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Last Updated: 4/28/2009

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Gender: Female
Sign: Capricorn

State: Florida

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[27 Mar 2007 | Tuesday]

LIVE REVIEW: Cold War Kids * Delta Spirit * Tokyo Police Club

by Paul Zimmerman

Wow. Sometimes a few bands come around and reaffirm your belief in rock n' roll! This past Thursday that was the case as Delta Spirit, Tokyo Police Club, and Cold War Kicks blew up at Cafe 11 in St. Augustine. To say these three bands rocked the house would be an understatement. All three bands were unbelievable and levelled the audience repeatedly throughout the night. How Cafe 11 is still standing is beyond me.

Leading off the night was the mighty Delta Spirit. By simply taking the blues and wrapping it up in some rock and roll sheen these boys started the night off with an over abudnance of rock and roll exuberance. Their energy level was unbelievable and for a band that many people probably hadn't heard of, they made an amazing impression. Songs like, "Gimme Some Motivation," and "Crippler King," bulldozed the crowd into making them believers of what the Spirit was capable of. Even the ballad-like, "People, Turn Around!" was played with gusto and energy. The band were all over the place banging on everything, rocking everything, and just basically raising the bar for the other bands on the tour. This show could not have been started any better. These guys are what rock and roll is all about and they couldn't help but let it loose on stage. They rocked it.

Canada's Tokyo Police Club are young. Like seriously young. If there's anyone in the band that's over 19 I would be amazed. So with their permission slips to tour in hand these guys had a 30 minute spasm of mathy post emo rock that sent everyone into a frenzy. To see their keyboardist play is something in and of itself. This guy literally goes into epileptic seizures while bashing out synth rifffs and playing the tambourine. He's insane. How he doesn't throw himself off of stage while nearly impaling himself is beyond me. The rest of the band kind of stands out of his way by marching around him and playing off of each others guitars. They droned and pounded their way through their set and definitely brought the dance with them. Songs like, "Nature of the Experiment," "Be Good," and "Citizens of Tomorrow" were instant anthems and TPC had the packed crowd eating out of their hands getting them to clap, dance, and yell along. For a group of kids so young these guys knew just how to get the crowd into them and they did that with reckless abandon. They kept the energy level going and left the crowd wanting more droney, technical, post everything pop. What will these guys sound like in two years? Who knows but I would imagine they'll have conquered the world by then and we'll all be better off as a result.

By the time Cold War Kids walked on stage and just started noodling around, the crowd was in a feeding frenzy. The second they opened with, "We Used To Vacation," Cafe 11 exploded. The place went nuts. In fact, the crowd was singing every word with the band and the energy level as a result was insane. For a band that seems so laid back this was an earth shattering night. Laying grooves down like a B52 on a bombing run, Cold War Kids just plowed through the crowd and levelled everything in their path. From his piano bench, singer Nathan Willett spit out directives and lyrics like a psychopathic speech writer and the crowd sang back at him egging him on. He was only to happy to respond with even more verbal motivation and missives. "Hang Me Up To Dry," was unreal with the band totally feeding the crowd grooves and riffs that would only do them harm. Then there was the audience participation part of the show, "St. John," saw the guys from Delta Spirit join the Kids on stage and with literally 8mm of space left on stage, the two bands bashed out this song like a team of construction workers with a chip on their soldiers. They were demolishing everything that made noise as the crowd screamed each word to the song. This rocked like nothing else could rock. It was amazing, the song of the show. The two bands absolutely destroyed this song in the best way possible. A religious experice to say the least. The Cold War Kids simply slaughtered every song with a vivacity so rarely seen now days. They used nearly every inch of stage possible, bumping into each other, kicking each other, screaming, banging, rattling, smashing, doing what ever it took to get the message across. And it got across with a precision that laid waste to the crowd and we loved it. These guys are the real deal.

There is hope for rock n' roll. My belief in the power of music was reaffirmed Thursday. These three bands showed that rock isn't dead, in fact, it's pulse is as strong as ever. This was an event. The Delta Spirit, Tokyo Police Club, and Cold War Kids could teach a few things to a few bands. They all know how to rock, they know how to feed off of a crowd, and they know what the heck they are doing up there...having fun. An amazing show. Probably one of the best of the last year.