THE WAR ON DRUGS at the Drake Hotel, Wednesday, August 24. Rating: NNN
Since the departure of guitarist Kurt Vile (who’s doing quite well on his own now), Philadelphia’s the War on Drugs have focused their sound on an unlikely intersection of classic Americana and dreamy shoegazer vibes.
Think Tom Petty jamming with Chapterhouse, although we can’t completely disagree with one fan’s “Bob Dylan meets U2” either. The addition of a sax player to the live show gave some songs more of a Spiritualized/Springsteen vibe, just in case you needed another duality-based description.
It’s a formula that works better than it should, and there were some undeniably great moments onstage at the Drake Hotel.
However, there’s not quite enough variety to keep it truly engaging. Sure, it was a mid-week gig, but you still don’t want the room to start emptying out before the headliners leave the stage.
Part of the problem is that the group doesn’t emulate the crowd-pleasing heroics of its classic rock influences and lacks the psychedelic light show and atmospherics of its drug-rock references.
A very promising band, but not quite there yet.
