Two rock bands that have conspicuously polished and preened their sound on record in recent years, Kings of Leon and Dawes, came to St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday night with a mission to prove to longtime Twin Cities fans that they can still spark a fire on stage.
The Tennessee-bred Kings could be grateful they can still draw an arena crowd. Or they almost can, anyway. The band of three brothers and one cousin abruptly canceled a tour and went on hiatus in 2011, and then came back from that rough patch in 2013 with a commercial and musical dud of an album.
Last year's follow-up, "Walls," brought back some of the momentum, but not enough to even half-fill the hockey arena with about 7,000 fans.
Rootsier Los Angeles openers Dawes — also anchored by two brothers — had yet to play a local arena date but had performed at just about every other venue in town, from the Triple Rock and First Avenue to the State Theatre.
Dawes' jangly, soulful sound transferred well even in a vacant arena, especially their most harmonious tunes. The old favorite "When My Time Comes" wasn't a big singalong moment like it usually is, but it still earned a big cheer. Even more of a crowd-pleaser, singer Taylor Goldsmith dedicated the unabashedly nostalgic "All My Favorite Bands" to Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
Kings of Leon's set started out in a swirl of purple smoke and a backlit stage for the almost Cure-like, brooding new tune "Conversation Piece." Even before that song ended, drummer Nathan Followill launched into the overdrive beat of "Taper Jean Girl," kicking the set into a high gear that would continue through two more older barnstormers, "The Bucket" and "Molly's Chamber."
More than he used to, KoL frontman Caleb Followill really took command of the show a half-hour in, starting with a dramatically sung "Use Somebody." After that, he performed "Milk" solo in front of a giant curtain and remained alone through most of the emotional, heartbeat-paced title track from "Walls," during which the curtain rose to reveal an expanded version of the quartet with an added keyboardist and guitarist.
Though he's never been gregarious or flashy, Caleb remained aloof and looked a tad bored for much of the nearly two-hour concert — although he did mutter reassuringly to the crowd mid-show, "I'm having a really good time up here." He later admitted in an exhausted tone, "We've been on the road for ... I don't know, a year."