Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
Kings of Leon at the Ricoh Arena – concert review
Tuesday 31st May 2011, 11:30AM BST.
Kings of Leon
Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Arriving in a haze of gold fireworks and pink fog, even the rain stopped to make way for Kings of Leon as they stepped on stage in the Midlands last night.
After a day of heavy rain followed by sporadic showers it was clear blue skies by the time Caleb and co opened their set at Coventry’s Ricoh arena.
Not that the crowd would have cared if it was genuinely raining cats and dogs as The Kings had everyone mesmerised from the moment they arrived.
With five albums to draw from, the band of brothers (and cousins) had no trouble filling their two hour show.
The impressive outdoor setting gave the gig a real festival feel and newlywed Caleb even declaring it was “the best show we’ve ever done”.
Tracks from the band’s 2008 breakthrough album Only By The Night — including Closer and the epic Use
Somebody — drew the biggest cheers of the night. And smash hit Sex On Fire was saved for the encore with the band bathed in a sea of orange light throughout.
Anyone who was left disappointed by The King’s headline set at last year’s V Festival — during which Caleb hardly uttered a word and they appeared to roll through their hits begrudgingly — will have been left wondering if it was really the same act on stage but this time around, they really were on fire.
Concert review by Amy Burns.
Sponsored Links
Entertainment QuickSearch
MoneySupermarket:
| APR | Comments | |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum Exclusive | ||
| 7.2% | CHEAPEST Homeowner Loan in the UK for loans from £10,000. <b>Typical APR 15.4%</b> |  |
| Sainsbury's Personal Loan | ||
| 7.2% | Nectar card holders receive double Nectar points for 2yrs on £7.5k-£14,999. <b>Typical APR 7.2%</b> | |
| Alliance & Leicester | ||
| 7.2% | For loans of £7,500 - £14,950. Apply online for a quick decision. <b>Typical APR 7.2%</b> | |
| Nationwide | ||
| 7.3% | Loans from £7,000-£14,999. <b>Typical APR 7.3%</b> Discount to Typical APR 7.2% for Flex acc holders | |
| Rate | Duration | Typical APR | BT Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barclaycard Platinum | ||||
| 0% | 17 mths | 16.9% | 2.9% | |
| MBNA Balance Transfer Card | ||||
| 0% | 16 mths | 16.7% | 2.88% | |
| Virgin Credit Card | ||||
| 0% | 16 mths | 16.8% | 2.89% | |
| NatWest Platinum | ||||
| 0% | 16 mths | 16.9% | 2.9% | |
Business Awards
Read the full story here
Full coverage of awards celebrating the region's best businesses.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
LIVE traffic updates
Road, rail and airport - latest
Our new, live traffic and travel updates service - check before you set out.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Don’t know where Amy Burns was sitting. But all around me in the stand people didn’t look mesmerized, and judging form the fighting and constant throwing of plastic ( Thank God) bottles and water missiles it was clear that these people were not mesmerized either. Very poor sound, no atmosphere. First and last gig at the Ricoh for me I am afraid
Report abuse
John must have been standing outside the arena lastnight, for inside the atmosphere was simply great and I’m sure that residents of Coventry within a 10 mile radius can vouch for the sound! All bands were eager to please and appeared to have a genuine buzz (hopefully legal) about them. Great music, great crowd, thumbs up to the Ricoh and at least 1 mesmerized member of the audience.
Report abuse
They was fantastic last night! The best performance they have put in for a long time!!
Early on the sound didn’t sound right (Whigs performance) but that was sorted as the night grown.
As for bottles and “water missiles” it was a gig this happens all the time!
Sounds like you didn’t enjoy it and if you encountered these “water missiles” I hope you had a shower when you got home….cause guess what they may have been wee rather than actual water!!
Report abuse
As a fan of Kings of Leon from the beginning, I have seen them several times, but can honestly say last night in Coventry was their best show yet. I had standing tickets and the atmosphere around us was electric. Yes, there were flying plastic bottles and cups, but it was a gig! Thats what happens!
