Kings of Leon Played It Low Key On 'SNL'

Kings of Leon returned to the Saturday Night Live stage last night with host John Goodman. The Nashville-based rock band kept their performances of "Temple" and "Wait For Me" surprisingly low key. While most recent musical guests have sought to dazzle or provoke with their performances (think Lady Gaga and R. Kelly's sex push ups), the guys of Kings of Leon kept it simple and let their music make the statement.

Kings of Leon may have written an original song, "Last Mile Home," for Awards Season contender, August: Osage County, but the band wasn't trying to curry buzz for it last night. They played their most recent single, "Temple," for their first song and then later returned to the stage with their last single, "Wait For Me."

Both "Temple" and "Wait For Me" appear on their newest album, Mechanical Bull, which was released in September. The group experienced massive international success on their 2008 album, Only By The Night. However since then they suffered a slight setback when lead singer Caleb Followill's substance abuse problems started to affect their performances. The group took a brief break while Followill was in recovery.

Because we've been so used to seeing artists invade Studio 8H with high-concept stage design lately, Kings of Leon's simple performance felt like a throwback to the time when bands just showed up on Saturday Night Live to play their music and get off stage. In fact, the flashiest part of their act was probably Caleb Followill's baby pink sweater.

We'll probably see more razzle-dazzle from next week's big holiday show.

Saturday Night Live returns next week with host Jimmy Fallon and musical guest Justin Timberlake.

[Photo Credit: NBC]