Caleb Followill tells all the girls trying to sneak backstage to simmer down. (Kyle Gustafson / www.photokyle.com)

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Monday night's triple bill at DAR Constitution Hall had something for everyone, assuming they liked their guitars loud and their venues cavernous. Headliners Kings of Leon, touring behind their latest release, the stadium-rock ready Only by the Night, whipped fans into a prolonged frenzy by playing it cool, while openers We Are Scientists and The Whigs had to put in some extra work to win over the late-arriving crowd.

KoL lead singer Caleb Followill seemed a bit sleepy during the start of his band's set. He kept rubbing his eyes like he was trying to keep them open. Finally a roadie came out between songs and handed him a shot of liquor in a Solo cup. Said roadie waited dutifully for Followill to consume the alcohol before handing over the Gatorade chaser. I guess it's good to be the King.

It wasn't until the fifth song of the night, old fave "Molly's Chambers", that the band shook off their slumber and really hit their stride. They followed in fast succession with "Taper Jean Girl" and "King Of The Rodeo" before launching into a transcendent "Sex On Fire" (a.k.a. the "I did it with you, and now it hurts when I pee" song), their first bona fide anthem.

Unlike their previous output, reviews for Only by the Night have been somewhat mixed, but after seeing and hearing the new material live, it's obvious that the songs were meant for very large venues (the group regularly plays arena-sized venues in the UK, where KoL have a much bigger presence than their homeland). The album's second single, "Use Somebody", is a bit underwhelming on wax, but it takes on a different shape when a few thousand people provide their own backing "wooooooaaah's."

The show was not without fault, however. "The Bucket" was uneven, with slow choruses and fast verses, as if the band couldn't find a suitable pace for the song. The set itself, on the other hand, was paced perfectly, with the snappy, uptempo numbers frontloaded to fill the venue with buzz and then following up with the big sing-along numbers toward the end when the initial rush wore off. It was all working swimmingly until the penultimate song in the main set, "Cold Desert," a slowie with no chorus of note, which reminded everyone that their feet hurt and it was time to sit down. A note-perfect rendition of "Slow Night, So Long" quickly followed and made up for their mis-step.

Openers We Are Scientists and The Whigs had a more difficult time winning the crowd over. WAS are a bit like KoL in the fact that they are much bigger in the UK than they are on their native soil. Their newest record, Brain Thrust Mastery, is filled with more subtle songwriting and nuance than their first album, most of which was lost in the huge venue. It was older material like "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" and "In Action" that got butts out of seats and dancing in the aisles. Without the normal din of conversation you get at a regular club, there was a noticeable silence in between songs. And as my friend said, "Their stage banter has not improved since 2006."

The Whigs, on the other hand, don't care much for subtlety, churning out a big and powerful sound with all the tenacity and will they could muster. And the 30 people who were there for their set definitely liked what they heard. But the sparse crowd didn't affect the band at all. Lead singer Parker Gispert stomped and stammered around the stage, doing his best Neil Young impersonation, taking big swings while hitting the notes on his guitar like he was playing to a capacity crowd. Punkish rockabilly treats like "Need You Need You" and "Right Hand On My Heart" still hit home and showed why the group's sophomore effort, Mission Control, has earned effusive praise all over the interweb. These guys need their own headlining night at the Black Cat ASAP.