Time to Start Loving Cold War Kids
Dan was right. The first time I met Dan, it was at karaoke at the Charles Playhouse Lounge. He told me that if I loved good music (he’d heard I did), I had to check out Cold War Kids. Understatement of the century. I finally got around to listening to them some time last month. Why did I wait so long? I’ve now had their album for a few weeks, and I’ve been listening to it constantly.
On Monday, I found out that they would be playing Tuesday night at Local 506 in Chapel Hill. I managed to talk my friend Massimo into joining me. There were still tickets. Why not? We arrived to find that the tickets were sold out, but within a few minutes, we were approached by a nice guy trying to sell us ticket for half-price. Half price? I told him he was my new hero and paid full price.
I don’t remember the last time I was this excited by new music. OK, that’s a lie. I do. Heartless Bastards also has my full attention right now, but I haven’t seen them live, so my enthusiasm is slightly more tempered.
Local 506 is a tiny club with a small but fairly high stage. Cold War Kids were the last of three bands playing. There is something so unique about the singer’s voice. It managed to be angsty and beautiful and powerful all at the same time. Much of the drumming is very militaristic (reminds me of the drumming on the first Throwing Muses album, actually). The bass is (and this is definitely the most appropriate word) PHAT! It’s driving, persistent, deep, and it undergirds this wall of sound that just filled the place. In most bands, each person has his or her spot, where they remain for most of the gig. Not true with CWK. The guitar and bass have this very interesting dance they do. The singer (who also plays the piano and guitar) gets in on it sometimes, too. It’s like watching a school of fish. It somewhat visible in this video I’m posting below. If you look at their faces, it seems as if they are paying absolutely no attention to where they are on the stage, but they are both traveling all over the place. The amazing thing is that they never crash into each other. Oh, and the SONGS! The gestalt experience of seeing this band is hard to describe, but it’s not to be missed. You are just going to have to trust me on this. Find out when they are playing near you and go. Don’t question. Just go. Dan was so very right.
