Kings of Leon earning rock royalty title

If this is your introduction to the Kings of Leon, you’re not alone; most stateside rock ‘n’ roll consumers have been a bit slow on the uptake.

Abroad, the long-haired Tennessee rockers and their 2003 full-length debut, “Youth and Young Manhood,” were embraced immediately. And the band’s notoriously colorful lifestyle made it a tabloid fixture in the U.K., where a Kings of Leon show has been known to attract upwards of 10,000 fans.

In the United States, the immediate welcome wasn’t so sweet.

When the band headlined the second stage of 2003’s Lollapalooza tour, the band and crew sometimes came close to outnumbering the audience.

“We got to play to 13 (people) in Denver. It really didn’t matter to us,” drummer Nathan Followill said last year in an interview of the Lollapalooza experience. “We did our own thing. It would have been cool to have a dressing room closer to catering.”

In the wake of the release of the band’s sophomore effort, “Aha Shake Heartbreak,” Kings of Leon is beginning to get noticed. In addition to rave reviews and features in music publications nationwide, the band’s “Manhood” single, “Molly’s Chamber,” is featured on a new Volkswagen commercial, and the band is filling the opening slot on U2’s U.S. tour.

Spokane fans have the chance this weekend to see Kings of Leon, sans the arena-sized crowds.

Saturday, on a day off from this season’s biggest tour, Kings of Leon – which includes brothers Nathan, Caleb (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Jared Followill (bass), along with cousin Matthew Followill (lead guitar) – plays a 7:30 p.m. show at the Big Easy Concert House. Though Seattle concertgoers had to pay between $49.50 and $160 to see the band open for U2 last weekend, tickets for the Spokane date are $17.50, available through TicketsWest, (800) 325-SEAT or www.ticketswest.com.

Raised on the road, touring the Bible Belt with their evangelistic father, the guys weren’t allowed to listen to secular rock ‘n’ roll. Their musical repertoire mostly was comprised of gospel, but it now includes an amalgamation of artists who have contributed to the band’s brand of rough-edged rock ‘n’ roll.

“I don’t listen to the same kind of music I did then,” Nathan Followill said. “Now (I listen to) everything from Led Zeppelin to The Strokes to The Band. We’ve had a lot of catching up to do in the last five or six years.”