Cold War Kids - Showbox (9-29-08)
Seattle fans showed their Loyalty to The Kids last night at the ShowboxLast night marked the third time I'd seen the Cold War Kids put on a show in Seattle - this was by far the biggest crowd, yet. The first time I caught this SoCal foursome was way back in September '06 at the Croc when they opened for Tapes 'N Tapes. At the time, I had only listened to Mulberry St, but from the sounds of that EP, I knew I was going to enjoy their show. Have you ever seen the movie High Fidelity? Do you remember the scene where John Cusack enters the nightclub to find Lisa Bonet singing Peter Frampton covers, and the rest of the bar is totally speechless, in total shock of how awesome the sound is? Well that's exactly how I remember my first Cold War Kids experience. Hardly anyone in the Crocodile was paying attention when the first opener (yeah, they weren't even the main opener) set up their equipment. But as soon as The Kids kick-started the night with an amazing rendition of "Saint John", an immediate hush was placed on the venue, conversations stopped mid-sentence by the band's spastic jerks of raw energy. And when they capped the night off with "Hospital Beds", I was convinced that these guys were going to be big.
Fast forward a month to October '06, and to my delight, the Cold War Kids came back to Seattle - this time supporting The Futureheads on a North American tour. Unfortunately for the band, however, TV on the Radio and Grizzly Bear just so happened to be playing sold-out shows on the same night. To make matters worse (or better), The Futureheads canceled their entire tour, leaving the CWK with their very first headlining tour. That night they rocked out Neumos in full force; unfortunately, it was only received by about 100 fans. The band played a very awesome, very short set that night (with no encore), but it was still clear that these guys had talent. I think that night they played "Passing the Hat" and informed us that Robbers and Cowards was ready to drop.
So last night was the first time seeing them in nearly two years. In that time, the band has gone on to release two LPs through Downtown Records - however, I was still very surprised to see that they sold out the Showbox which seats over 1000. I was also surprised to see fans actually singing along to all the older songs. It really made me quite happy that these guys finally hit their groove and actually have a following. Highlights on the night were definitely their newer songs - they sound a lot better live than they do on the band's second LP Loyalty to Loyalty. The band finished their first set with powerful, more electric version of "Hospital Beds", then came back to play a two-song encore. The night ended with the crowd favorite "Saint John" which included guest-maraca player Sean Hayes (the opener). All in all, another fantastic show by the Cold War Kids.
Fast forward a month to October '06, and to my delight, the Cold War Kids came back to Seattle - this time supporting The Futureheads on a North American tour. Unfortunately for the band, however, TV on the Radio and Grizzly Bear just so happened to be playing sold-out shows on the same night. To make matters worse (or better), The Futureheads canceled their entire tour, leaving the CWK with their very first headlining tour. That night they rocked out Neumos in full force; unfortunately, it was only received by about 100 fans. The band played a very awesome, very short set that night (with no encore), but it was still clear that these guys had talent. I think that night they played "Passing the Hat" and informed us that Robbers and Cowards was ready to drop.
So last night was the first time seeing them in nearly two years. In that time, the band has gone on to release two LPs through Downtown Records - however, I was still very surprised to see that they sold out the Showbox which seats over 1000. I was also surprised to see fans actually singing along to all the older songs. It really made me quite happy that these guys finally hit their groove and actually have a following. Highlights on the night were definitely their newer songs - they sound a lot better live than they do on the band's second LP Loyalty to Loyalty. The band finished their first set with powerful, more electric version of "Hospital Beds", then came back to play a two-song encore. The night ended with the crowd favorite "Saint John" which included guest-maraca player Sean Hayes (the opener). All in all, another fantastic show by the Cold War Kids.
Setlist (in no particular order)
"Hang Me Out To Dry"
"We Used To Vacation"
"Quiet, Please"
"Robbers"
"Hospital Beds"
"Dreams Old Men Dream"
"Relief"
"Every Man I Fall For"
"Mexican Dogs"
"Welcome To The Occupation"
"I've Seen Enough"
"Every Valley is not a Lake"
"Something Is Not Right With Me"
"Relief"
"?" (some new song or cover I didn't recognize)
Encore
"Against Privacy"
"Saint John"
- Go buy a copy of Loyalty to Loyalty if you haven't already [here].
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