The cold front going through Austin did not stop Kings of Leon, Kongos and Young the Giant performing at their best. If anything, the gloomy weather added a memorable touch to the show. And nothing beats a free general admission ticket from Nacho Followill, Kings of Leon’s cousin and guitar technician.

Opening the night, Kongos, played song after song, stopping only to introduce themselves and their songs and their friend, MO Gordon for a cover of “Come Together” by the Beatles with their own twist. An alternative rock band consisting of four South African brothers with their last name as their pseudonym, Johnny (accordion), Jesse (percussion, vocals), Daniel (guitar, vocals), and Dylan (bass guitar, lap guitar, vocals) are based in Phoenix Arizona but originally born in South Africa. The young band recently released their latest album, Lunatics, off of their label, Epic Records. The energy that came out of Kongos is phenomenal and goes to show how invested they are in what they do. Their set included their recent hit single, “I’m Only Joking.”

Following Kongos was the popular Young the Giant. Opening with Anagram, the band continued playing songs from their new album until there was a technical mishap during the opening piano slide on “Mind Over Matter.” Waiting for the piano to be fixed, Sameer Gadhia (vocals) beckoned bassist, Payam Doostzadeh to do a hair flip with his sensationally long hair. Immediately after, the piano began to work again and the band continued on. Recently coming off their own tour, Young the Giant, consisting of Sameer Gadhia (vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Payam Doostzadeh (bass guitar), and Francois Comtois (drums), have been supporting Kings of Leon alongside Kongos since the beginning of the Mechanical Bull Tour in support of their recent album, Mind Over Matter.

The main act, Kings of Leon came in with a bang with their song, Supersoaker, and continued through their setlist virtually nonstop, playing hits such as “Family Tree,” and Temple.” Watching Kings of Leon perform in such a large and beautiful venue mind-boggling with their lights and background imagery throughout the gig. It came as no surprise that the had show sold out with such an impressive band. Kings of Leon, Caleb Followill (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Matthew Followill (lead guitar, keyboards), Jared Followill (bass, keyboards), and Nathan Followill (percussion, drums), have been a band since 1999 and have recently released their sixth LP, Mechanical Bull. Still touring in support of the album, the band had recently had to cancel tour dates following a bus accident in which a pedestrian “jumped in front” of their tour bus and causing Nathan Followill to break a few of his ribs. However, the band powered through their setlist and ended with fantastic pyrotechnics while playing their smash hit, “Sex On Fire.”

And nothing beats a free general admission ticket from Nacho Followill, Kings of Leon’s cousin and guitar technician.