Passing the Hat

If you didn't already loooove Cold War Kids, you'll lick them upon learning the group are now hellbent on safely satiating the people of Malawi. When singer Nathan Willett camped in Yosemite last year, he had no idea he was about to start saving lives. Around the campfire, he met Kurt Dahlin, head of the Manhattan Beach-based Water Wells for Africa, a group that raises money to build and maintain wells in Malawi, where it's estimated only 37 percent of people have access to safe drinking water. All proceeds from the concert, as well as from photographer Matt Wignall's pre-concert exhibit, will help build six or seven wells. Before the show, there will be an auction of Wignall's 6-foot-by-6-foot photos taken during his visit to Malawi, which started out a bit bumpy. "I landed in the only jet in the country on a runway that was as small as a two-lane road, with barefoot runway workers," Wignall says. But that was a blip compared to the beauty of the landscape and people he met, only diminished by their plight. He couldn't not help.
Thu., March 27, 8 p.m., 2008