Weeks - Sebright Arms, London, 2/7/2013

by Gillian Fish

published: 30 / 6 / 2013

Gillian Fish watches recent Kings of Leon tour support the Weeks play a stunning set of Americana, indie and Southern rock at a headline show at the Sebright Arms in London

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Going to a gig the day after returning from Glastonbury may not be the most sensible of ideas but after seeing the Weeks support Kings of Leon at the O2 last month I was eager to see them again, so any remaining festival hangovers were pushed to one side. The Sebright Arms stage is miniscule in comparison to the O2 but it always provides a great atmosphere (despite the basement venue being sweltering hot). The Weeks are signed to Kings of Leon’s own record label Serpent and Snakes, and there is no denying lead singer Cyle Barnes voice is reminiscent of Caleb Followill’s in the band's 'Youth & Young Manhood' days. He and identical twin brother Cain also bare more than a passing resemblance to Nathan Followill with their long hair and thick framed glasses. The Weeks can be described as having a sound that blends Americana, indie and Southern rock. The sound may have been created before, but there isn’t really another band that is comparable to these guys at the moment. They have a real honesty and soul that comes across in their songs, with many references to their home state of Mississippi which they are clearly proud of. New album 'Dear Bo Jackson' is due out in a couple of weeks,and the gig at the Sebright Arms provided an opportunity to play songs from the new record as well as ones from their previous two. The title track to the new album already seems popular and gains a good reaction as does the infectious ‘The House We Grew Up In’. The band have a great camaraderie on stage. At one point front man Cyle directed his singing to guitarist Samuel Williams which provided quite a touching moment. They almost come a cropper though when the microphone lead got tangled in Williams hair! ‘Buttons’ from their 2012 album 'Comeback Cadillac' is probably one of my favourite tracks by the Weeks. Live the lyrics are shouted out with much enthusiasm and it has a great melody. Leaving the stage after their set, the band received a huge reception from the sold out crowd and they returned a couple of minutes later to treat them to one more song, the bluesy ‘Mississippi Rain’ from 'Comeback Cadillac'. I have this band on repeat at the moment, and I am looking forward to seeing how far they can go from here.