Out in the Cold

The first time I saw the Cold War Kids they were bathed in California sunshine drinking Sierra Nevada. It was a few months after the band had released their raw and soulful debut Robbers and Cowards (Downtown Records), and the band put on a great show full of frenetic energy. They used wine bottles as percussion and played the show like a hungry rock band looking to convert the audience. On March 22, a cold Tuesday night at the House of Blues, the Cold War Kids put on one of the worst shows I have seen in recent memory.

One-man electronic music artist, Baths, stage name of Will Wiesenfeld, opened the show. Musically, Baths sounds like a mix between Cut Copy, The Postal Service and Toro Y Moi. The set featured Wiesenfeld going crazy on a sampler both triggering strange instrumentals and controlling the rhythm like a DJ. Although a slightly odd choice to have as an opener, Baths got the crowd to nod their heads and let loose a little.
The Kids came on and opened with tracks off of their new record Mine Is Yours (Interscope). Opening with “Royal Blue,” lead singer Nathan Willett (whose haircut even looks like Caleb Followill’s) donned an electric guitar and changed his yelping vocals into a smooth croon. The stadium gloss permeated through almost every track, even old cuts like “Golden Gate Jumpers.” During the next hour and a half, the band played almost every song off of Mine Is Yours. These songs were as boring live as they are on record. They also played a bonus track from that release, “Fashionable,” which opens with only vocals and reverb guitar before coming to a full band climax. It was the only memorable moment of the band’s new material.
The sole highlights of the show were songs from Robbers and Cowards, but these efforts were few and far between. “Hang Me Up To Dry” is still a fantastic rock song that had everyone singing along. The band ended their encore with “We Used To Vacation” and “Saint John” which helped the band connect with an audience that was already bored. But even these songs were not performed with the same passion with which they used to play them.

The Cold War Kids have lost their edge. What made this band so intriguing both live and on record was the raw ramshackle nature of their blues inspired rock. They have traded that for a shot at bigger venues with Kings of Leon production and a tamed live show.

At a music festival a few years ago a friend of mine said that the Cold War Kids would be festival headliners by 2012. He might be right, but they had to sell their soulfulness to get there.