The War on Drugs

[zepscoda]

The War on Drugs

I've been digging this band lately. Very mellow tunes that gradually build with melodic guitar solos and subtle synth pads ....vocals bathed in reverb  that have a Bob Dylan vibe blended with a David Gilmour delivery.

Here's their new tune :

 

Tour dates : 

Sep. 21—Philadelphia, PA @ Dell Music Center

Sep. 22—New York, NY @ SummerStage in Central Park

Sep. 23—Boston, MA @ Blue Hills Bank Pavilion

Sep. 25—Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte

Sep. 26—Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle

Sep. 28—Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory

Sep. 29—Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall [Outside Lawn]

Sep. 30—Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater

Oct. 5—Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre

Oct. 6—Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre

Oct. 9—Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre

Oct. 11—Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Oct. 13—Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex

Oct. 14—Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre

Oct. 18—St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre

Oct. 19—Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre

Oct. 20—Columbus, OH @ Express Live!

Oct. 21—Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall

Nov. 2—Amsterdam, NL @ AFAS Live

Nov. 3—Cologne, DE @ E-Werk

Nov. 4—Brussels, BE @ Forest National

Nov. 6—Paris, FR @ Bataclan

Nov. 9—Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands

Nov. 10—Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands

Nov. 12—Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo Manchester

Nov. 14—London, UK @ Alexandra Palace

Nov. 17—Zurich, CH @ X-tra

Nov. 18—Milan, IT @ Fabrique

Nov. 20—München, DE @ Muffathalle

Nov. 21—Hamburg, DE @ Große Freiheit 36

Nov. 22—Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom

Nov. 24—Oslo, NO @ Spektrum

Nov. 25—Copenhagen, DK @ Tap 1

Nov. 27—Stockholm, SE @ Annexet

Edited July 20, 2017 by zepscoda

[zepscoda]

 

 

[zepscoda]

"I'm at the darkened hillside

And there's a haze right between the trees

And I can barely see you 

You're like an ocean in between the waves"

 

[zepscoda]

 

 

[zepscoda]

 

[Strider]

Hey zepscoda, somehow I missed this thread you posted. I thought I had posted a few years ago about War on Drugs and that this was the thread but I see you just recently started it. Maybe I just put it in the "What are you listening to?" thread or "new purchases".

I hope The Bomb Factory is a good venue with decent acoustics. You are in for a treat. Get front and center so you can get a good look at all the guitars Adam plays. Their show in L.A. is next Thursday. I'm so ready.

It was 2008 when I first heard War on Drugs. I was listening to one of those compilation cds that comes with Uncut or Mojo magazine and suddenly this track comes on that totally hypnotizes me. It was as if Bob Dylan had discovered shoegaze.

I immediately went out the next day and bought the album "Wagonwheel Blues". This was when Kurt Vile was still in the band along with Adam Granduciel. 

Next was seeing them live and they impressed me enough to want to hear more. But then Kurt Vile went solo and it took a few years for the next War on Drugs album to reach the shops. Uh oh...would Kurt's departure mean a change in sound? 

Not to worry...2011's "Slave Ambient" was worth the wait. The guitars were just as shimmery and textured as before, with a touch more ambience.

Live in concert, the band was even better than the first time I saw them. The War on Drugs was now one of my favourite new bands.

But I still was not prepared for what was to come.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Strider

[Strider]

When "Lost in the Dream" dropped in 2014 it was as if this was the album they were meant to make. It was such a cinematic record...a perfect summation of all their influences and Adam's best songwriting. Dylan, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, Neu! (Krautrock), Springsteen...it's all here. I played it non-stop all year.

Adam rips the guitar solos in this one...especially in concert.

A touch of David Gilmour in "Suffering".

 

Edited September 27, 2017 by Strider

[Strider]

"Lost in the Dream" is a great "driving late at night in the desert" album. I love every song but the two songs that touched me deepest are these two.

I literally cried the first time I heard "Eyes to the Wind"...so fucking beautiful and haunting. Definitely a highlight of the concerts I saw on their 2014-15 tour.

I made sure I saw War on Drugs on this tour as often as I could. At the Fonda Theatre on the first leg and again at the Greek Theatre. 

Now they are back with their new album and if it isn't as perfect as "Lost in the Dream", it is still better than most others out there. And they will always be worth seeing in concert. Adam has a sweet collection of guitars.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Strider

[zepscoda]

15 hours ago, Strider said:

Hey zepscoda, somehow I missed this thread you posted. I thought I had posted a few years ago about War on Drugs and that this was the thread but I see you just recently started it. Maybe I just put it in the "What are you listening to?" thread or "new purchases".

