Music Under Fire

The soulful lyrics and quirky arrangement of The Cold War Kids is a pleasant change from bands who rely on catchy hooks and pop-undertones to captivate their audience. With their ability to draw in new fans wherever they go, songwriting could be the make or break factor for the Cold War Kids, although for a live show they prove instantly likeable.

The Fullerton, CA quartet is currently opening for Death Cab on their new tour. Tour dates for the group can be found here.


Death Cab For Cutie


For Death Cab, the live shows help fans embrace new material in the best possible way. Last June when we covered their show at the Mann Center, the lyrics from Narrow Stairs were yelled back to the four guys on stage as each song had already become familiar territory for the masses.

On Tuesday night, the group introduced their most recent effort, The Open Door EP, which although strewn with memorable phrases, hadn't yet reached the point where droves of fans sang along. In fact, the crowd was much less active due to a lack of move-around room and a set list that fed upon all of DCFC's works, and not just one album.

Besides the new material being added to the show, the Tower Theater also proved quite a different setting to hear the Seattle crew. Unlike an outdoor venue strewn with subwoofers that shake cars driving on the nearby highway, this show didn't feature drowning bass lines.

Highlighting the show as expected were "Cath..." and "Soul Meets Body", but the encore presentation of "A Diamond and a Tether" from the new EP could be the next anticipated song at shows. "Grapevine Fires", which is a pretty somber-toned track, caught the emotion of the somewhat still crowd as Ben Gibbard's vocals carefully rose and faded while the stage glowed red and blue.

For more pictures from the show and other shows, check out MUF's facebook.