[phlipcam video] Cold War Kids @ House of Blues

 "I've Seen Enough"

Walking into the COLD WAR KIDS show at the House of Blues last night initially felt a bit like finding oneself privy to an awkward first date -- where neither party knows the other particularly well (some well-meaning friends thought they might hit it off) and they're not quite convinced the whole thing wasn't a big mistake. [A side note: this writer suggests a bit of liberal lubrication for either of the above occasions. And you can take that to mean whatever you want.]

The 'Kids were doing their best to impress, kicking it off with a track off 2011's Mine Is Yours to let their date know they were hip, and following it up with a series of old chestnuts that this third wheel is pleased to report were as solid live as they are on the albums. The audience, being a bit of frigid bitch, played hard to get.

I caught the Cold War Kids last time they were in town, when they played the Paradise back in 2008. The (sold out) crowd that night put the kids milling around sulkily last night to shame. Methinks part of the problem might be that the 'Kids haven't quite stepped it up to HoB status yet- though they've earned it.

Luckily, Nathan Willett and his crew have been in the game long enough to know a thing or two about proper foreplay. Giving the crowd what they clearly wanted, CWK launched into a series of new songs. And, wouldn't you know it, the panties started slipping. After a particularly rousing rendition of "Sensitive Kid," a guy nursing his PBR to my right yelled "play more that sound like that!" And so they did.

The 'Kids hit their stride somewhere around mid-show, sneaking darker favorites ("We Used to Vacation") in between their poppier new material so seamlessly the crowd forgot they had decided to play it cool that night. I'm not saying the 'Kids got laid last night; but I'd say a second date is securely within their reach.