Cold War Kids’ ‘20 Years Tour’ rolled through Cleveland on Monday night. The trek is celebrating not only the band’s self-titled album (released in November 2023), but also (as one may have guessed by the title of the tour) their 20th anniversary of making music.
If you didn’t already know about the craziness brought on by the pandemic over the last few years, you wouldn’t think anything strange happened by looking at the band’s discography over the course of those dark times. Including the New Age Norms trilogy, CWK has released four albums in as many years, almost exactly to the date. (Easily the most prolific stretch of their career.)
After a solid set from opener Joe P., Cold War Kids walked on stage shortly after 9:00 PM. I’m not sure if it was the sound engineer or my position in the balcony, but the bass was coming through loud and clear. It was a good problem to have when Matt Maust unleashed the funky bass groove of “You Already Know” to open the show.
A spirited rendition of “Miracle Mile” raises the temperature enough that frontman Nathan Willet has to get rid of his jacket before starting “So Tied Up.”
Willet greets the crowd and reminds everyone of the release of their newest album. “Double Life” treats fans to our first live taste of the recent record.
The only selections from New Age Norms 1 & 3 come back-to-back with “What You Say” and “Complainer,” catchy standouts from each album. These are followed up by NAN 2’ highlight, “Who’s Gonna Love Me Now.”
The new album gets more love with “Run Away With Me,” a tune that I can easily picture blasting out of open car windows on a hot summer day.
The band’s newest song, “Heaven in Your Hands,” precedes a five-song stretch from the first five years of their catalog, including “Louder Than Ever” and “Audience of One.” Willet jumps on the standup piano for the first time during “Hang Me Up to Dry,” followed by “Mexican Dogs.”
The rest of the band exited the stage for a quick break while Willet played the first verse of “We Used to Vacation” solo. The rest of the guys come back in time to finish the song and cap off my favorite segment of the show.
We get a chance to catch our breath when they slow things down with “Another Name” followed by “Regret Regret.”
They double-dip 2017’s ‘L.A. Divine’ album next with “Can We Hang On?” and “Restless.” The band’s energy level hits its peak when keyboardist Matthew Schwartz comes to the front of the stage to play the upright piano on “All This Could Be Yours.”
The crowd, myself included, helps the band sing the final entry from 2006’s ‘Robbers & Cowards,‘ “Hospital Beds.” The set concludes with CWK’s biggest hit, “First.”
After a short break, the encore begins with “Love is Mystical” and finishes with a raucous, foot-stomping version of “Something Is Not Right With Me.”
If we take out the two extreme ends of the spectrum, “never heard of them” on one end and a Spotify notification informing you that you are in the top 0.01% of CWK listeners on the other end, Cold War Kids are one of those bands that surprise you with just how many really good songs they can stack in a setlist.
It’s a bittersweet pleasure to thoroughly enjoy watching a band rip through 23 songs but still list a handful of your favorites they didn’t play as you walk back to your car.
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