Portland, Oregon was just stop number two on the Cold War Kids’ 20th Anniversary Tour with lead singer Nathan Willett admitting early in the show that they were “pretty sure it close to 20 years,” but the math might be a little fuzzy. Plus or minus a few years, the crowd didn’t care and was happy to rock along to the tunes all night, with the band starting things off with Who’s Gonna Love Me Now from 2020’s New Age Norms 2 album. 

Bassist and band co-founder Matt Maust brought the energy up early by being all over the stage, often leaning himself and his guitar out over the photo pit, much to the delight of the many young fans up front at the all-ages show. The opening, frenetic notes of Miracle Mile got the entire room clapping and bouncing around, with Willett shaking a maraca and encouraging the crowd to help amplify drummer Joe Plummer’s beat.

Keyboardist Matthew Schwartz and guitarist David Quon drove the band’s signature sound while ripping through big tracks like Hang Me Up To Try, Mexican Dogs, and We Used To Vacation from the early records. The middle of the show featured a run of songs from the band’s latest, self-titled album where Double Life, Run Away With Me, and Blame were stacked together before the crowd favorite Hospital Bedsclosed out the main set. After a short break the band came back for a quick encore composed of All This Could Be Yours and Something Is Not Right With Me.

So we’ve had 20—great—years of music from the Cold War Kids so far. We’re rooting for another 20.