Finally…a rock band. It seems one can get lost in 2010 trying to see a first-class, straight-ahead rock show, but if The Gaslight Anthem is coming your way, you have outlet to satisfy your rock cravings. The New Jersey lineup featuring three guitars and a drummer came to Kansas City, Mo on the night of July 17, to play the majestic Midland Theater. With its driving sound and yearning lyrics, the band played up the fact that everyone was out on a Saturday night having a good time—and the audience seemed to hold the attitude that a good time was being had on a Saturday night.
As the minutes ticked ever closer to show time, the huge Gaslight Anthem flag featuring a skull and crossbones was lowered down from the rafters, covering the entire airspace to the back of the stage. Finally the lights went down and on the loudspeakers came—what?!—Jay-Z and Alicia Keys doing “Empire State of Mind.” An engineering snafu maybe, but a few seconds later the band took the stage and immediately launched into the titular track from this year’s release, American Slang. To follow was an over 20-song set-list that showed Brian Fallon’s exuberance for his craft and the band’s ability to back him up and drive home a good-time sentiment.
Moving into “Old White Lincoln” from the much-revered The ’59 Sound, Fallon showed his fiery energy for the material and the crowd was having a hard time keeping up with the liveliness of the performance. Taking it back to earlier Sink or Swim days, “We Came to Dance” was up next, only to bounce back to 2010 with the rolling sound of “The Diamond Church Street Choir” (perfect for the snapping fingers of the crowd on the beat) and “Boxer”.
After the breathless opening of the first few songs, Fallon greeted the Midland crowd for the first time on the evening. Up next he said was a, “song you ask the girls to dance to” and out came “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” from ‘59. Behind “Bring It On” from this year’s release, Fallon brought out an honesty rarely seen in today’s acts, pausing to talk about the magnificence of the venue and the crowd support that allows Gaslight to ply their trade for a living. The band displays no gimmicks in their performance, simply playing with energy and feeling you don’t catch too often, and is surely infectious.
Right in the heart of the set came the well-timed The ’59 Sound and it was toward the latter part of the evening when Fallon highlighted the point that The Gaslight Anthem likes to mix up their set-lists in the sense of both song selection and order. The bouncing back and forth between old and new kept the audience on their toes, and the remainder of the set stayed with this strategy, as evidenced by going with selections such as “Stay Lucky” (American Slang), “Angry Johnny and the Radio” (Sink or Swim), “Blue Jeans and White T-Shirts” (Senor and the Queen) and wrapping up the pre-encore list with the furious pace of “Great Expectations” (The ’59 Sound).
When the band left the stage, it wasn’t long for the soccer-style chants of “Ole…ole, ole, ole” to begin emanating from the crowd. The throngs in the Midland wanted more, and the band was quick to oblige, rattling off a triumphant six-song encore that was a fitting denouement to the show. Selections came from several albums and included “Film Noir”, “The Spirit of Jazz” and a vigorous cover of Pearl Jam’s “State of Love and Trust”. The last choice of the evening was also the last track on their most popular album, “The Backseat” from The ’59 Sound. Straight-ahead rock…three guitars, one set of drums, no gimmicks. Perfect for a Saturday night, perfect for those yearning for a sound that seems ever harder to find in 2010.
