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CUYAHOGA FALLS -- Local audiences are used to seeing Youngstown's Anthony LaMarca at places like Westside Bowl, where he might be performing solo or as The Building or doing DJ sessions with Dean Anshutz as the Peppermint Pals.
On Saturday he was on one of northeast Ohio’s biggest stages, playing Blossom Music Center as part of his "day" job -- OK, it's more of a night job -- as guitar and keyboard player with the Grammy-winning The War on Drugs.
TWOD is on a month-long tour with The National and Lucius. Originally announced as a pavilion-only show, the seating was close to full and several thousand more were spread out on the lawn on a perfect night.
All three acts clearly like each other. Adam Granduciel came out and played guitar on "Old Tape" during Lucius' half-hour opening set and later joined The National for a cover of Echo & the Bunnymen's "Bring on the Dancing Horses." Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius sang backing vocals on "I Don't Live Here Anymore" with TWOD and "Rylan" with The National.
Even though they have different approaches, Drugs and The National mesh well on a concert bill. TWOD is instrumentally driven, and Granduciel's songs provide the foundation for musical exploration live (the band just released its second live album in four years earlier this month).
LaMarca, representing the Mahoning Valley with a Kuzman's Lounge T-shirt, switched between acoustic and electric guitar, added textures to the sound on keyboard and provided backing vocals throughout the 75-minute set. He got a big cheer during the band introductions when Granduciel preceded LaMarca's name with, "From Youngstown, Ohio ..."
"Harmonia's Dream" was an early highlight, and the band did an epic version of "Under the Pressure" that was striking visually (bright white floor lights creating silhouette images on the plain backdrop) and compelling musically.
The National also is filled with talented musicians, but the voice and the lyrics of lead singer Matt Berninger always are at the front of the mix. Granduciel is very much the driving creative force of TWOD, but he's often hunched over his guitar with his back turned to at least a portion of the audience and his face obscured by a mop of hair.
All eyes were on Berninger live, even when he was wandering through the darkened pavilion and barely can be seen, even by the camera.
In a tailored dark suit and plain black T-shirt with a thin gold chain around his neck, Berninger strolled the stage like a college professor who couldn't be contained by a lectern and commanded attention with that warm baritone. He got nose to nose with a fan in the pit, repeatedly singing the line "You should take it" during "Eucalyptus." He would punctuate a lyric with a sweeping gesture, such as collapsing his body as if it could no longer support the massive weight of his words.
There's a constant push-pull between intimacy and grandeur in his performance that is riveting to watch, but it wouldn't work without the skills of Aaron and Bryce Dessner (guitars and keyboards) Scott Devendorf (bass), Bryan Devendorf (drums), Ben Lanz (trombone, synthesizers) and Kyle Resnick (trumpet, keyboards) behind him.
The 20-song set featured tracks from eight of the band's albums with "High Violet," "Trouble Will Find Me" and 2023's "The First Two Pages of Frankenstein" each represented by four songs.