, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Sinead O’Connor and Tiёsto (Saturday); Wilco, Dr. John, Fall Out Boy, the Black Crowes and Common (Sunday). More than 120 acts will appear in the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE’s three distinct performance areas--Le Ritual, Le Flambeau and Le Carnival--each of which highlights a unique side of the personality of New Orleans.

Ticketing, Will Call and free Bike Valet will be set up on the NOMA Lawn. $40 single day tickets, $115 3-day weekend tickets and $450 LOA Lounge (VIP) passes are currently available via www.voodoomusicfest.com. All tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

To download copies of the day-by-day line-up with set times, along with information about transportation, travel and other general topics, visit the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE website at www.voodoomusicfest.com.

Voodoo Fest is coming up, Oct. 26-28! We have tickets for our listeners...

VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE

GETS NEW SITE WITHIN

NEW ORLEANS CITY PARK

T0 ACCOMMODATE ONGOING RESTORATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF PARK

This year’s VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE--set for October 26, 27 and 28--has a new location within its New Orleans City Park home. Adjacent to the site utilized in 2006, the new location is situated closer to Tad Gormley Stadium where the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE was born in 1999.

After festival-goers enter the grounds in front of the New Orleans Museum Of Art (NOMA), they’ll walk by the 200, newly planted 6 foot Crepe Myrtle and Oak trees. These new trees are part of the ongoing efforts outlined in the park’s master plan to “preserve and improve park spaces for recreational, educational, cultural and beautification purposes.” More than 1,000 trees in City Park were toppled or extensively damaged after 90% of the park was flooded in the 2005 storms.

“Last year’s site was incredibly beautiful,” says Stephen Rehage, founder/producer of the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE. “But after seeing the new trees in front of the museum, I just could not figure out the logistics of setting up the event around them. It actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the new site is perfection and we still get to showcase NOMA and the park to the rest of the world.”

VOODOO’s three full days of music--October 26, 27 and 28--will kick off with appearances from Rage Against the Machine, Kings Of Leon, Toots & the Maytals and M.I.A. (Friday), the Smashing Pumpkins, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Sinead O’Connor and Tiёsto (Saturday), Wilco, Dr. John, Fall Out Boy, the Black Crowes and Common (Sunday); more than 120 acts will appear in the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE’s three distinct performance areas--Le Ritual, Le Flambeau and Le Carnival--each of which highlights a unique side of the personality of New Orleans.

Ticketing, Will Call and free Bike Valet will be set up on the NOMA Lawn. $40 single day tickets, $115 3-day weekend tickets and $450 LOA Lounge (VIP) passes are currently available via www.voodoomusicfest.com. All tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

To download copies of the day-by-day line-up with set times, along with information about transportation, travel and other general topics, visit the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE website at www.voodoomusicfest.com.

New Voodoo Music Experience Site

VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE

GETS NEW SITE WITHIN

NEW ORLEANS CITY PARK

T0 ACCOMMODATE ONGOING RESTORATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF PARK

This year’s VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE--set for October 26, 27 and 28--has a new location within its New Orleans City Park home. Adjacent to the site utilized in 2006, the new location is situated closer to Tad Gormley Stadium where the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE was born in 1999.

After festival-goers enter the grounds in front of the New Orleans Museum Of Art (NOMA), they’ll walk by the 200, newly planted 6 foot Crepe Myrtle and Oak trees. These new trees are part of the ongoing efforts outlined in the park’s master plan to “preserve and improve park spaces for recreational, educational, cultural and beautification purposes.” More than 1,000 trees in City Park were toppled or extensively damaged after 90% of the park was flooded in the 2005 storms.

“Last year’s site was incredibly beautiful,” says Stephen Rehage, founder/producer of the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE. “But after seeing the new trees in front of the museum, I just could not figure out the logistics of setting up the event around them. It actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the new site is perfection and we still get to showcase NOMA and the park to the rest of the world.”

VOODOO’s three full days of music--October 26, 27 and 28--will kick off with appearances from Rage Against the Machine, Kings Of Leon, Toots & the Maytals and M.I.A. (Friday), the Smashing Pumpkins, Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals, Sinead O’Connor and Tiёsto (Saturday), Wilco, Dr. John, Fall Out Boy, the Black Crowes and Common (Sunday); more than 120 acts will appear in the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE’s three distinct performance areas--Le Ritual, Le Flambeau and Le Carnival--each of which highlights a unique side of the personality of New Orleans.

Ticketing, Will Call and free Bike Valet will be set up on the NOMA Lawn. $40 single day tickets, $115 3-day weekend tickets and $450 LOA Lounge (VIP) passes are currently available via www.voodoomusicfest.com. All tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

To download copies of the day-by-day line-up with set times, along with information about transportation, travel and other general topics, visit the VOODOO MUSIC EXPERIENCE website at www.voodoomusicfest.com.