{"id":22802,"date":"2020-02-09T13:31:48","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T18:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=22802"},"modified":"2020-02-10T14:11:14","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T19:11:14","slug":"review-cold-war-kids-house-of-blues-2-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2020\/02\/09\/review-cold-war-kids-house-of-blues-2-1\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Cold War Kids @ House of Blues 2\/1"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Gladys B. Vargas<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Using soft mallets for the majority of their work, Overcoats\u2019 drummer opens the night with steady, softened beats that allow for an atmospheric electro-pop sound with \u201cNighttime Hunger.\u201d But if you\u2019re at all familiar with Overcoats, you\u2019ll more likely remember the effortless balance of 2 lovely sopranos, the main singers: Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After being featured as one of NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk Concerts, Overcoats have toured by themselves and are currently accompanying Cold War Kids on their tour. The two groups don\u2019t share much in common, but most of the crowd is open to\u2013and even impressed by\u2013the sound that the Overcoats have.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The duo plays to the crowd\u2019s interests too, asking for requests at one point. They play a piece of Red Hot Chili Peppers\u2019 \u201cScar Tissue,\u201d and entertain requests of Selena Gomez or Justin Bieber\u2019s discography before playing their personal cover of \u201cCherry Wine\u201d by Hozier. This quieter, more unassuming song does the work of highlighting how seamlessly the two can blend their harmonies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At moments throughout their opening set, the two add some synchronicity with simplistic choreography, including side-stepping and coordinated turns. When they close with their new song, \u201cThe Fool,\u201d they join hands and literally bend backwards, as one of the lines mentions. Soon they make their exit, thanking the venue and the Cold War Kids for having them, but thankfully, this is not the last time we see them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Around 9pm Cold War Kids comes out on stage, each band member casually wielding a drink and setting up their instrument. The crowd livens with whoops and cheers as the keyboard bangs out the chords to \u201cLove is Mystical.\u201d And they run through a couple more newer songs before vocally welcoming the crowd to the show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBoston!\u201d exhausted lead singer Nathan Willet starts off, \u201cWe\u2019re very excited to be here you guys…there\u2019s always something about performing here\u2013maybe it’s because it\u2019s a Saturday night in Boston!\u201d Eager to get back to the music, he introduces the next song, \u201cWho\u2019s Gonna Love Me Now?\u201d as, \u201ca new, new, new\u201d song that they\u2019ve never played before, and the keyboard strikes back up again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With set design that is limited to a backdrop with the band\u2019s name on it and colorful lights, as well as very little speaking besides an occasional song introduction, Cold War Kids has a bare-bones approach to the show that recalls a garage band: guys just here to play music and rock out. The band members wander the stage, focused on sound with stoic faces, nodding along to the bass line, leaning into the audience every now and then to excite them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a few more of their newer songs, Overcoats comes back onstage to join Willet at the piano for the tail-end of a refreshing piano ballad. For the songs that follow, the band starts switching up the instruments more often. Willet himself goes between vocals, guitar, and piano. One of the guitarists eventually trades his instrument for a tambourine and maraca, while the keyboardist in the back at one point plays cymbals with a maraca in one hand and a drumstick in the other. Even the drummer switches to a fork for a minute, as the Overcoats return from backstage with a cake and candles to wish him a happy birthday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An encore and performance of gold-certified \u201cFirst\u201d later, the band closes the show with acknowledgements, a \u201cthank you\u201d to Overcoats for joining them, and an invitation for the crowd to sing along to \u201cSomething is Not Right With Me.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Setlist:<\/p>\n

1. Love is Mystical
\n2. Miracle Mile
\n3. Complainer
\n4. So Tied Up
\n5. Who\u2019s Gonna Love Me Now?
\n6. Audience
\n7. Hang Me Up to Dry
\n8. Louder than Ever
\n9. Dirt in My Eyes
\n10. 4th of July
\n11. Mexican Dogs
\n12. Calm Your Nerves
\n13. Beyond the Pale (with The Overcoats)
\n14. Restless
\n15. Coffee Spoon
\n16. Hot Coals
\n17. Can We Hang On?
\n18. We Used to Vacation
\n19. Hospital Beds
\n20. First<\/p>\n

Encore:<\/p>\n

21. This Could All Be Yours
\n22. Saint John
\n23. Something Is Not Right With Me<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Gladys B. Vargas Using soft mallets for the majority of their work, Overcoats\u2019 drummer opens the night with steady, softened beats that allow for an atmospheric electro-pop sound with \u201cNighttime Hunger.\u201d But if you\u2019re at all familiar with Overcoats, you\u2019ll more likely remember the effortless balance of 2 lovely sopranos, the main singers: Hana Elion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17168,"featured_media":22803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525],"tags":[188,327,920,202],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22802"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22802"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22808,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22802\/revisions\/22808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}