Having spent the summer proving that they can cut it as festival headliners, Kings of Leon took a break before V to play what must have felt like an intimate gig at Brixton Academy. Striding on to the strains of classical music and breaking straight into a new song, Crawl - a taster from the forthcoming fourth album, Only by the Night, given away free to the band's fans last month - the Followill family had the aura of an act utterly at ease on rock's A-list.

A slew of celebrity guests looked on as Kings of Leon delivered a 90-minute masterclass in how to send a crowd hoarse. Crawl was slow-burning blues-rock with the Southern roots that are said to be stamped throughout the new album. The gentle singalong it incited became a roar with the golden oldies Molly's Chambers and Taper Jean Girl and hardly died down for the rest of the set.

Since the release last year of Because of the Times, the album that sent the Kings' career stratospheric, the pin-up singer Caleb Followill and his brothers and cousin have gained a reputation for gigs that are musically magnificent, but lacking a little in showmanship. This time they were almost as exciting to watch as they were to listen to. A superb light show and innovative use of video certainly helped - a three-pronged crane moved a dozen screens into different positions for almost every song - but it was the passion of the performance and, unusually, Caleb's interaction with the crowd that made the show so special.

The singer chatted, danced, managed to mess up his hair - currently short and horribly preppy - and even asked for a drink to toast the audience.

It was hard to pick a highlight because there wasn't a bad track in the set, but one song stood out. The new single Sex on Fire, released next month, may be Kings of Leon's mightiest, most commercial moment yet. Come late 2008, you won't be able to avoid them.

Editor's choice

• Vote for the Breakthrough Award winner
• David Tennant back as Hamlet after back surgery
• Matt Smith is the new Dr Who