Is The Gaslight Anthem "Next"

It is always cliché to say someone or something is “the future,” or “the next” this or that when the similarities between a thing of the past and the up and coming present collide. In the 60’s and 70’s, how many “next” Beatles groups were heard about? It is easy for that kind of title, in any situation, to needlessly elevate expectations. That being said, as an up and coming group, having those comparisons placed on you is certainly a compliment. Such is the case with The Gaslight Anthem. The group, hailing from New Jersey, immediately was compared to the one and only Bruce Springsteen, and then gave those comparisons some credibility when they took to the stage with their idle at various music festivals in 2009. The question was, in 2010, would the group be able to break away from those comparisons, however flattering they were. After Tuesday night’s show in Chicago at the House Of Blues, The Gaslight Anthem looks like they’re ready for more than just breaking comparisons.

The band walked out on-stage to a rousing and pumped up audience. The group pounded through their first new single, American Slang, to kick the show off and then blasted through Boxer and The Diamond Church Street choir, both which come from the recently released American Slang album. From there Gaslight went into some older songs including crowd favorite The ’59 Sound, Old White Lincoln, and Miles Davis And The Cool. After the first six songs it was obvious that the band was churning on all cylinders. Each bass not struck precision, crisp drum beats, and spot on guitar playing showed just how good these four can be. It was also obvious after the first six songs that lead singer, Brian Fallon, may have had a tad much to drink before hitting the stage. No matter though, if anything, his lowered inhibitions led to a much more comfortable Brian Fallon on-stage. Gazing out into the audience, there would be points in time where he would almost serenade certain crowd members; some in the front row, some all the way to the back.

After a couple old tunes, the band kicked back into high gear with new American Slang songs such as Orphans, Stay Lucky, and The Queen Of Lower Chelsea. Amid that stretch of songs, the band played their four song EP, “Senor And The Queen,” in its entirety and proceeded to finish their first set with a killer version of Great Expectations. The group’s encore consisted of a Lucero cover featuring Tim Barry, and songs We Came To Dance, The Spirit Of Jazz, We’re Getting A Divorce, You Keep The Diner, Here’s Looking At You Kid, and The Backseat. What an encore it was. The Lucero cover was interesting to say the least, but the guitar work on The Spirit Of Jazz was the best I’ve seen it when watching this band, and while a slow song and albeit an interesting choice for an encore tune, Here’s Looking At You Kid razzled the House Of Blues audience before losing their minds to The Backseat, a song that the band seemingly loves to end their shows with.

All in all, you get the same feeling when watching The Gaslight Anthem live as you do when listening to their newest record. The group has matured. Instead of being that band who is on the cusp of making it, they swagger on-stage as if they already have. Their confidence as performers is through the roof. At one point during the show, a group of guys in the near front row were yelling the patented Bruuuuuuuce chant in the direction of Brian Fallon. As he does with everything else while on-stage, he acknowledged it and just kept on rocking as himself. The band looks to be thankful for their success and ready to work hard to keep it going. And…I hate to do it, but as cliché as it may sound, it is The Gaslight Anthem’s turn. They are next.

Soundgarden at the Vic! And Tickets Are Available!

Soungarden is performing at Lollapalooza but they've just announced a pre-show at the Vic Theater -- Soundgarden at the Vic! -- on Thursday August 5. You can't buy tickets via Ticketmaster or any other ticketing site -- but here's how to get them:



Tickets will only be sold to winners of a drawing, and you must register at Soundgarden's Soundgarden World official band site to be eligible for the drawing. Registration ends at Midnight CDT Thursday July 29. Winners will be selected at random and will receive a unique ticket code the morning of Friday July 30. Using that code the lucky ones will be able to buy tickets (2 tickets per winner) beginning a 2:00 p.m. CDT July 30.

Because of the intimate nature of the Vic there are a bunch of rules, including buyers must be at least 18 years old, all tickets will be paperless, and there's virtually no way to transfer tickets -- so only register if you really intend to go.

To register you can start at www.lollapalooza .com or you can go right to https://www.soundgardenworld.com/user/register.

Smashing Pumpkins Step Up Tonight

Time was when musicians were at the vanguard of "doing the right thing," whether that was supporting the Civil Rights movement, opposing the Vietnam War, or promoting an anti-nuclear future. Sometimes those days seem far away but Billy Corgan's Smashing Pumpkins step up tonight with a benefit performance at Metro to support a musician who just tried to do the right thing.

