I would have never heard of the band 'The War on Drugs' if not for my go to music blog in Consequence of Sound. The CoS team absolutely loves them, even going as far as to name them their 2014 band of the year. I had to see what all the hype was about and bought a ticket to their show at The Ritz in Ybor last month.
Now the reason for the increase in popularity and recognition for this indie rock band, is due to the success of 2014's Lost in the Dream. This album was listed on many of last years 'best album of the year' lists. (You can read The Only Music Blogs list here)
Now maybe I set the expectations too high, but I was underwhelmed with the live performance. Front man Adam Granduciel came out and sang the songs one after the next. There was some jamming here and there, but nothing I was amazed by. While listening to the album, I thought it was pretty chill background music. Not something I would specifically put on, but something that could fill some spaces in a background playlist. Their live performance evoked the same thought.
Even on their most popular single, 'Red Eyes,' I was not captivated. I looked around the Ritz, at half capacity, and didn't feel that the crowd was much into it either. Some groups were chatty, and nobody seemed to be moving too much or singing along. I think overall, I was just expecting something else.
The music here was solid, but I guess I went in with too high of expectations. I didn't take away too much from the set, and wouldn't necessarily mark these guys as a band you need to see. I'm sure they'd put on a great afternoon set at a festival when more people are into it. But this just wasn't the right venue or night for them.
CONCERT RATING: 2.5 Stars
Setlist:
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- Encore:
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