Amy Burns needs to do a little more research into the KOL though, as ‘Only By The Night’ was not their breakthrough record. ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ was out in 2003. A common mistake made by many ‘fans’ who jumped on the bandwagon after hearing Sex on Fire.
Report abuse
John pipe down mate, grow a pair and put up with the fact people throw stuff in a furious delight. Fighting? You mean jumping into each other and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The atmosphere and sound was amazing, i agree you must have been at another gig. You Prat! Kings of Leon were top notch miles better then at V festival.
Report abuse
Great show, thought Mona, White Lies were excellent support and KOL were superb. Sound wasn’t too clear when Caleb was talking, but overall a good show. Shame it took me 2 hours to get out of the car park afterwards, should have stayed in the bar and walked!
Report abuse
It was my 1st ever gig and i have to say i wasn’t disappointed, yes at 1st i found the “drinks” flying around annoying to begin with, but i just ignored it and enjoyed it, great gig great band and great atmosphere, LOVED EVERY MINUTE!!!!!!!!!!! :)
Report abuse
It was a brilliant show, and the atmosphere was great,even up at the top of the stadium!! I would not have called myself a huge fan before seing them last night,(my husband is) but now totally converted!
Report abuse
Have to say I can see where John was coming from – certainly in the stands there was less audience participation than in the standing area (as you might expect!)
I have to say, I thought White Lies were fantastic in support, and I also felt KOL got off to a slow start but improved – the second hour flew for me in comparison to the first.
#4 – I’m not sure they got the mic right for Caleb all night to be fair.
Report abuse
I’m with John – worst concert I’ve been too & I’ve been to a few. If the collective thought this was good, you should get out more and experience a good gig. I didnt get stuck in the traffic as I left early in fear of falling asleep.
Report abuse
clearly you were at a different gig! as for the parking… not the bands fault
Report abuse
Had u waited around till the end you would have heard sex on fire, probably the only song you went to hear.
Report abuse
Excellent gig. This was my sons first concert and he enjoyed the occasion.
KOL were supurb wirh the fireworks at the end summing up a great evenings entertainment. The supporting acts were also first class and well worth arriving early for. The rain held off for the most part and no queues at the bars on the pitch, although the same can’t be said for the ladies toilets!
Never drive to the Richo, it’s a nightmare to get out of. We used the bus transfer back into the city centre and I was plesently surprised when it took only 40 mins from the end of the concert to getting to the city centre.
Report abuse
The show was amazing! First time iv seen them but have been following them scince youth young and manhood. Electric littrally rippled throu the crowed as caleb walked on stage and the vibe continued right to the end of the night. As for you john what gets me about people like you is you seem to see a band like kol on tv nd expect them to be all glossy nd shrink wraped when they play live, its a ROCK band, and your at a ROCK concert. This is what happens, fights, wee in cups and letting yourself go is all apart of it. Unless your at a rod stuart concert witch seems right up your street, its to be expected. I crnt describe how annoying it was hearing people complaining about all the “moshing” and “loudness” and “ooo dear, i seem to have been splattered with beer, how inconsiderate!” i even had one lady ask me to stop tapping my foot as she could feel it “reverberating.” Wtf!! Fair enuf if i was kicking the bak of her head but i was sat at least a 3 seats and a row bak away from her. Stick to the coffee mornings people, great concerts have no time for complaining oaps. Awsum night!! x
Report abuse
Great gig water/wee bottles and all!!
Missed the Whigs but Mona & White Lies were excellent
KOL -first time for me to see them and they were awesome with a great set list – a great way to celebrate my birthday
Atmosphere was excellent and was impressed with Ricoh Stadium – and transport from stadium after gig by bus to city centre was effortless.
