If at some point in the future, artificial intelligence becomes clever enough to create a band that has all the ingredients of a classic American rock band, then surely The War On Drugs would be just that band. Except that that band already exists and were playing a sold-out gig in Brighton after an absence of far too many years for our liking. The band have been performing in Europe for the last couple of weeks, playing the early summer festival circuit before their tour culminates next Sunday at Glastonbury Festival’s Other Stage.
Their musical style, for those who are unfamiliar, is best described as a melting pot of classic Neil Young, crossed with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Singer Adam Granduciel’s vocals do, at times, have a real Dylan sound to them. Granduciel is a virtuoso guitarist and has more effects pedals in front of his feet than we’ve seen in a long while. The rest of the band are largely a supporting cast behind Granduciel, but this is not to demean their contribution to the music in any way – they add so many extra layers to this immersive sonic experience.
Visually, the band remain largely static on stage. Only Granduciel moves around as he lurches back and forth between visits to the pedal board, and at times around the stage as if motivating his band to play that little bit harder. He is a tour de force of a guitarist (and changes guitar pretty much every time between songs), so you cannot help but feel yourself drawn into the music.
The show is mostly made up of songs from their latest album, ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’, alongside some favourites from their breakout record ‘Lost In Dream’. Chat is kept to a minimum, mostly just polite thanks in breaks between songs, though Granduciel does reminisce over his last visit to Brighton in 2014 at Concorde 2, where electrical problems with the band’s gear meant the audience were all offered a free drink to compensate for the problem. Fortunately, there are no technical gremlins tonight and the sound is crystal clear. Granduciel asks keyboard player Robbie Bennett about his newly purchased jacket that was bought earlier in the afternoon on a shopping trip to The Lanes. They clearly love playing Brighton, but then what band doesn’t?
The set goes by in a flash and the final two songs ‘Under The Pressure’, and ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’, both sound magnificent; the former is turned into an epic full-on extended rock out with amazing lighting to match the song’s epic intensity. What a way to end a pulsating evening of music.
Tonight’s support act was Beth Orton; the Norfolk-born musician, a strange act to play second fiddle. In many ways her folktronica music is a million miles away from The War On Drugs’ big rock sound but went down well with the packed Brighton Centre crowd. She seemed rather nervous at the start of the set but grew in confidence as the crowd responded to her songs, mostly taken from her recent album ‘Weather Alive’. She finished her short, seven-song set with an acoustic version of ‘Stolen Car’, her big hit from 1999. The rest of the band left the stage, leaving just Orton playing acoustic guitar, her fragile voice gave a new dimension to the song, this was the highlight of her all too brief set.
Brighton Centre, Saturday 17th June 2023
Words by Richard Warren
Photos by Sarah Brownlow (Instagram Sarah_Brownlow)
