After being less than wowed by the Kings of Leon’s 2009 ACL performance, I had high hopes that they would be ready to deliver as one of Saturday night’s headliners. The band, consisting of the Followill brothers and their cousin, succeeded in playing a mixture of their best songs from each album, which were well-received by the crowd.

Some of these oldies included “Taper Jean Girl” and my favorite, “Four Kicks,” both off their 2004 album “Aha Shake Heartbreak.” With the Sept. 24 release of their latest album “Mechanical Bull,” it was no wonder that six newbies made their way into the 24-song set list.

While the band’s new album put them back on top of their game after a shaky few years, it still did not fill the void that has been evident in both of their ACL performances: they did not engage with the audience. The over-the-top stage lighting and overly-filtered graphic cover-ups to their video accompaniment could not hide the fact that they seemed glued in the same position on the stage.

As a headliner, there is an underlying expectation to go above and beyond in terms of entertaining the audience. The element of engagement was noticeably missing. The show felt as though I was in my room playing their albums on shuffle, turned up really loudly. I did not feel as though the band was live in front of me, and had I not had good company with me for the show, I would have been bored. After an hour and a half performance, the guys took a short break and returned for a three-song encore. This show was an opportunity for redemption in my book, and the band once again fell short.