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| photo by mishel "meow" orloff |
Did You Hear Your Favorite Song One Last Time?
To say I was excited would be an understatement. The
Gaslight Anthem show had finally arrived! And I made sure to maintain
throughout Earth Day festivities so I would be as clear as day and able to
fully absorb the ’59 sound.
The Gaslight Anthem is rock band from Jersey whose members
include Brian Fallon (vocals), Alex Rosamilia (Guitar), Alex Levine (bass), and
Benny Horowitz (drums).
A relatively young band, Gaslight formed in 2006 and has four albums under their belt. Their earlier albums were more punk in nature, and as they matured, their music has mellowed. Some would say they are a post hardcore punk band, but they have evolved over time to be just a great American rock band. Hailing from the same state as The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, they bring a similar raw guttural rock sound, just to faster beats. Their latest release, Handwritten, has been the most accepted in the mainstream to date.
The vibe at the Majestic Ventura Theater that night was warm and
friendly; there definitely was a cheerful buzz in the air.
Walking in, my group
was instantly scooped up and whizzed away to VIP. Benefit of knowing some
people who know some people. We were placed next to the godparents of Alex
Levine and made instant friends. In this special space, away from the riotous
crowd, we were free to get our dance on and sing every song as loud as we
possibly could. The
godparents eventually asked us to go back stage with them, but my friend just
“meowed” at them & ran away. D’oh! Sometimes it doesn’t pay to have weird
friends.
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| photo by mishel "meow" orloff |
Meow-gate aside, the set was 17 songs long, with 6 (six!)
encores. That’s a wonderfully long set. It was a combination of their last three
albums, heavy on the new stuff, with a cover of Tom Petty’s Refugee. I was a
bit bummed they didn’t play anything off Sink
or Swim, their first and my favorite album. But not too bummed. They mixed
it up good. And apparently I dance more with my left shoulder than my right
(sounds odd, but looks good!), because I definitely felt it the next day.
They ended (2nd to last actually) with my most favorite song, “Here’s Looking at You Kid.” I’m pretty sure you could barely hear Brian over the crowd & myself. And if this were to be my very last Gaslight Anthem show, at least I heard my favorite song one last time.
They ended (2nd to last actually) with my most favorite song, “Here’s Looking at You Kid.” I’m pretty sure you could barely hear Brian over the crowd & myself. And if this were to be my very last Gaslight Anthem show, at least I heard my favorite song one last time.
Set List:
• Howl
• The '59
Sound
•
Handwritten
• Even
Cowgirls Get the Blues
• Old White
Lincoln
• 45
• Biloxi
Parish
• Señor and
the Queen
• The Queen
of Lower Chelsea
• Film Noir
• Old
Haunts
• Blue
Dahlia
• Refugee
(Tom Petty cover)
• Too Much
Blood
• Blue
Jeans & White T-Shirts
• Great
Expectations
• Keepsake
Encore:
• She Loves
You
•
Mulholland Drive
• Desire
• Mae
• Here's
Looking at You, Kid
• The
Backseat