Last month Matthew Leone, bass player for Madina Lake, stepped in to try to protect a woman who was being beaten by her husband. He managed to separate the two but while waiting for police to arrive the husband, Justin Pivec, allegedly began beating on Leone. Leone suffered severe brain injury, underwent emergency brain surgery, and is currently in stable condition in the hospital awaiting another surgery. Pivec has been charged.

Many musicians don't have health insurance, and Leone had let his lapse two months before the attack. So the Pumpkins (and other Chicago musicians) are doing what they can to help him pay his medical bills.

Tickets for the Metro event are sold out, but Corgan & Company did a nice job trying to raise as much money as possible. Most tickets were raffled off for $10 (for one pair) and fans could buy as many raffle tickets as they wanted. Additional balcony seating sold for $100 a ticket and a special limited sound-check ticket cost $500. No word yet on how much the Pumpkins raised, but here's hoping fans get to see one of the best Pumpkin shows in a long time. (And if you're lucky enough to attend drop us a note to let us know how it good it was.)

All proceeds from the concert will go to the Matthew Leone Fund at Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. Sweet Relief Musicians Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides financial assistance to musicians for a variety of needs. Visit their site at http://www.sweetrelief.org/.

Video Of The Week: Kings Of Leon Minus The Pigeons

The Straight Lines video of the week, comes to us from Kings Of Leon. The group, currently on a summer tour, had some recent performing "issues" this past weekend due to renegade pigeons. However, regardless of how egotistical you may think the band is, they still can deliver on-stage.

This video is from a 2007 performance in Reading, Pennsylvania. The song is called Fans, a track off the group's 2007 album "Because Of The Times."

Let us know what you think. Enjoy!

Time to Map Your Lollapalooza Days

With the 2010 Lollapalooza less than a month away it's time to start figuring out which bands you're going to hear (and miss) and how you're going to survive three potentially drop-dead hot days on the lakefront.

You can start by getting the lay of the land, and Lollapalooza helps with that by making available a color map of the event complete with location of sponsored stages and rest areas (like the 93XRT Lounge) and medical facilities. Veterans of the event will note first off that the park area hosting the event has been expanded significantly, reaching across Columbus Drive almost to Michigan Avenue between Jackson and Balbo.

That means the entrance is moved to just off Michigan Avenue, eliminating that extra-long walk across Columbus Drive that just got you as far as the entrance. By the time you reach that same point this year you'll be well into the festival having passed through Green Street and had an opportunity to hear what's happening on the Sony Bloggie Stage on the north side of the expansion or dance away at Perry's on the south side.

With effective scheduling of stages and bands this expansion, hinted at by Lolla organizers for years, should not only thin the crowds at the one or two choke points on the grounds but also should help reduce sound bleed from one stage to another.

Counting Crows Set For A Tour With A Twist

The Counting Crows are starting their summer tour this week in New Jersey, and while the band has played countless shows across country, this tour has a new twist. They are calling it the Counting Crows Traveling Circus and Medicine Ball tour. What does that mean exactly? It means three bands on the stage at the same time. No opening acts, no side stages, just 18 musicians rocking on stage at once. As Counting Crows lead singer, Adam Duritz puts it, “It’s a blast, you get on the stage with a bunch of people and it’s just organized chaos.” Alternative Addiction is reporting that the Counting Crows are teaming up with Augustana and rapper, Notar, for this unique project. The trio of bands will perform songs from each of their catalogs together on-stage.

Its a new idea and a possible new innovation in the touring world. The Counting Crows Traveling Circus and Medicine Ball tour will roll into the Chicagoland area on August 21st and 24th for two shows at the Ravinia Festival.

Milli Vanilli, Ashlee Simpson...Eminem?

Rumors of lipsynching -- the practice of cheating your live audience of your live vocal so you don't sound as bad as you really are -- have dogged artists for years. Some, such as pop duo Milli Vanilli not only owned up to lipsynching to backing tracks live but also admitted to fabricating their "singing" in the studio -- and it ended their career. Ashlee Simpson suffered the supreme embarrassment of being outed on Saturday Night Live when the track to the song she had just sung started again for her second song -- but she hipped and hopped along with it, got her nose done, and doesn't seem any the worse off. And there's little question that popster TMZ icon Britney Spears needs assistance to get through her live act, though she hasn't confirmed those claims.

