Photo by:  Jeffrey Ufberg

Those who came to Piedmont Park on September 8 found themselves amid a sea of blankets, picnic baskets and oversized sunglasses. By all accounts, a normal day in a Southern park—except for the 55,000 people, Dave Matthews Band and The Allman Brothers Band, there to perform a benefit for a 53-acre expansion of the Piedmont Park Conservancy.

With the Allman Brothers Band performing at nearby Piedmont Park, Australian-cum-Atlantan Geoff Achison saluted the group’s return with a solo acoustic reading of “Whipping Post” before bringing Charlie Wooton and Yonrico Scott out from the wings. Wooton’s smartly bubbling bass and Scott’s wizened drumming inspired Achison to deliver strikingly angular leads, particularly when a charged “Reach For the Sky” careened out of a deep-grooved take on “Never Give It Up.”

Photo by: Larry Hulst

With three bands on the bill and the theatre already packed for the opening act, one couldn’t help but feel that the time had arrived for the Kings of Leon in the west. Bristling with an almost tangible feeling of tension, the quartet burst onto the stage with a serious swagger and moody attitude. Gone were most of the remnants of their past, when they appeared to be defining themselves both on record and stage. Instead, the southern rockers personified a defiant confidence that emphasized sharp, dramatic trips over punky improvisation. In the end, it was an evening of not so much How the West Was Won but When the Big Boss Guitar Was King.