Instead, fans remained mostly relaxed, going only so far as to pump their fists along with songs, or dance around a little. Oddly, though, unlike with most Gaslight Anthem shows from the past, this one included no notable mosh pits. From the album's kickoff with " Great Expectations," a song that references Charles Dickens, to " The Backseat," a bittersweet take on the fade of summer and youth, Fallon could hardly be heard over the crowd. On Wednesday, few songs got as big a reaction from the crowd as tracks from the album, which Gaslight played through in full, in order. The band returned in January with an announcement about their tour for The '59 Sound. Ten years later, fans' love for the album hasn't faded - in fact, the band's absence has only fueled that nostalgia after a years-long indefinite hiatus that began in 2015. Heavily nostalgic, the release feels like a modern classic, thanks to tape echo effects on Fallon's vocals, vintage equipment, and lyrical and musical references to an era long-since passed in America. The '59 Sound, however, became Gaslight's seminal album. Heavy with references to rock heroes like Joe Strummer, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan, the band's 2007 debut, Sink or Swim - a delightfully rough-around-the-edges release grounded solidly in punk rock- put them on the map for modern punk fans that year. Launched by vocalist/guitarist Brian Fallon, lead guitarist Alex Rosamilia, drummer Benny Horowitz, and bassist Alex Levine, The Gaslight Anthem came out of New Brunswick, New Jersey in 2006 with a chip on their shoulder. ![]() While the guys in the band may be older, the music itself is as tight and sentimental as ever - and the fans love it just as much, even if they're older, too. New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem fall into that category, as Wednesday's tenth anniversary show of the band's sophomore album, The '59 Sound, proved. But, if we're lucky, a few things we love stay the same for us, no matter how many times we keep coming back to them. From social attitudes to laws and leaders, almost everything evolves. Any song could've been a single, and at this point in their career, seeing that album played in full feels like seeing a greatest hits set.As 2018 has proven over and over again, change is one of the few constants in life. Seeing the band rip through these songs, and seeing the crowd reaction to every single one of them, was a real reminder of how flawless The '59 Sound is. That gave the rowdy crowd a break too, especially when they got to the Get Hurt ballad "Underneath the Ground." But after that song, Brian mimicked flipping a record over, said it was time for side B, and the band came roaring back in with "The Patient Ferris Wheel," keeping things on a high until the album's end. ![]() After they got to the end of side A of The '59 Sound, they took a break from the album to do a few other songs (including "Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?" from the EP that came out a few months before The '59 Sound). They weren't rusty, they didn't seem bummed out on doing the nostalgia thing - they just tore through song after song with all the energy you'd hope for. (One thing that seemed clear last night is that these guys don't take their fame for granted.)Īs good as a handful of other Gaslight Anthem albums are, The '59 Sound really was the one where they were firing on all cylinders, where every little thing fell into place perfectly, and the band made it feel just like the old days when they played it last night. Everyone was just as loud as just as enthusiastic as when the band was actually playing, and even the members of The Gaslight Anthem looked impressed. ![]() ![]() There was a moment in "Old White Lincoln" where the band was about to play the last chorus but then stopped and let the crowd sing it on their own. A bunch of people from the back of the room pushed forward, a huge pit broke out (and didn't stop until Gaslight got to the slower "Film Noir"), and I'm pretty sure every single person was screaming every word. They had a good chunk of fans singing to the first few songs, but once '59 Sound opener "Great Expectations" came in, the vibe in the room completely changed. Before they got to the album, they opened with a few other songs from throughout their career (including "Boomboxes and Dictionaries" from their debut, for which they brought out Laurie Vincent of Slaves to play fourth guitar), and hearing those songs first made it even more clear how beloved The '59 Sound really is. This tour is doubly exciting because not only are The Gaslight Anthem back, they're playing their most loved album The '59 Sound start to finish.
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