But Eminem? Bad boy tough guy street urchin middle-of-the-road rarely edgy rapper darling of his suburban (read white) we wanna be angry too downloaders and ticket buyers is faking it? Rumors have hounded him since he made it big and put a huge stage set behind him, and apparently he didn't do himself any favors at his recent reintroduction to the U.K. concert world at Scotland's T in the Park Festival after a five-year hiatus.

Fans complained of poor miming (seriously, poor miming?) and said at one point he forgot to turn his mic back on after faking it through a song. Here's thinking that if he's going to cheat his fans he could at the very least be good at it. Or he could just sing the damn songs, warts and missed warbles and all. Or, if he really feels the need to take a breather or if he just can't remember all those rappin' and rhymin' and non-rhymin' words (though this doesn't seem to be a problem for Dylan, Jagger, Young, McCartney, Davies and a host of others who have been performing longer than he's been around) at least advertise that some parts of the show will be fake. It might put a dent in his streetwise man of the masses cutting-edge image (and live audience) but for folks to get what they pay for they should know what they're getting.

Video Of The Week: The Gaslight Anthem's American Slang

This week's Straight Lines video of the week comes to us from The Gaslight Anthem. The band released their newest album one month ago, but last week, released a brand new video for the album's first single, American Slang. Check out the video below and let us know what you think. Enjoy!

DMB Set To Rock Wrigley Field

It wasn't the best kept concert secret in the world, but finally it's official. Dave Matthews Band will be playing two shows in Chicago at the historic, though tortured, Wrigley Field.

These two performances will not only end the band's 2010 summer tour, but will conclude the band's touring until 2012. Dave Matthews announced earlier this year that the group will not be touring in 2011.

Tickets for these shows go on-sale on Saturday July 17th at 10am.

6 Reasons Why Rolling Stone is Nuts

"Best of..." or similar types of lists are fun to read and fun to put together. They're also fun to "correct," so here's 6 responses to Rolling Stone's recent list, "State of Rock: 40 Reasons to Get Excited About Music."

1. The Black Eyed Peas the #1 Reason To Be Excited About Music? Seriously? Was that the trade-off for getting the cover interview? Nothing against the Peas -- they're a funky band that's a lot of fun and you can certainly dance to 'em. But Will.i.am doesn't believe in music as art and the article makes that clear: His writing is pure commerce. "...songs aren't discrete works of art but multi-use applications - hit singles, ad jingles, film trailers..." and "he draws no distinction between writing rhymes and business plans." If there aren't better reasons to turn on your radio than the Peas...well, spend some time with real artists' back catalogs and your used record store.

2. The Hip-Hop Arena Show Has Arrived. What's so great about a genre "moving up" to venues so big they require watching on TV, where prices must be higher, and where sound is often less than great? Maybe good for the music industry but nothing to get excited about for fans.

3. Killer Concert Tickets for Less Than $50. OK, that's something worth crowing about -- provided the seats are worth the dough. But in most cases they aren't. Sitting on a lawn or in the third level of the United Center for just about anyone makes for a frustrating evening. True, you are in the show and if being there is all that counts then maybe $50 is worth it. But few bands can connect with those distant seats and fans would be better off upgrading their stereo system. And in most cases these prices are not the fault of the band. Yes, they all want to and should make their money, but in this hyper-competitive environment event promoters are guaranteeing huge paydays upfront to land a band's tour -- then have to price the tickets to recoup the guarantee. And don't buy into this idea that by charging outrageous prices for the best seats more people can afford to see the show. All fans should have an equal opportunity to see and hear their favorite band from the best seats -- it shouldn't be only those with a lot of disposable income that can afford the front row.

4. Cellphone as Jukebox. Hopefully not. There are enough boneheads out there trying to carry on conversations too loudly in all sorts of public places, disrupting everyone around them. About the last thing we need is for those same numbnuts to crank up "Eye of the Tiger." Plus, at least at this point, the fidelity of sound coming out of cellphones is worse than transistor radios of the 1960s.

5. Tribute Bands Are Sometimes Better Than the Real Thing. Really? You'd rather go see The Fab Faux than The Beatles? Badfish over Sublime? People made fun of Elvis impersonators for years but now that it's happening in rock it's cool? Folks in these bands need to get their own life.

