The War On Drugs Live
I've been having a very very good week this week, with the latest good thing being what happened last night, involving Albert Hall again and a rather spectacular band named The War on Drugs. I discovered the band around Christmas time as I was browsing Spotify one afternoon and came across their 2014 release 'Lost In The Dream'. I liked it so much that I proceeded to put a couple of the songs on my iPod and then left it at that, but I don't know... life is funny sometimes isn't it, because what do you know, after that day, The War on Drugs just kept popping up in my daily life again and again and again. And with me being one of those purveyors of the magic of fate, I took it to be a good sign, as did I take their impending visit to Manchester's Albert Hall to also be a nod of fate, so I began listening to The War on Drugs more and more. Naturally as I fell more in love with their glorious Sprinsgteen-Dylan- Fleetwood Mac-pyschadelic-rock-country-chill-combo style I knew I seriously needed to look into seeing them live whilst they were in town, but turns out they're a pretty big deal and their Manchester gig had consequently sold out. But like I said, fate is the answer to everything, because again, what should I happen to stand before as I waited for my bus home last Wednesday, but a giant ass poster advertising a second date for The War on Drugs at Albert Hall. So on my bus home I pondered, and then when I got home I pondered some more, and then I decided to throw caution to the wind and just be impulsive and buy the damn tickets. And basically, the moral of that rather long explanation is that buying tickets to see The War on Drugs was THE BEST DECISION EVER (and it didn't even matter that I went on my own!!!!!)
As you probably saw in my previous post about the Kodaline gig I went to, Albert Hall is a rather incredible lil' venue and last night it was even more stunning, if that was even possible (which apparently it is). The War on Drugs stage set-up was pretty simple, just an arrangement of instruments, mics and speakers, but their lighting was blissful to watch, with the rainbow gradients and twinkling strobe lights turning the beautiful white engraved walls and ceiling various shades of pink, red, blue, yellow, and lighting up the band so that it felt we were being serenaded in the middle of summer on a beach, then under the stars, then in an antique European ruin, a stunning concert hall, an underground bar in NYC... The music, the venue, the aesthetics and the atmosphere all intertwined and ignited together to create something truly magical and spectacular; it was a state of pure happiness that I never wanted to be released from.
The people around me and on the balcony were surrendering themselves to the music and just allowing it to surround them and encompass them, and these people were from all walks of life, just dancing, singing, laughing, and I was lucky enough to be right in the middle of it all, doing my fair share of getting 'lost in the dream' too (twas the perfect way to summerise). I don't know if you've heard much of The War on Drugs, but their music is a truly incredible music experience. Sublime, majestic, powerful, transcendent, heavenly, divine... all those adjectives that conjure images and ideas of something larger than life itself, because that's what The War on Drugs encapsulate so perfectly in their music. And seeing the five band members come together in front of my eyes and bring that glorious music to life was like watching wizards conjure a spell or a piece of magic. It filled every nook, surrounded every person, expanded to reach out to every single last soul, and it was a truly stunning experience. The musicianship was insane, with the guitar solos sounding epic, the saxophone and trumpets so soulful, Adam Granduciel's vocals gentle, alive, caressing and yet with a subtle power. The whole experience had my imagination set alight with a continuous filmroll of beautiful, magical imagery, colours, lights, scenes, and if all my gushing isn't enough, to put it simply, I was in a very, very happy place.
People talk about music being something else entirely, like the closest thing to magic we humans have, but it's often too easy to forget that, and it's easily lost in this day and age. But The War on Drugs and their gig last night have completely reignited my hope and faith in music, and reminded me to never forget how magical, powerful and sublime the whole music experience can and should be. They're a remarkably talented band and I can't thank them enough for the experience they gave me and so many others last night, and if you've made it to the end of this post and are wondering just what on earth I'm on about, I strongly urge you to put on your headphones, close your eyes and take a listen to The War on Drugs' back catalogue, because it just might be one of the best things you ever hear.
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