Concert review: The War on Drugs at Rabbit Rabbit

It’s hard to pinpoint which was thicker: the summer air or the crowd gathered at Rabbit Rabbit on June 15 to welcome The War on Drugs back to Asheville, a city that guitarist/vocalist Adam Granduciel referred to as the band’s “second home.” 

Asheville marked the final stop of the Philadelphia-based rockers’ tour, and while the ensemble may not be local, their love of the city was a theme of the night. Granduciel went so as to note that “Whenever we need inspiration, we come to Asheville…when we need to write a record, we record it right over there at Echo Mountain [Recording].” Both 2011’s Slave Ambient and 2014’s Lost in the Dream were partially tracked at the revered studio, and with bassist Dave Hartley currently residing in Asheville, the band is now even further rooted in the city.

The six-piece opened its set with “Old Skin,” a ballad that builds to rock anthem status, from their most recent album, 2021’s I Don’t Live Here Anymore, before launching into  “Pain” from A Deeper Understanding (2017). Between songs, Granduciel joked that he saw not one, but two “drug rug” stores around town earlier that day, a phrase commonly used to refer to a type of jacket associated with free-spirit types — the likes of which Granduciel said make him feel right at home. 

Following “An Ocean in Between the Waves,” Granduciel reminisced on the band’s first time coming to Asheville back in 2009 to play the inaugural Transfigurations, the festival put on by Harvest Records to celebrate its then 5-year anniversary. (The West Asheville shop has kept the tradition going in 2014 and 2019.) Granduciel dedicated the next song, “I Don’t Wanna Wait,” to Harvest owners Matt Schnable and Mark Capon. 

Midway through the show, Granduciel pointed out a beautiful rainbow striking across the still light sky before seemingly endorsing Asheville mayoral candidate Kim Roney, whom the band befriended on its first trip to Asheville. As the sky darkened and the night cooled, the crowd’s mix of fraternity members, families, and festival followers never lost steam — and The War on Drugs reciprocated the energy. For its almost-final song, “Occasional Rain,” the band brought up members of the tour’s opening act, Lo Moon, for support, then rounded out the night with a powerful encore of “Eyes to the Wind,” capping off 2.5 hours of playing as if they were ready for another set. 

(Photos by Jonny Leather)