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Jul 02, 2023 By Lee Campbell Photography by Lee Campbell Web Exclusive

Just two days after their epic set at Glastonbury on Sunday, The War On Drugs made the hop across the Irish Sea to perform at the Trinity College Summer Series on Tuesday evening in Dublin. This show was the finale to their European tour.

The skies threatened rain all night but thankfully they never came. It was an early start with the gorgeous tunes of Beth Orton, who has supported the band throughout Europe. Her compact 45 minute set had a smattering of songs from her latest LP Weather Alive along with one or two oldies such as “Someone’s Daughter”. No “Stolen Car” or “She Cries your Name”, sadly.

The Philadelphia seven-piece alt-rockers opened with “In Chains” from A Deeper Understanding, whereas “Pain” has become one of their staple live songs that never disappoints. They look like a band of brothers and lone sister (Eliza Hardy Jones on the keys & guitar) that are loving life & just have a complete blast on stage together. Fan favourite, drummer Charlie Hall is quite the character. He seems to play half the set with one hand whilst in a trance, standing, staring googly-eyed into the audience. One cigar-smoking fan unfurled a banner saying ‘Go Charlie Go’ at one stage.

It was great to hear “Living Proof”. It’s as close to Springsteen as you’ll get, although there were a couple of notable omissions such as “Thinking of a Place” & “Ocean Between the Waves”. On the energetic “Under the Pressure” it looked as if Granduciel didn’t want the song or the energy to end as he kept extending the outro, much to the delight of his bandmates.

Jon Natchez is to The War on Drugs what Clarence Clemons was to The Boss and his E-Street band, perhaps with not as much razzmatazz, but with no less competence. His solo on “Eyes to the Wind” was lung-bustingly brilliant. The superb “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” used an elongated intro for Granduciel to announce the band. According to Granduciel, bass player Dave Hartley is about to be named as the next head coach of the Orlando Magic, indicative of the horseplay and chemistry on stage between this unit. Guitarist Anthony LaMarca just oozes old school cool as the crowd chanted his name during the intros.

The reflective ‘Occasional Rain’ brought two hours of magic and their tour to a close. You could feel how special it was for them to end it in a city such as Dublin. It is indeed rare to find a band that moves you so profoundly with their music. It is no exaggeration to say that The War on Drugs can be life-changing - a sublime source of refuge and inspiration.