M'Lou Elkins
I love punctuality and Cold War Kids didn’t let me down. At precisely 9 pm on the dot, the house lights faded, the guys made their stage entrance, and they immediately launched into the funky, disco-esque track “You Already Know” off of 2020’s New Age Norms 2.
Cold War Kids is currently on the road on their 20 Years Tour in support of their latest album, the self-titled CWK, which was released last September, and to celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band.
Tonight’s stop at the House of Blues in Dallas, TX is the roughly two-week mark since the tour began. The place was surprisingly packed for show on an unusually chilly Thursday night (this is the South people, we don’t do cold well!). The trek concludes on the West Coast March 24th with a two-night stint at Pappy and Harriet’s in Pioneertown. A slot performing at BottleRock Napa Valley May 25th will follow.
Though they formed in 2004, this was my first time seeing them live and they definitely lived up to the hype. With ten studio albums released to date, the band has an impressive catalog of songs to draw from and they chose their setlist wisely.
Their overall sound was tight and frontman Nathan Willett commanded the stage with his versatile, soaring vocals. They treated us to a perfectly balanced mix of both new and old tracks, an impressive 23 songs total, with a little something from almost all of their releases.
“Hang Me Up to Dry,” from their debut LP Robbers & Cowards, was recently re-popularized after it was featured on the Saltburn soundtrack and was a crowd favorite that got everyone energized and moving.
Another fan fave was, of course, “First,” the song that really put them on the map when it charted and went platinum in 2015. They closed the show with “Something Is Not Right With Me,” off of 2008’s Loyalty to Loyalty.
Cold War Kids is known for shaking things up by changing their sound a bit with almost every album. This pattern they have of creating such a diverse sound has provided them with an equally diverse crowd of listeners. There’s something to be found in their discography for everyone.
Check out the Cold War Kids concert photos gallery below.
