Kings of Leon at BST Hyde Park, review: Marathon set lacks energy

Everyone seemed happy enough, the vibe was ranking low on the euphoria scale

Caleb (left) and Jared Followill of Kings Of Leon perform at the British Summertime festival at Hyde Park, London (Ian West/PA)

You’d be hard pushed to find a better-suited soundtrack to a hot July night than Caleb Followill and his distinctive Nashville drawl.

Band of brothers (and one cousin) Kings of Leon took to the grand Great Oak Stage just as the sun was beginning to set, opening with the moody “Over” from their seventh album Walls as the sold-out crowd of 55,000 stocked up on cider.

Fans of the Southern rockers’ older material who may have doubted whether or not they’d hear their favourites were reassured when oldies “Slow Night, So Long” and “The Bucket” followed but, while everyone seemed happy enough, the vibe was ranking low on the euphoria scale.

Followill paid tribute to support act Pixies, one of the group’s biggest influences, before thanking the “amazing” turnout for making the gig “a lot of fun”, but his downbeat rigidity and lack of palpable energy on stage failed to convince.

Ripples of excitement sparked by recognition hyped things up a notch during “Fans” and “Milk” but slower, lesser-known tunes like “Trani”, “Talihina Sky” and “The Immortals” dragged. The expansive venue’s infamous and frustratingly low volume further hindered any chance of real crowd engagement, making for a lacklustre atmosphere.

The second half of the marathon two-hour, 27-song set was packed with more hits, with “On Call” “Use Somebody” offering the mass singalongs that, let’s face it, many of us go to festivals for.

New songs “Reverend” and “Find Me” connected surprisingly well (the Walls tracks in general more than stood up against the vintage numbers), while the hauntingly sexy “Closer” proved a highlight with guitarist Matthew played his axe with his teeth.

The slight “We will play our songs how we want to, and you will enjoy them” tinge to this performance was hard to shake, but the Kings ended on the high their fans were waiting for.

“Sex on Fire”, the undisputed “big one” in their hefty repertoire, received the raucous reception it always does, be it at a festival or a Noughties club night, before “Waste a Moment” brought a mixed but overall enjoyable evening to a close.

The components were all there, but this night lacked that all-important X factor and sadly, I’m just not sure they’ll care.