Live Review: Cold War Kids, Jesse Davidson

A week on from the tearful departure of the beloved Fringe for another year, social butterflies of Adelaide are still holding on to the dream of a never-ending Mad March, albeit many were late to the Tuesday night party nestled away in the north west corner of the city.

Local lad Jesse Davidson is truly starting to make waves on the Australian music circuit, but a very early start time for "Jesse Davidson and his boiz" left him jovial with the lack of punters in the room, even asking the lighting tech to turn a spotlight on to see if anyone was there. People were, however, and the fans that got down to HQ early in the night witnessed one of Davidson's strongest vocal performances to date. Shoeless and in mis-matched socks on a sleepy Tuesday night, he and the band were loud, powerful and aced each song on their expanding repertoire. Previous stage jitters were a lifetime ago and Davidson is fast becoming one to keep an eye on.

With five critically acclaimed studio albums under their belt, countless shows played on Australian shores and a shelf life and exuberance that never seems to expire, Cold War Kids are still a very long time away from hanging up to dry.

Nearly 18 months after their fifth release Hold My Home, CWK are still touring in support of their record and Adelaide fans were treated to an epic 16-track set that spanned a decade of killer bass riffs and screeching guitar, with Nathan Willett's trademark keyboard mashing snuck in there too.

Hypnotising the room, writhing on stage and literally conducting the crowd with his hands, Willett led the band, which featured shiny new guitarist Dave Quon; replacing Dann Gallucci only weeks ago. The crowd followed suit into a blissful state of grooving and chanting. Few bands can create tracks that seep into your bloodstream, that sound so familiar yet are somehow brand new with every release, yet CWK do exactly that.

When the two loudest songs of the night, First and Hospital Beds, are from records released nearly eight years apart, you know this band has everything perfected to the finest art. One of those genuine, unrelenting encores brought the grand total of tracks up to a whopping 18, with Something Is Not Right With Me and Saint John finishing off the night.

Like big kids living their dream on stage, throwing around tambourines, maracas and even bouncing off each other with swift kicks and pushes to keep the audience riled up, Cold War Kids are anything but amateurs.