As I stepped through the poster-plastered doors of the Majestic Tuesday night, I was surprised to find an eclectic crowd of hip moms and dads, sober teens and drunk ex-frat-20-somethings — not necessarily the scene I was expecting to assemble for the indie-rock powerhouse Cold War Kids. As the PBR flowed and the beards of grad students became progressively more disheveled, opener Elliot Moss silently slinked onto stage.
Without much grandeur, the New York-based wonder boy dove into his set. With almost no flair, Moss spewed his emotionally-charged lyrics all over the front row, drenching them in Sam Smith-esque wording on top of pulsing, synthesizer-heavy beats. With the crowd more interested in the conversation they were currently having than Elliot’s music, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began sending out emergency alerts of an impeding shit-storm. With Bon Iver levels of energy, Moss attempted to create a room-wide self-pity session through his emotional onslaught.
Moss’ music was saturated with brilliant, head-bobbing beats and soulful vocals. Just as Elliot’s relationship problems music set began to truly worry me, he brought in house music-like bass, guitar ability reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age and vocals as smooth as a baby’s haunches, completely changing the Majestic’s atmosphere.
With aggressive and driving synthesizer and Moss’ nonchalant, zero-flair personality, each song received more audience appreciation than the last. What started out as a questionable and vibe-killing performance evolved into a movin’ and groovin’ set, getting the audience thoroughly hot and bothered. Indicative of his performance, Moss exited to an exceptionally enthusiastic audience, complete with dozens of PBR Tall Boys raised in his honor.
After what seemed like an unnecessarily long transition period, it was clear the audience was antsy and starting to get annoyed; their only form of entertainment was a bouncer who was clearly Hagrid dressed in a muggle’s all-white suit and moving musical equipment around stage.
Once all portals of social media had thoroughly been checked, Hagrid finally left to return to the wizarding world and on charged the Cold War Kids to a rapturous audience. Frontman Nathan Willett smashed out an electric performance of “All This Could Be Yours” followed by an impressive rendition of “Miracle Mile” to signal the start of a legendary performance. Dancing around an open stage, guitarist Dann Gallucci and bassist Matt Maust provided ample visual entertainment. Void of any form of exciting lighting or other stage theatrics, the Cold War Kids pounded out hymns to the indie gods in front of a gray, old-school banner reminiscent of the Robbers and Cowards (2006) album cover.
Opening with some of their older, more well-known tunes, the audience was eager to sing along. The Majestic was filled with the voices of loyal concert-goers without fail as the Cold War Kids transitioned into less mainstream songs. In full command of the audience, Willett sat down at the piano to pound out some slower, drape-your-arm-around-your-drunken-friend sing-along songs. No matter the popularity of the track, the Majestic’s patrons knew every word.
Willett and friends moved around stage with complete confidence, delivering hits with crystal-clear vocals and masterful instrumentals. Utilizing the popular “let’s-all-clap-along-to-this-song” technique paired with all indications of seasoned performers, the Cold War Kids exuded professionalism and old-fashioned rocking out.
Ending their performance rather abruptly, the band swaggered off stage. Clearly expecting an encore, the Cold War Kids quickly rushed back out with even more energy and flair, leaving the audience doubled over in indie rock-induced fits of ecstasy. As the lights came on, marking the true end of an impressive performance, the Cold War Kids exited to genuine audience appreciation.
The clarity and quality of the performance was striking. Despite moments of heavy guitar, synthesizer and piano with high, melodic vocals, none of the intricate parts of the performance overpowered the others. The Cold War Kids delivered an altogether lively set with straight out-of-the-studio-grade music quality.
Despite the dismal and bleak images that the term “cold war” brings to mind, the performance at the Majestic was anything but. The Cold War Kids came out and rocked the socks off of every man, woman and child at the venue.
