Cold War Kids at Webster Hall

Nathan Willett & Overcoats

The original members of Cold War Kids met while attending university in La Mirada, California. In 2004, vocalist/guitarist/pianist Nathan Willett, bassist Matt Maust and others started making music together in an apartment above a restaurant in nearby Fullerton. Willett had started a teaching career and became aware that he felt compelled to make music instead. Maust suggested the band's name, inspired by a visit to a playground in Eastern Europe. As the project grew more serious, the band in 2005 relocated to Whittier, California, and began recording and releasing EPs. In 2007, Cold War Kids relocated to Long Beach, California. The band released its seventh studio album, New Age Norms 1, the first part of a trilogy, on November 1, 2019. Cold War Kids presently consists of Willett, Maust, guitarist David Quon, keyboardist Matthew Schwartz, and drummer Joe Plummer.

On the second of two consecutive headlining nights at Webster Hall, Cold War Kids rocked with rhythm and blues vocals and indie-pop melodies. A handful of newer songs were intermingled with a career-spanning repertoire that included deep cuts from early EPs. Willett was a soul shouter, climbing scales to hit some fairly high notes rather rapidly, leading to choruses that sometimes featured multi-part harmonies; Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell of the support act Overcoats helped with harmonies on two songs. Several lyrics, particularly the slow burners Willet sang while seated at the piano, were built around panoramic narratives. The rest of the band played subtle yet intricate arrangements behind the vocals, seldom settling for simple chord patterns. The songs were so structured around the vocals, however, that the musicians locked into their backing role and only momentarily stretched beyond that. As this was a live show, the songs could have benefitted from a few expanded musical interludes. Nevertheless, despite rare moments for breathers, Willett's voice remained strong for the entire set. Cold War Kids' compositions were more than catchy radio songs; Willett and company demonstrated a uniquely mature profundity that should increase the band's profile in the indie rock community.

Setlist:

1. Love Is Mystical
2. Miracle Mile
3. Complainer
4. So Tied Up
5. Who's Gonna Love Me Now?
6. Audience
7. Louder Than Ever
8. Dirt in My Eyes
9. Waiting for Your Love
10. Beyond the Pale
11. Calm Your Nerves
12. Coffee Spoon
13. Hot Coals
14. Hang Me Up to Dry
15. Lost That Easy
16. Can We Hang On?
17. We Used to Vacation
18. First

Encore:

1. Mexican Dogs
2. All This Could Be Yours
3. Saint John