On Saturday me and @BaasDeBeer made our way to FNB Stadium (formerly known as Soccer City) in Johannesburg to catch American Rock band the Kings of Leon in concert. We arrived at the stadium at about 3 PM. I personally think that the R120 parking charge per car was a bit ridiculous, but it was safe and organized nonetheless. Come to think of it, some things are priced ridiculously in Joburg, but let me stop ranting about that now. I don’t want to get off topic.
After having a few cold ones, meeting up with some friends and having a braai on the Northern Side of the venue, we finally made our way into FNB Stadium at about 7 PM (just as the Black Hotels were finishing their set). It was my first time ever at this stadium (which was also the site of the 2010 FIFA World Cup final which was played between Spain and the Netherlands). I had not booked a ticket when they went on sale earlier this year so I bought one from a Twitter user who could not go anymore. I literally got hold of my ticket on Saturday morning. Finding my seat was not difficult. The stadium setup is awesome, well organized and secure. The beer and food prices were reasonable too. I managed to catch the whole set by rock sensation Shadowclub (whom I had seen the previous night at Arcade Empire in Pretoria as well) and Afrikaans electro / pop sensation Die Heuwels Fantasties. Both opening acts were superb and were embraced by the 45,000+ strong crowd in the stadium.
Kings of Leon made their way onto the stage at about 9 PM and blew the Jozi crowd away. These okes might not have interacted with the crowd a lot, but they delivered their music with true style. The crowd sang along to many of their songs, probably the loudest when they played Sex on Fire and Use Somebody. The visuals and sound were awesome. In all, I was impressed with their performance and the production in general. I just didn’t have the best seats in the house and my Nokia N8 phone battery died before I could take any decent pictures of them performing.
Luckily, Dale Imerman (@idale on Twitter) did not have that problem. He snapped these photos at the Kings of Leon show at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
I bet those Kings of Leon fans who did not make it to the concert this weekend are feeling kinda jealous right now. The show was something I’ll never forget. The highlight of the show for me was hearing 45,000+ people singing Use Somebody.
I don’t think I have seen this many international acts in 1 year. In 2011 I’ve also seen appearances by Rammstein (at the Coca Cola Dome in Johannesburg), Funeral for a Friend (at RAMFest in Worcester and Johannesburg), Alkaline Trio (also at RAMFest in Worcester and Johannesburg), The Used (at Oppikoppi) and Sum 41 (also at Oppikoppi). That must be some kind of record. I’m bummed that I missed the U2 and Coldplay shows this year though. Watch this space for regular updates in the Photography category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
