Live Review: The War On Drugs, Good Heavens

The War On Drugs

Sydney acid rock outfit Good Heavens opened with a muscular set of songs that felt equal parts bong hit and earnest Sabbath exploration. An airtight rhythm section (courtesy of ex-Wolfmother bandmates Chris Ross and Myles Heskett) supported frontwoman Sarah Kelly (theredsunband) as her seductive, heavyweight blues licks snaked and whipped around the club. It was a brooding, powerful set that clearly owed a bit to Canadian space rockers Black Mountain with its steady, growling organ and hypnotic incantations. Not to drag it down (they did a fine job), but had they completely cut loose and indulged in a good old-fashioned freak-out it would have elevated them. A nice ten minutes of swirling guitar noodling would have suited them really well; the intensity of their sound and their obvious love for their acid-fuelled forefathers hinted at something righteously volatile just below the surface, but they never lost their cool.

Brothers opened a fantastic set for The War On Drugs and Adam Granduciel's meandering, Dylan-esque vocals flowed through it like he was remembering it as he went along. Their trademark sunburnt sound is huge in a live setting, with Granduciel's inspired guitar work folding over itself in layers of warm patterns.

The set was a showcase of their best work, mostly from last year's Slave Ambient. Expansive ballad, Best Night was the clear high-water mark and as it moved into the final long stretch of instrumentation, it just hovered there for ages, building and building into a brilliant conversation between Granduciel's guitar and Robbie Bennett's keyboard.

Waves of swirling guitar and a pulsing rhythm section washed over the full house. The gig was a cathartic experience that mellowed out the crowd, kind of like winding down the windows in a speeding car does on a hot summer day.