I hope The Bomb Factory is a good venue with decent acoustics. You are in for a treat. Get front and center so you can get a good look at all the guitars Adam plays. Their show in L.A. is next Thursday. I'm so ready.

It was 2008 when I first heard War on Drugs. I was listening to one of those compilation cds that comes with Uncut or Mojo magazine and suddenly this track comes on that totally hypnotizes me. It was as if Bob Dylan had discovered shoegaze.

I immediately went out the next day and bought the album "Wagonwheel Blues". This was when Kurt Vile was still in the band along with Adam Granduciel. 

Next was seeing them live and they impressed me enough to want to hear more. But then Kurt Vile went solo and it took a few years for the next War on Drugs album to reach the shops. Uh oh...would Kurt's departure mean a change in sound? 

Not to worry...2011's "Slave Ambient" was worth the wait. The guitars were just as shimmery and textured as before, with a touch more ambience.

Live in concert, the band was even better than the first time I saw them. The War on Drugs was now one of my favourite new bands.

But I still was not prepared for what was to come.

I really dig their latest album A Deeper Understanding , very very mellow.  

The sound should be pretty good tomorrow night. We got front row center in the balcony,  so I'll be sitting 10 feet above the sound man. If it's not too crowded on the floor, we'll go down and make our way up as close as possible . Can't wait to be engulfed in this sound the band creates. 

Here's a cool rig rundown on Adam Granduciels set up...

 

[Strider]

Grantland did a nice article on them a while back.

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/the-war-on-drugs-gets-ready-to-play-the-big-rooms/

[Strider]

From the Boston show last week.

 

 

[Strider]

Chris, you lucky SOB! I checked the setlist for last night and you got the first appearance of "Thinking of a Place" on this tour! As an encore, no less! Hope they play it at the Greek next week!

[zepscoda]

6 hours ago, Strider said:

Chris, you lucky SOB! I checked the setlist for last night and you got the first appearance of "Thinking of a Place" on this tour! As an encore, no less! Hope they play it at the Greek next week!

Setlist:

In Chains

Holding On

Pain

An Ocean in Between the Waves

Strangest Thing

Red Eyes

Buenos Aires Beach

Eyes to the Wind

Burning

Accidentally Like a Martyr a Warren Zevon cover

Nothing to Find

Up All Night

Under the Pressure

Clean Living

Encore:

Thinking of a Place

OMG,  I sat stoned ( very 😎stoned ) in amazement while being engulfed in their sonic landscape . And for WOD to drop Thinking of a Place at the end was more than I could ask for. The sound was perfect. I took one 3 min vid of the tail end of Red Eyes, but it fails to capture the perfection of the mix. The stage lights were simple but a perfect compliment to the music . Im still in a daze!!

 

[Strider]

Another great show at the Greek. War on Drugs opened with a surprise cover of Tom Petty's "Time to Move On". Their set lasted from 8:40 to 10:50...18 songs in all.

No "Thinking of a Place" but everything else from "A Deeper Understanding" and nearly all of "Lost In The Dream", too. My only quibble is the complete abandonment of their earlier albums. Only one song from "Slave Ambient" and nothing from "Wagonwheel Blues".

But that is only a mild complaint. The sound was glorious at the Greek and the Harvest Moon and the light show combined for a visual feast for the eyes. One difference from previous tours was that Adam Granduciel played much more harmonica than usual...adding it to "Eyes to the Wind" for instance.

I have always said Adam looks like Neil Young, sounds like Bob Dylan, and plays like a cross between David Gilmour and Neil Young. His tone is liquid gold...he makes every guitar sound amazing.

If you pass up seeing The War on Drugs you are making a serious mistake. This is one of the 10 best live bands today.

Setlist for the October 5, 2017 show at the Greek Theatre, L.A.

1. Time to Move On (Tom Petty cover)

2. In Chains

3. Holding On

4. Pain

5. An Ocean In Between the Waves (spectacular as always)

6. Strangest Thing

7. Nothing to Find

8. Knocked Down

9. Lost in the Dream

10. Eyes to the Wind

11. Burning

12. You Don't Have To Go

13. Up All Night

14. Under the Pressure (Adam released his inner-Neil on this one, stretching it out to more than 10 minutes)

15. Clean Living

Encore:

16. Brothers

17. Red Eyes

18. In Reverse

[zepscoda]