During the second night of the War On Drugs\u2019 three-show \u201cA Drugcember To Remember\u201d<\/a> run at Johnny Brenda\u2019s on Friday, there were two kinds of special guests. <\/p>\n The first was deeply satisfying, really cool and not entirely unexpected. <\/p>\n It was Craig Finn, the frontman for the Hold Steady whose superb new album, Always Been<\/i>, was produced by Drugs\u2019 leader Adam Granduciel. <\/p>\n Finn does have a track record of showing up announced at Drugcembers past so the second guest was a tad more surprising. <\/p>\n It was a genuine \u201choly [cow]! what just happened!\u201d moment that gobsmacked a crowd which was already pinching itself. Not everyday are you lucky enough to see Philadelphia\u2019s most acclaimed rock band in peak form in a 250-capacity room, many times smaller than the capacious spaces they play in around the world. <\/p>\n It was Joe Walsh. Yes, that <\/i>Joe Walsh, the James Gang founder, solo artist, and guitarist for the Eagles \u2014 the band, not the football team. <\/p>\n He joined the Drugs for a three-song finale that capped off a masterfully executed 2-hour, 15-minute show that benefited the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia<\/a>. <\/p>\n But the night would have qualified to be an unforgettable Drugcember to Remember even without the out-of-the-blue rock star appearance. <\/p>\n The show\u2019s earlier highlights included a roaring cover of Tom Petty\u2019s \u201cLove Is A Long Road\u201d and a goosebump-inducing 17 minute motorik version of \u201cHarmonia\u2019s Dream,\u201d from the band\u2019s 2021 album I Don\u2019t Live Here Anymore<\/i> that spotlighted keyboard player Robbie Bennett.<\/p>\n It leveled up to a higher plane with the arrival of Walsh, the 78-year-old powerhouse slide guitar player who seemed thrilled to be playing with a decades younger vice-tight group of simpatico musicians.<\/p>\n The Walsh-Drugs miniset kicked off with \u201cRocky Mountain Way,\u201d the extra crunchy 1973 hit that turned Walsh into a solo star. He was joined by an arsenal of guitarists onstage including Granduciel, Anthony LaMarca and, at times, newest band member Eliza Hardy Jones, who also played percussion and sang backups throughout the evening. <\/p>\n On \u201cRocky Mountain Way,\u201d which has gotten new life in the past year as a TikTok phenomenon<\/a>, Walsh employed a talk box, using a tube in his mouth to manipulate and distort the sound of his guitar in ways that still sound futuristic, 50 years later. <\/p>\n It also meshed perfectly with the audio geek aesthetic of Granduciel, who is an expert at layering guitar and keyboard sounds to transporting effect. <\/p>\n Before the band leapt into that song, though, Granduciel and Walsh explained to the nonplussed crowd how the seemingly unlikely collaboration came to be. How did Walsh wind up on stage at the Fishtown<\/a> club that has been the Drugs spiritual home since they played there on the venue\u2019s opening weekend in 2006<\/a>?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the story: In 2023, the band played Walsh\u2019s VetsAid concert <\/a>for military veterans in Los Angeles in 2023. <\/p>\n \u201cWe became friends, we stayed in touch,\u201d Granduciel said. \u201cAnd he wanted to come to Drugcember, he wanted to see all you guys. He wanted to breathe the air that we\u2019re breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n During the Drugs\u2019 set at VetsAid, Walsh said, \u201cI was walking around backstage and I listened to \u2018em. And I never heard them live. They make nice records. But boy, this thought: I couldn\u2019t help it. \u2018Damn! I\u2019d sure like to play in a band like that<\/i>.\u2019 Be careful what you f\u2014 wish for!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRocky Mountain Way\u201d was followed by \u201cIn the City,\u201d Walsh\u2019s song written for the 1979 action movie The Warriors<\/i> that he also recorded with the Eagles. His craggy and Jones\u2019 dulcet vocals made for a captivating blend, while the rhythm section of bassist Dave Hartley and drummer Charlie Hall powered the song forward. <\/p>\n As exciting as it was to hear the Drugs back up Walsh on his own hits, it was more compelling still to watch him engage with the band on the closing number of the night, \u201cUnder the Pressure,\u201d from 2014\u2019s Lost In the Dream.<\/i><\/p>\n That song is combustible under normal conditions, but it moved from a simmer to a boil in a flash with Walsh added to the mix. He and Granduceiel were hunched over their guitars on the lip of stage, illuminated by the strings of holiday lights on the mic stands and on the balcony railings above them in the intimate club. <\/p>\n It was like a one-of-a-kind Fishtown version of what Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones call their \u201cguitar weave,\u201d and it was a kick to watch Walsh so enthusiastically just want to be one of the boys in the band. <\/p>\n As mentioned, pre-Walsh, the show was terrific on its own terms. And a special shout out goes to Jon Natchez, the Drugs\u2019 multi-instrumentalist who played keyboards and baritone sax. <\/p>\n The latter instrument\u2019s honking added extra force to typically meticulously arranged songs like the Phil Collins-evoking \u201cI Don\u2019t Wanna Wait,\u201d a highlight of the band\u2019s opening set, which was followed by a 15-minute intermission. <\/p>\n In introducing Natchez, Granduciel mocked his Boston sports fandom. \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t be caught dead in an Eagles jacket,\u201d the band leader said. \u201cI\u2019m out of Boston, too\u201d \u2014 Granduciel grew up in Dover, Mass. \u2014 \u201cbut I bleed green.\u201d<\/p>\n The evening began three hours before it ended with Finn walking on stage with an acoustic guitar and a Natural Light ball cap on his head. He warmed up an attentive crowd with songs and stories, mostly from Always Been<\/i>, his superb song cycle that\u2019s partly set outside Philadelphia and mostly at the Delaware shore<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finn was followed on stage by seven members of the Drugs, who reached back to open with \u201cArms Like Boulders,\u201d from the band\u2019s 2008 debut Wagonwheel Blues. <\/i><\/p>\n \u201cPain,\u201d from 2017\u2019s Grammy-winning A Deeper Understanding,<\/i> outlined the idea of the unending quest that\u2019s an animating concept in Granduciel\u2019s lyrics. \u201cI want to find what can\u2019t be found,\u201d he sang. And later, in \u201cStrangest Thing,\u201d also from Deeper<\/i>, he sang about still not finding resolution: \u201cI\u2019m just living in the space between the beauty and the pain.\u201d <\/p>\n Seven songs in, the Drugs brought Finn back out for a three-song interlude that closed the first set. <\/p>\n Two of those were from Always Been<\/i>, including the engrossing \u201cBethany,\u201d which took off into the stratosphere with a Granduciel solo midway through. Then it lingered with an image in the closing line: \u201cBut the sunset looks like blood from the window of the bus, somewhere between Harrisburg and Bethany.\u201d<\/p>\n The third song in the Drugs-Finn collab on Friday, was \u201cSweetheart Like You,\u201d featuring Finn and Granduciel trading vocals on Bob Dylan\u2019s philosophical barroom come-on. <\/p>\n That was a treat, with Finn being very much himself, gesticulating his way through his verses while Granduciel slipped into his best sneering Dylan voice. It was an exquisite combo, and just one of many indelible moments in an evening that for all concerned will surely be the Drugcember they remember.<\/p>\n The final sold out night of \u201cA Drugcember to Remember\u201d was scheduled for Saturday night at Jonny Brenda\u2019s.<\/a> No special guests have been announced. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n