Sounds Good: War on Drugs @ Granada, Seinfeld @ Midland, Big Gigantic @ Crossroads KC

Saturday, October 11th

Photo by Dusdin Condren

The War on Drugs at the Granada in Lawrence

This Philadelphia band has put out a couple of damn good albums over the last few years.  2011’s Slave Ambient was a lush take on droney, psychadelic rock.  Their 2014 release, Lost in the Dream, still has that hypnotic element to it, but it also reminds me a little bit of Arcade Fire‘s layered anthemic arena rock mixed with the slacker hum of Kurt Vile and the purity of Tom Petty.  Which makes sense, because Vile actually toured and helped record their first album in 2008, and the similarity of their sounds is not difficult to detect.  The band’s been touring with a small horn section in tow, and selling out venues pretty much everywhere they go (including about 10 December Australian dates that sold out ultra quick), so go here now to snag a ticket or two.

Jerry Seinfeld at the Midland in KC

What’s the deal with Jerry Seinfeld?  I mean, he doesn’t swear or anything.  And those teeth!  What’s the deal with those teeth?  I mean, how does he even have time to brush those things?  Sorry, ma, not going to make it to dinner, gotta brush the chompers tonight.  OK…sorry.   Did you happen to catch his recent acceptance speech as an honorary CLIO Award winner?  CLIO is an organization that honors advertising agencies, so naturally Seinfeld opened his diatribe with, “I love advertising because I love lying… I think spending your life trying to dupe innocent people out of hard-won earnings to buy useless, low-quality, misrepresented items and services is an excellent use of your energy.”  Check out the whole thing here, and see if you can tell whether it’s tongue-in-cheek or not.  Kinda hard to say.

So, looking at the website, there are really limited tickets still available for this show, and they range from about $75 – $150.

Big Gigantic at Crossroads KC

This is the last show of the season for Crossroads KC – at least according to their website.  And what better way to close out the outdoor concert season than with this party-on-wheels.  Big Gigantic is one of the handful of Colorado electronic based acts that have been blowing up that scene for a few years, and now transitioning onto the national stage.  The band is basically just two dudes who make enough noise to more than fill up a stage.  Plus, they feature a bunch of live elements, like saxophone for instance, run through a dredge of trippy effects and loops to make for an energetic experience.  Glow sticks recommended.