It’s become one of life’s little bummers that they just don’t seem to make bands like Kings of Leon anymore.

Then again, it’s also a near certainty that if the rock quartet consisting of three brothers and their cousin were just getting started now, there’s virtually no chance they would ever so much as sniff a venue as big as Palm Desert’s 11,000-seat Acrisure Arena. So is the increasingly lamentable and undeniably irrelevant state of rock music, or what remains of it, in 2024.

This is why I’m so grateful to have had this chance not just to see what seems to be among the last rock bands to come out that is capable of filling a venue like Acrisure Arena (and, notably, these are no spring chickens) but to see them on a night in which they provided an overpowering and memorable reminder of how special arena rock shows can be, despite their obvious and much talked about flaws.

Here’s everything Kings of Leon played at its Acrisure Arena concert

Because while fans seemed to be increasingly accepting the relative, well, intimacy that now characterizes the venues where they must largely now look for their favorite artists (unless they’re making a trip to Vegas to see the Grateful — and now nearly — Dead or some other Medicare-qualifying artist at the Sphere, that is), there’s just something special about the rush that comes with hearing those first few notes of a song like Kings of Leon’s “Revelry” or belting out the chorus of “The Bucket” with eleven something-thousand fellow fans.

Here are five other highlights from Friday’s show that I’m betting anyone there won’t forget anytime soon.

1. The band – and especially the fans – brought the fun

I’m unsure if the tour’s name, “Can We Have Some Fun,” was intended to pose a question. But if it was, Friday night’s show provided a clear and overwhelming answer: Yes! Definitely yes!

One thing I’ve always disliked about seeing shows at arenas is the inevitable disappointment that comes with realizing everyone around you dropped half a rent payment on tickets only to keep their rear end glued to their seat the whole time.

But while that was the disappointing case at the last show I attended at Acrisure (Blake Shelton, FWIW), it certainly wasn’t the case as people leapt to their feet the moment the Followill family appeared on stage and largely stayed on them through the rousing performance of “Use Somebody” that closed the show.

Kings of Leon’s core fanbase may be getting older, but they could still teach Blake’s bumpkins a thing or two about how to get down.

2. I gained a new appreciation for their new album

When I glanced at recent setlists from the tour prior to the show, I was bummed to see so many songs listed from the band’s new album, which shares its name with the tour. My attempts to listen to that latest effort had left me feeling mostly underwhelmed, and the presence of so many songs from it felt particularly disappointing given the absence of some older faves such as“Supersoaker” and “Notion.”

So I must admit it came as a surprise when the band’s performances of some of its newest material turned out to be among my favorite parts of the show. The rocking and exuberant rendition of “M Television” led me to revisit it as soon as the show was over.

The one song I had been drawn to while listening to the new album was the single “Mustang,” and Friday’s live version didn’t disappoint. While many in the crowd did not yet seem familiar with it, I think this explosive banger stands out not just among the band’s recent work but when compared to their whole catalog.

3. A sweet moment of appreciation

The band kept the talking on stage to a relative minimum, which is more than fine with me when a band has a catalog as rich as this one to play from. However, I was charmed when lead singer Caleb Followill paused long enough to talk about what a delightful surprise the large crowds that have greeted the band in the US upon their return from touring in Europe have been. He explained that while many great shows come through Nashville, where the members reside, they rarely make it out to any because they are busy with their kids.

“It takes a lot for us to get off the couch and watch a concert,” he said. “So, thank you for coming out and supporting us.”

While it feels a bit weird to realize Kings of Leon is now a quarter of a century old (though I suppose that’s still practically an infant in Rolling Stones years), there’s also something charming and even cool about seeing a band unafraid to acknowledge they are aging into new phases of life along with their fans — and still rocking as they do

4. There was no shortage of guitar glory

Speaking of rocking, I was somehow unprepared for how hard these boys would go. Maybe it’s because hits like “Waste a Moment” and “Use Somebody” have somewhat of a pop gloss to them, but I have been sleeping on how downright rock and rock this band gets.

However, I was roused into an overwhelming new awareness of their copious guitar god-dom when the boys played the rollicking “Razz,” which turned out to be one of several songs that seemed to rock much harder during the show than when I listened to them on Spotify. While there was no shortage of great guitar work to choose from, nothing could beat the powerful solo from “Back Down South,” which almost felt like a new song.

. A song fit for a desert

About midway through the show, Caleb explained it was time for the “song for the city” portion of the concert, when the band plays a different song each night that is not part of the tour’s typical setlist. I’m not sure if the idea is for the song always to be thematically related to where it is being played, but that was (partially) the case on this night as the band played “Cold Desert” from their most popular album, “Only By The Night.” As Caleb put it, the band figured that the California desert was the most fitting place it would have to play it.

. A song fit for a desert

About midway through the show, Caleb explained it was time for the “song for the city” portion of the concert, when the band plays a different song each night that is not part of the tour’s typical setlist. I’m not sure if the idea is for the song always to be thematically related to where it is being played, but that was (partially) the case on this night as the band played “Cold Desert” from their most popular album, “Only By The Night.” As Caleb put it, the band figured that the California desert was the most fitting place it would have to play it.