Worth the trip from South Wales
Report abuse
I was at the show last night in the seated area, paying £65.00 a ticket i can honestly say i sat there wishing i had a standing ticket even with the plastic bottles and cups that were being thrown and the fights that we saw going on, the atmosphere on the pitch looked amazing. What we could hear in the stands was very muffled and disappointing, but that has got to be put down to the sound crew!!! It will not put us off going to see the Kings of Leon again as it was obviously a sound problem that someone had not looked into, or even realised that sitting in the stands undercover would be totally different sound to what was happening in the open air part of the arena
Report abuse
I totally agree with people who said the sound wasn’t great, we couldn’t understand a word Caleb said (when he bothered to talk to us). I know theyre a big band & perhaps they do it different in America but one thing we found was that they didn’t bother to get the crowd hyped up…you only had to look around the stands & you could see everyone waiting for a bit more excitement! It took people at least half an hour to even stand up…thats not a good sign in my eyes! Good concert, glad I went but I can honestly say I’ve seen better! Oh & a shout out at the end to say goodbye or thanks to the crowd would’ve been good (we were’nt sure if they’d finished).
Report abuse
I agree in terms of the crowd not getting up and as a ‘die hard’ fan this was frustrating. However, they did say goodbye and i think it sounded good considering it was an open arena
Report abuse
If you sit in the stands you should expect a much subdued experience. Your sitting down for a start!
Sorry to hear the sound was muffled at the back tad disappointing for some.
I was in the standing area and had a fantastic time. They are a band that walks on and just do what they do. They did say good bye but guess you can’t hear a wave!!
Report abuse
I was in the standing area, and I was one of those drunk people spilling my beer and jumping around like someone at a rock concert. I unfortunately got covered in wee (sneaky little devils), but hey ho what do you expect at such a place. I didn’t see one fight, sure we got hit a few times from jumping around but I didn’t see one actual fight. The atmosphere was brilliant, you don’t go to see the Kings Of Leon and expect a nice civilised day out, I expected to get down and dirty and possibly hurt a little and I loved it!! The atmosphere is what you make of it, if I stood there for 3 hours moaning about the sound being rubbish and people jumping around me then I’m sure I would have had a rubbish time too. And yeahhhh they may not have spoken much, and it would have been nice for them to say bye, but they’re not big talkers, and who really cares I was there for the music. It was utterly brilliant, I suggest people that don’t like noise, drunk people and wee missiles possibly don’t bother going to a Rock concert again, Dolly Partons over in September, maybe that’s more of your cup of tea. Bluddie idiots!!
Report abuse
The show was awesome, I saw KoL in birmingham last year and the show they played at Coventry was better! There setlist rocked!
Report abuse
I was at the KOL gig at the ricoh it was an amazing afternoon/evening we were standing about 15-20 rows from the front and thought the atmosphere was great…like some people have said if you wanted to experience a KOL gig in all its glory you shouldn’t have got seated tickets…..its not take that!!! At the end of the day people will always have something to moan about but personally being a huge KOL fan (pre sex on fire) I thought it was flawless and being covered in beer and wee is all part of it….excellent show guys xxx
Report abuse
this was my first gig and i can honestly say it was one of the best nights of my life! my brother bought me the ticket for christmas last year, and i wasn’t sure about it as i wasn’t a massive fan but i’d love to do it all over again – it was amazing!
i was standing, around 10 rows from the front and right next to a mosh pit. people that are moaning about ‘fighting’ and the atmosphere need to learn what is expected at a rock concert, people are trying to enjoy themselves and if you loosened up a bit, i’m sure you would have.
my brother was in the stands and he said he could hear and see everything perfectly, so maybe it just differs in the different parts of the stadium.
all i’m saying is, i’d love to do it again, even if i was aching and covered in pee and beer by the end of it all!
Report abuse
13th time seeing KOL for me and the missus and yet again we were blown away. The set list was amazing incorporating far more of the old tunes than at recent festivals. As for people complaing of a lack of talking from Caleb you should be happy he spoke as much as he did. Back in the day you got next to nothing because of how naturally shy and anxious he is. This is him coming out of his shell.
As for the lack of atmosphere, do not buy seated tickets as it is always the same. Get standing and you will love it. The atmosphere was great as a result of a great band having the ability to knock out track after track at album quality with the extra pinch of live goodness.
As for the Richo, good sound and facilities (never qued for a beer). For the future open the smoking section earlier and for the love of God sort out the parking issues. Don’t release once car park at a time.
Report abuse
I have attended hundreds of gigs since the Ramones in 1978. I won tickets to this Kings of Leon gig , and was not a huge fan so i didn’t expect much. I was pretty impressed though.
