Gaslight Anthem at the House of Blues
J.V. Siegel
Issue date: 7/29/10 Section: Entertainment
The view from the second floor of the House of Blues would not do. There were four deep at the railing and the bar, while the few feet above and behind it were packed as well. The only solution would be to sneak downstairs and join the masses.
The sold-out crowd provided excellent cover for a few escapee's who just wanted to see the band they had paid to see.
Missing opener Tim Barry was a poor choice, but catching other opener Chamberlain was the real poor choice. The band oozed late-1990's, and would absolutely be most comfortable playing an American Pie-esque house party of the same time.
The sounds of Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind," did not sound right at all as the members of Gaslight Anthem took the stage Tuesday night at the Chicago House of Blues.
In the shadow of a twenty-foot high banner featuring a skull that looked to be designed by "Sailor Jerry" Collins, the New Jersey quartet took the stage to the odd hip-hop smash hit. Just as the song went into the chorus, the band unleashed a flurry of noise, cut the song, and immediately started into "American Slang," off their latest album "American Slang."
In front of the stage, there was a group that threatened to mosh with every opening to each song. They settled for "pogo-ing." Or: jumping as high as one can possibly can. While this section chose to push the rules (no raucous behavior), the rest of the audience settled for simply bobbing their heads to the beat
The "guys from Jersey" took the stage in support of their most recent album entitled "American Slang." While the album has drawn confusion from its fans for not being a true sequel to "The '59 Sound," the simple enthusiasm of the performance put notions of angst aside, and everyone united under the guise of nostalgia for a few hours.
Singer/guitarist Brian Fallon crooned about the old days; his voice sounding as if it had been left out on a hot, humid roof in Jersey, only to exclaim "Don't sing me the songs about the good times/ Those days are gone and you should just let them go."
The sold-out crowd provided excellent cover for a few escapee's who just wanted to see the band they had paid to see.
Missing opener Tim Barry was a poor choice, but catching other opener Chamberlain was the real poor choice. The band oozed late-1990's, and would absolutely be most comfortable playing an American Pie-esque house party of the same time.
The sounds of Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind," did not sound right at all as the members of Gaslight Anthem took the stage Tuesday night at the Chicago House of Blues.
In the shadow of a twenty-foot high banner featuring a skull that looked to be designed by "Sailor Jerry" Collins, the New Jersey quartet took the stage to the odd hip-hop smash hit. Just as the song went into the chorus, the band unleashed a flurry of noise, cut the song, and immediately started into "American Slang," off their latest album "American Slang."
In front of the stage, there was a group that threatened to mosh with every opening to each song. They settled for "pogo-ing." Or: jumping as high as one can possibly can. While this section chose to push the rules (no raucous behavior), the rest of the audience settled for simply bobbing their heads to the beat
The "guys from Jersey" took the stage in support of their most recent album entitled "American Slang." While the album has drawn confusion from its fans for not being a true sequel to "The '59 Sound," the simple enthusiasm of the performance put notions of angst aside, and everyone united under the guise of nostalgia for a few hours.
Singer/guitarist Brian Fallon crooned about the old days; his voice sounding as if it had been left out on a hot, humid roof in Jersey, only to exclaim "Don't sing me the songs about the good times/ Those days are gone and you should just let them go."
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Chris Osterndorf
Chris Osterndorf
posted 8/06/10 @ 1:51 PM CST
Thanks for the great review. I love Gaslight, and having been a huge Springsteen fan for awhile now, I feel like they're the band I have been waiting for. (Continued…)
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