Cold War Kids Live at the Commodore in Vancouver
California Indie Rock Band Dish Out Joy and Misery at April 21st Gig
Apr 22, 2009
The crowd was far younger than one might expect, considering the band’s sound isn’t terribly mainstream. Some call it “indie rock”. But better to think of the music as crunchy riffs, shuffle-y, saloon-style white-boy piano blues, countrified ballads and the occasional punk rock outburst.
Throw in singer Nathan Willet’s high-pitched bellow and dark or cynical lyrics, and you’re nearly there. Or just imagine the soundtrack to a TV series like Deadwood as made by a Garden State-type Sundance Festival film director. Y'know.
Whatever the case, the Cold War Kids are hardly conventional. Their art is clunky and awkward in places and intense and utterly commanding in others. Same goes with the live show – at least in Vancouver, anyway.
Trying Not to Let it Show
The band has no shortage of catchy, shouty songs. After a bouncy version of starter “Mexican Dogs”, “Something is Not Right With Me” (both from latest album Loyalty to Loyalty) sounded as angry as it was likely intended.
“Something is not right with me,” Willet shouts, shaking a fist at the roof. “....How was I supposed to know?” The audience yells back and boings around on the Commodore’s hardwood-over-horsehair-filled-tires floor. Guitarist Jonnie Russell also bounces and tonight gives the more-commanding performance. He dances, sings, shakes the maracas, grinds his guitar, goes chest to chest with bassist Matt Maust and generally seems to be utterly enjoying the whole thing.
Willet, on the other hand, is perpetually of furrowed brow. Despite the love being thrown at the stage, he cracks a smile only once during the show. He looks troubled. Or tired. Or both. Still, “Hang Me Up to Dry”, “Every Valley Is Not a Lake” and “Hospital Beds” sound large and luminous, and Willet stretches out Hospital’s “joy and misery” verses for an age. Perhaps it’s what he’s feeling.
Robbers in the Dark
But after plenty of boogie, the band crank out the slow shuffle songs. And it's here where the gig falters a bit. “Every Man I Fall For” and “On the Night My Love Broke Through” are lifted by Willet’s gritty wail but ultimately potter along.
“Robbers”, however, (from 2006’s Robbers & Cowards album) has a sexy vibe about it. It’s aided mostly by drummer Matt Aviero’s drum brushing and Russell’s sparse guitar, but also has a hook – Matt Maust and Willet stalk the stage in the total dark, shining flashlights on the crowd. It’s nice stuff.
The band wrap up with “We Used to Vacation”, a dark tale of suburban life, being a husband, a drink-driving accident, AA meetings and so on. By the time the Cold War Kids’ have finished their final anthem about old “Saint John” on deathrow, the Young Audience Kids are ecstatic. Never mind the doom and gloom – they can sing along!
Regardless, the band sound solid, and by gig’s end, Willet seems genuinely appreciative of the cool Vancouver crowd. Joy and misery? Yes.
Cold War Kids live at the Commodore Ballroom was presented by Timbre Concerts. The band continue their tour through the US, the UK and France through to the end of May. For more information, visit www.coldwarkids.com.
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