The melody and quirkiness of KoLs best songs was retained live but with far more power and “edge”. The Followills locked together impressively and here was plenty of light and shade in their set list.
From 1/4 back standing up slightly to right of centre the sound was quite superb, some of the best I ever experienced outdoors.
The bottle throwing and irritability is what happens when you confine 35000 people in a stadium and feed them beer for seven hours. I saw far worse at the Beady Eye gig at Wolvo civic the other week.
The “unauthorised” car parks across the street took 90 minutes to clear because the police kept the exit road coned off for 80 minutes after the gig ended. Not sure what this did other than irritate drivers who were not kept informed.
I was converted to being a KoL fan on Monday evening, and look forward to seeing them again.
Report abuse
This is the third time i have seen KOL ( 1st at o2 in London, 2nd at hyde park) an i must say that it was again amazing. bit dissapointed that so many people around us (at the back) were seated the whole time but me and my boyfriend were up an enjoying it! brilliant. sound was fine and can’t wait to see them again! too many people expecting perfect behaviour it seems. nice to see so many people enjoyed themselves. unfortunately it was sad to know that most people only seemed to enjoy one song… no guessing which one it was. none the less great atmosphere!
Report abuse
Depending on what few concerts youv gone to, your comment is totally irrelavent and offencive to the people who did let there hair down and had a good time. The kol set was supurb, plucking some of the best songs from there albums and delivering them with a good energy. They came, played, and did exactly what they were suposed to do. Iv been to alot of gigs from deftones to h&o and i can honistly say the only things that make them a bad experience are very poor sound, sets cut short from bands arriving late, cetain individuals goin to far when having a good time and bad venues. Witch i (for one) did not experience any. Stay at home next time, nobody likes a moody mushroom.
Report abuse
Absolutely love kings of leon & was really excited for Monday. Unfortunately our mate got us all tickets in the stands & oh my god what a boring lot! Wr were with! Might have helped to get them all going a bit with a big tune they all knew ha! Shame that the sound seemed to bounce around & off the back of the stadium. Still love the band but I think due to seats & the really unclear sound it left us all slightly dissapointed. Anyone who can’t be bothered to get up & dance don’t go again cus we felt like we were on our own!
Report abuse
Should of done what me and my boyfriend did…got up anyway, we were right at the back on block 32 and got to a point where we no longer cared! call us selfish but we paid our way too! i wasnt letting any boring ‘sex on fire’ fans spoil it for us…
Report abuse
We paid £65 for Fans Package and the bar, food and toilet facilities were worth it. Couldn’t quite work out that they were allowing anyone to enter the restricted areas tho, but checking people trying to leave it! We were prevented from going to the standing area with ‘VIP’ wristbands but those with standing bands could go to the seated areas?! We found a way through anyway and joined the crowd in the beer/wee showers! Concert was fab. Only downside to the night was the appalling organisation helping people leave the Arena. We were directed to Tesco for a taxi, where there were hundreds of people waiting and very few taxis. The company organising what transport there was decided to leave when they couldn’t cope and it turned into a free for all with the police stood around being useless.
Report abuse
First time seeing KoL live and would certainly see go them again , however from where i was sitting (high up in the Tesco Stand block 19)the sound quality was not too good as some have mentioned.Not a fault of the band , more likely the stadium design.Not a clue what was said between songs (any of the bands)
“I didn’t see one fight, sure we got hit a few times from jumping around but I didn’t see one actual fight. The atmosphere was brilliant” – from where I was I saw plenty (not just jumping around enjoying the gig), the security were kept busy and two fights looked pretty nasty.they were dragging people out regularly. At these stadium gigs there are always too many idiots who can’t handle their beer, at those prices why spill a drop ;-)?
I knew it would be chaos with the roads / parking so we left at the start of the last song,saw the fireworks whilst walking back to car park ‘c’ (£20 – someone certainly made a killing on that!)and was back in Lincoln for midnight – not still sat waiting to get out.
See KoL again – yes without doubt , Ricoh Arena -no
Report abuse