The War on Drugs- Pabst Theater, 9/20/14

The War on Drugs have certainly emerged as the rising stars of the Americana rock 'n roll scene in 2014, although I am not sure if you can really fit the band into this, or any genre.  Their music is, at best, a marriage of My Morning Jacket, Wilco, and Bob Dylan, which places it perfectly in this writer's sonic wheelhouse.

Their latest release Lost in a Dream, has garnered them significant critical acclaim from music pundits world wide, and is poised to be on many critics' "albums of the year lists".  As I wrote about when the album dropped in early spring, this is one of those truly exceptional releases that "sticks to the bones" in terms of its songwriting and musical craft.  Personally speaking, Lost in a Dream is probably my favorite record of the past several years.

photo by Stephen Bloch

After seeing The War on Drugs in Chicago in March, my biggest question going into their show at the Pabst Theater this past Sunday was how the band would adopt to their huge surge in critical success.  Lost in a Dream's acclaim has taken them from halls that hold a couple hundred fans to venues that fit a thousand or more.  It has also taken them to Europe and soon to Australia where several of their tour dates are already sold out.

While similar in terms of capacity, playing Chicago's Metro (a two storied bar/music hall) to playing Milwaukee's majestic Pabst Theater (a three storied historic theater) is a big jump.  Compared to seeing the band earlier on  tour in the spring, The War on Drugs seemed more confident and honed in on their songs and jams this past Sunday night.  While focused on Lost in a Dream as their primary material, the band took some risks in the set with deeper cuts, off of their earlier releases, 2011's Slave Ambient, 2008's Wagonwheel Blues.  Overall, The War on Drugs seemed not like a band on the rise, but rather a band who has arrived.  Lead singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel and company took a page out of Bob Dylan's stage presence book-- playing often with closed eyes and flowing songs into one another with no crowd banter in between.

Granduciel started with an eerie intro flowing into a spot-on rendition of "In Reverse," which gave me goosebumps as the song built from a soft number to a full on rocker at the end.  "Under the Pressure" was delivered with flawless precision,  Other set highlights included Granduciel paying respects to his obvious influence, Bob Dylan, by performing "Born in Time" off of Dylan's 1990 Under the Red Sky album.  This song was made more popular by Eric Clapton who covered it on his 1998 Pilgrim record.   A surprise inclusion to the set was "Arms Like Boulders," the first track off of The War on Drugs' debut release, Wagonwheel Blues, which was delivered with tremendous energy and featured Granduciel playing harmonica.  The set closer, "Eyes to the Wind," a stand-out track off of Lost in a Dream, sealed the deal on a set of great songs that function well both independently and in conjunction with one another.  This sense of flow in the set was a noticeable improvement from the spring and something that I see the band continually improving on as they continue to rise up the rock ladder.

The War on Drugs performing Bob Dylan's "Born in Time"

While Granduciel rarely spoke during his set, he made a point of engaging in some audience feedback during the encore, and asked for requests.  In a simple twist of fate (pardon the Dylan reference and pun) my request of "Brothers" from 2011's Slave Ambient release was played as the final song.

The War on Drugs have certainly worked hard this year to establish themselves as a top tier live act. as well as a band who has put their own innovative and experimental twist on Americana music.

Opening for The War on Drugs was Califone, a perfectly paired act from Chicago, who specialize in more jammy and experimental rock.  Lead by Tim Rutili, Califone delivered a fantastic opening set with numbers which drew from their most recent release, 2013's Stiches, and also explored back-catalog tracks, including 2009's "Funeral Singers."  Califone is a band off the radar who truly delivers a powerful performance live, and who I would eagerly see in a headlining engagement in Milwaukee.