Kings Of Leon at Marlay Park, Dublin – Review & Photos

Kings Of Leon played a sold out gig at Marlay Park on Friday, July 4th 2014.

More than three years since their headline appearance at Slane, Kings Of Leon performed again, this time in Dublin, in front of around 35,000 people.

Kodaline were invited to support KOL and, judging by the huge crowd that came early to see them and their reactions, it’s safe to assume they were the right choice. Check out some photos of Kodaline.

The set was a potpourri of songs from their entire repertoire, a mix that had both crowd-pleasers and some of their newer, less-known tunes from Mechanical Bull, their latest studio release. “Supersoaker”, the first song, injected a healthy dose of energy into the audience who responded well from the first chords.

The excitement in the first half of the set faded a bit after the first song, as the band showcased some of their newer material.

Frontman Caleb Followill, with his southern accent, blue jean jacket, neckerchief was looking sharp on the giant screens to the side of the stage, and so did his bandmates. Notorious for how little they talk to their fans during shows, KOL surprised us with a few moments of chat between songs. At Slane, in 2011, they barely said a thing, understandably though, considering their uncle had died just a few days before the gig.

“This is the most fun we’ve had in this entire tour” was all the crowd needed to hear from Caleb, and the inevitable roar was heard (probably as far as the city centre).

“Southbound”/”Back Down South”, “Temple” and “Knocked Up” were some of the highlights of the second part of the set.

The rain intensified during the last 20 minutes of the show, getting everyone soaked. It didn’t seem to matter though as the music also intensified, compensating. Emblematic hits such as “Radioactive”, “Pyro”, “Beautiful War” and “Use Somebody” built the excitement before the encore.

Between two of the final songs of the set Caleb said: “We weren’t supposed to play too long tonight, but we’re kind of breaking the rules.” Then he added that this might be the last gig in this part of the world for them for a while and that the next time they’ll come they’ll probably have a new album released. He ended his little speech by thanking everyone for coming and allowing them to do what they love. The response from the crowd was “USA, USA, USA”. It was 4th of July after all.

A short break before the encore allowed them to wipe the rain off backstage. Quite soon after that they returned for the grand finale of a long and beautiful show. “Crawl” and “Black Thumbnail” were the first two songs of the encore, but they felt like two obstacles in the way of the tune that everyone was waiting for – “Sex On Fire”. Everyone sang along for one last time as a fireworks waterfall illuminated the stage.

The night ended with a spectacular display of fireworks for KOL and July 4th.

Setlist: