Good Old War illuminates Union Transfer for a homecoming show

Good Old War | Photo by Cameron Pollack | cameronpollackphotography.com

I adore Philadelphia and I adore its music, and so when I got the opportunity to come home at the end of a far-too-long semester and watch Good Old War come home and play for crowd of loving hometown fans, I didn’t hesitate to snatch it.

Batting first before Good Old War at Union Transfer on Friday night was 16-year-old songwriter and 2015 The Voice winner Sawyer Fredericks, whose sound, provided he continues to find success, will undoubtedly occupy the George Ezra/Ed Sheeran/Vance Joy/James Bay/Insert-Other-Slightly-Edgy-But-Also-Dorky-White-Male-Songwriter-Here canon. For someone as young as he is, he seems to have plenty of real life/real love experience, as his set bore myriad references to love lost and shattered hearts. While his vocal type and timbre echo a much lower (and much less prog-rock) Cedric Bixler- Zavala or an American Ben Howard, his talents onstage lie in a similar vein to Ed Sheeran’s; his ability to command a crowd, incite more than a few high-pitched screams, and put forth a harmonically full sound using solely his voice and his guitar was more than a little bit impressive. He even drew a large crowd, around half the venue’s capacity, albeit possibly from his Voice-related fame. If the gold mine that the songwriters before him have hit hasn’t run dry, we’ll be seeing much more of Sawyer Fredericks in the future. Good Old War even complemented him during their set; they said of him “It takes a lot of balls to get up in front of people in general, but in Philadelphia it takes a LOT of balls.”

After a brief set change, Good Old War finally took the stage at 10 p.m. sharp. The lighting design, especially holiday spirit, with twinkle lights even wrapped around Dan and Keith’s mic stands, illuminated brilliantly, bringing light to the venue- this was most welcome after two hours with the trademark slightly-too-dim Union Transfer lighting. The hall had filled up, and I was extremely thankful- though I’ve seen these guys lay down an amazing set without a loving crowd in front of them, watching the crowd throw Keith and Dan’s choruses back at them was nothing short of enjoyable. The sound of the set itself was akin to listening to a studio recording, just with an additional chorus of voices in the background. “Tell Me What You Want From Me” and other cuts from their latest record “Broken Into Better Shape” sounded nearly like direct copies of the album; not necessarily a bad thing, considering their catchiness and inherent danceability.

“That’s Some Dream” proved to be the highlight of the set for me; I have a deep-seeded affection for that song, given my disposition as a wired college student all-too-prone to panic, and seeing it live, with myriad twinkle lights in the background and myriad voices echoing the chorus was a whole new level of cathartic. Visually, Good Old War was as pleasing as ever, with Dan especially being extremely present on stage, often playing an electric guitar he had mounted on a stand near his mic. Confetti was also used in abundance, so much in fact that it still littered the floor and fell from the ceiling during Foals’ show the next day. Good Old War is no stranger to Philly, and certainly not to XPN lovers, but if you haven’t gone and checked out a show, do it. You won’t be disappointed, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be leaving with one hell of a grin on your face.

Photos / setlist below!

Setlist
Tell Me What You Want From Me
Looking for Shelter
Woody’s Hood Boogie Woogie
Small World
That’s Some Dream
Weak Man
I Should Go/Thinking of You
Calling Me Names
Fly Away
Window
Amazing Eyes
My Own Sinking Ship
Better Weather
Coney Island
Loud Love
Over and Over
Not Quite Happiness
Stay By My Side