Music Under Fire

Death Cab for Cutie along with Cold War Kids and Ra Ra Riot packed the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA on Tuesday night. As both opening acts draw a substantial amount of fans on their own, not surprisingly so, most of the seats were already filled when Death Cab's set arrived.

Cold War Kids


The organized chaos of Cold War Kids rang through the hall of the two-tiered venue about half an hour after Ra Ra Riot's set concluded. Combining a mix of their two albums, Robbers and Cowards (2006) and Loyalty to Loyalty (2008), the group smoothly transitioned between these albums during their hour set.

As their current album cover hung in the backdrop, the band combined the distinct sound of front-man Nathan Willet's voice with their erratic musical score, which when combined asynchronously with their equally erratic dancing meld together for a rather entertaining show.

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.

Video: Death Cab For Cutie - President of What

Cold War Kids will promote their new album, Loyalty to Loyalty, with a performance tonight, Jan. 28 2009, on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The Conan performance coupled with another sold-out event tonight at New York's Mercury Lounge will jump-start their upcoming tour which will make its way back to the states after a few international stops.

The band has also signed on with the Death Cab for Cutie spring tour which will kick off April 7 at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA. Cold War kids will be on the ticket for the month of April, while Matt Costa will handle the following dates. Ra Ra Riot will be the opening act for all shows. Tickets will go on sale this weekend.

1/28/09 Late Night with Conan O’Brien New York, NY
1/28/09 Mercury Lounge - SOLD OUT New York, NY
2/2/09 Metropolis Concert Club Perth, Western Australia
2/3/09 Governor Hindmarsh Hotel Adelaide
2/4/09 Palace Theatre Melbourne, Victoria
2/6/09 The Arena Brisbane, Queensland
2/7/09 Playground Weekender Festival Sydney, New South Wales
3/7/09 Bicentennial Park – Langerado Music Festival Miami, FL
3/26/09 4th & B Concert Theatre San Diego, CA
3/27/09 Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA
4/2/09 Wilbur Theatre Boston, MA
4/3/09 Terminal 5 New York, NY
4/4/09 Water Street Music Hall Rochester, NY
4/07/09 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA #
4/08/09 DAR Constitution Hall Washington, DC #
4/09/09 John Belk Arena Davidson, NC #
4/10/09 The Louisville Palace Louisville, KY #
4/11/09 Orpheum Theatre Memphis, TN #
4/12/09 The Brady Theater Tulsa, OK #
4/13/09 Holland Center Omaha, NE #
4/15/09 Roy @ WIlkins Auditorium St. Paul, MN #
4/17/09 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL #
4/18/09 Breslin Events Center East Lansing, MI #
4/19/09 Van Male Fieldhouse Waukesha, WI #
4/20/09 Gothic Theatre Denver, CO
4/21/09 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, British Columbia
4/22/09 The Showbox at The Market Seattle, WA
4/23/09 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR
4/24/09 McCarthey Athletic Center Spokane, WA #
4/25/09 The Morrison Center Boise, ID #
4/27/09 Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, CA #
4/28/09 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA

# w/ Death Cab for Cutie and Ra Ra Riot

This week has some of the most music in one seven day stretch than any other week we've stumbled upon this year... but it doesn't make much of difference if there isn't some good music contained in that list to begin with, so let's get started. Cold War Kids, whose Loyalty to Loyalty is the one we're looking forward to the most. This is the Fullerton, CA group's follow up to their much acclaimed album from last year Robbers & Cowards.

Also on our fingertips is Thievery Corporation's Radio Retaliation. This is the DJ duo Rob Garza and Eric Hilton's seventh full length album since their beginnings back in 1997. Could this be better than our favorite The Cosmic Game?

Blitzen Trapper makes some noise for SubPop and French Kicks reveal their Covers EP, which we talked about last week. Covers EP is available digitally this week. Let's not forget Kings of Leon, whom we mentioned could be out with their best yet this time around, or Peter, Bjorn & John, who's single "Young Folks" made them infamous last year - they're newest, Seaside Rock, should be worth checking out.

