Seraphina Lotkhamnga on October 6th, 2014

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The War On Drugs returned to Los Angeles on Thursday for another sold-out show at the Fonda Theatre in support of their latest album “Lost in the Dream,” which is out now via Secretly Canadian. (The played the Glass House in Pomona on Wednesday and also performed a sold-out show on Friday.) With Cass McCombs opening, it was a stacked night of talent and the full house was not shy in showing their excitement for Adam Granduciel and company to take the stage again.

• ||| Photos by David Benjamin

The War on Drugs returned the warmth in kind. Bouncing around in their three-album, two-EP catalog, Granduciel and the band opened with “An Ocean in Between the Waves” off the new album before going back to to “Baby Missiles” from their
2011 breakout “Slave Ambient.” The song was first of many when Granduciel would show his harmonica chops, and fans reacted as if it were Bob Dylan on stage. Indeed, Granduciel’s neo-psychedelia and Americana conjured up the likes of Dylan, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.

“What’s up, friends?” asked Granduciel before he went into older tune “Comin’ Through” (off their “Future Weather” EP), a track that showcased his gifts during a shredding guitar solo. As strobe lights traveled horizontally and fans clapped along, the War on Drugs performed “Under the Pressure” before digging deeper into their catalog with songs like “Arms Like Boulders” and “Buenos Aires Beach” from their debut “Wagonwheel Blues” in 2008.

In the midst of extended long jam versions of songs like ‘Burning” an “Suffering,” Granduciel took another moment to share, “It’s great to back! It’s also my dad’s birthday and his first time in California.” With cheers reciprocating the band’s return to the City of Angels, the War On Drugs had no choice to perform an encore.

The War on Drugs shows may be lengthy (at least two hours every time), but every minute is well-spent soaking in the energy of Granduciel and songs like “Lost In the Dream” as one of their final songs.