Lastly, Mogwai and TV On The Radio arrive this week with a new album each. Need we say more? Get listening!

MP3: Blitzen Trapper - Furr (buy)
MP3: TV On The Radio - Golden Age (buy)
MP3: Peter Bjorn & John - Needles and Pills (buy)

Akimbo - Jersey Shores (Official) (MySpace)
All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It (Official) (MySpace)
Astronautalis - Pomegranate (Official) (MySpace)
Bang! Bang! - Industry Box (Official) (MySpace)
Blitzen Trapper - Furr (Official) (MySpace)
Brightblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin (Official) (MySpace)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Town Topic (Official) (MySpace)
CAW! CAW! - Wait Outside EP (Official) (MySpace)
Cold War Kids - Loyalty to Loyalty (Official) (MySpace)
Conifer - Crown Fire (Official) (MySpace)
Cotton Jones Basket Ride - River Strumming (Official) (MySpace)
Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month - Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month (Official) (MySpace)
Dynamite Club - Fusion Era (Official) (MySpace)
Eleh - Floating Frequencies (Official) (MySpace)
Elvin Bishop - The Blues Roll On (Official) (MySpace)
Everlast - Love, War and The Ghost Of Whitey Ford (Official) (MySpace)
Faun Fables - A Table Forgotten EP (Official) (MySpace)
French Kicks - Covers EP (digital release) (Official) (MySpace)
Friendly Fires - Friendly Fires (Official) (MySpace)
Ghengis Tron - Board Up The House Remix (Official) (MySpace)
Girl Talk - Feed The Animals (physical release) (Official) (MySpace)
High Places - High Places (Official) (MySpace)
Holy Sons - Decline of the West (Official) (MySpace)
House of Heroes - The End is Not the End (Official) (MySpace)
I Heart Lung - Interoceans (Official) (MySpace)
Jackson Browne - Time For Conquer (Official) (MySpace)
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue (Official) (MySpace)
Karl Blau - Nature's Got Away (Official) (MySpace)
Kid Sister - Dream Date (Official) (MySpace)
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night (Official) (MySpace)
Kiss the Anus of a Black Cat - Nebulous Dreams (Official) (MySpace)
Koufax - Strugglers (Official) (MySpace)
La Dusseldorf - La Dusseldorf (Official) (MySpace)
Left Spine Down - Fighting For Voltage (Official) (MySpace)
Mamiffer - Hirror Enniffer (Official) (MySpace)
Marmoset - Record in Red (Official) (MySpace)
Max Richter - 24 Postcards in Full Color (Official) (MySpace)
Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling (Official) (MySpace)
Old Crow Medicine - Tennessee Pusher (Official) (MySpace)
Paul Flaherty - Aria Nativa (Official) (MySpace)
Peter Broderick - Home (Official) (MySpace)
Peter, Bjorn and John - Seaside Rock (Official) (MySpace)
Signal Hill Transmission - Starting Gun (Official) (MySpace)
Sing It Loud - Come Around (Official) (MySpace)
Tecumseh - Avalanche & Inundation (Official) (MySpace)
Ten Kens - Ten Kens (Official) (MySpace)
Terry Lynn - Kingstonlogic (Official) (MySpace)
The Mojomatics - Don't Pretend That You Know Me (Official) (MySpace)
The Morning Light - The Morning Light (Official) (MySpace)
The Pink Spiders - Sweat It Out (Official) (MySpace)
The Pretenders - Break Up The Concrete (Official) (MySpace)
The Week That Was - The Week That Was (Official) (MySpace)
Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation (Official) (MySpace)
Tracy Shedd - Cigarettes & Smoke Machines (Official) (MySpace)
TV on the Radio - Dear Science, (Official) (MySpace)
Woven - Designer Codes (Official) (MySpace)