6. Pop Divas Because Women Rule the Charts. First of all, Katy Perry, Lada Gaga, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift haven't even been around long enough to be considered "divas." Plus, if Miley Cyrus is a reason we should be excited about music please re-read #1 above.

The Gaslight Anthem Matures Learning American Slang

Who knows what can happen when looking into a rock and roll crystal ball. Things may seem dim, things may be completely blurry, and other things are as clear as day. And at the end of 2009, it couldn’t have been clearer that The Gaslight Anthem was on fire. You can never tell with rock and roll though. One minute a band can be red hot and the next minute, that same band could be playing shows on side stages of small town festivals. That being said, if The Gaslight Anthem breaks through and becomes the band they are yearning to become, everyone will look back on that summer of ’09 as the year that made them. Between performances at Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, and even alongside Bruce Springsteen, it was apparent that the time was now for these four guys from Jersey. With 2009 being as hectic and busy as it was, obviously, it was thought the band would take some time when crafting their follow up record. Not the case. When the group announced that after only three months in the studio they were ready to release their newest stuff, do be honest, I was a little surprised. Did their label put a rush on it? Was the band rushing to maintain top of mind status? Both were questions that I asked myself upon hearing the news and more importantly, when first popping the record into the CD player. Could these guys really put out a worthwhile album with only two months in the studio, after a year on the road? After listening, the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

On "American Slang," the band tweaks their musical style in ways that only a veteran rock group seemingly could. The groups breakout album, "The 59 Sound," was the heavy hitter. The fast guitar riffs, banging drums, and overall speedy pace created reckless sound from a reckless band on the verge of something big. "American Slang" is different. It’s a more mature album from a band that has matured.

Musically, the band still exudes its punkness, just in a different manner. Instead of the fast guitar riffs, the album contains more strategic guitar notes, in a Social Distortion-esque way. Songs like Stay Lucky, Bring It On, and The Queen Of Lower Chelsea highlight this new use of the guitar and though the songs themselves aren’t as fast, they are better than just good. The drumming is toned down as well. Instead of it being the driving force and initiator like it was on previous records, on "American Slang," the drums play almost entirely to compliment what is going on with the guitar.

Lyrically, as expected, lead singer Brian Fallon paints pictures and stories with his words as he and his characters looks to the past as well as to the future. Songs like Old Haunts and We Did It When We Were Young are obvious moments where Fallon checks in on the past. Partner those up with a song like American Slang, a tune about learning from past choices, and Fallon is able to collectively and accurately portray situations where his characters and himself are learning lessons without and output of immediate knowledge and information. “You told me fortunes, in American Slang.”

The best song off the record is an upbeat, punky-blues song, The Diamond Church Street Choir. It has some finger snapping, note to note guitar playing, and overall great beat that is coupled with intuitive lyrics. The most noticeable aspect of the track, however, is Fallon’s vocals. He hits a new range on this song that is unseen on any of the band’s previous records.

On "American Slang," it’s almost as if the band literally and figuratively said, we don’t need to be all loud, all the time. They were already noticed. They already were making noise in the room. As Fallon alluded to many times, instead of making another "'59 Sound," they needed to hone in on what their essence was as a band and prove they could stay in the room. Prove they could stay in the rock and roll limelight and prosper. The group walked out on a limb with "American Slang" and they should be happy that they did. High risk equals high reward. I wouldn’t say that The Gaslight Anthem risked it all with "American Slang," but they certainly risked a lot. However, the reward they received was priceless. They now are major players in the rock and roll game. The band is young, excited, enthusiastic, and have a lot left to say. Let’s hear it fellas, all of it.

Kings Of Leon Breaks Out New Songs On Tour

London's Hyde Park crowd got treated to brand new Kings Of Leon songs at the band's sold out concert last week. According to Billboard and NME, the band performed four new songs that will be on the upcoming Kings Of Leon album. The songs are titled Immortals, Mary, Radioactive, and Southbound. According to the reporting websites, Kings Of Leon will continue to play new songs throughout their entire summer tour. The group will play at Chicago's First Midwest Bank Amphitheater on July 24.

For your enjoyment, we have a preview of one the new songs, Mary, below. Enjoy!

Howlin' and More: Music That Lasts Forever

Some music will be around forever and once a year the Library of Congress makes sure of it. Last week for the ninth year in a row the LOC selected 25 recordings it will preserve in perpetuity. Most of the recordings are music of some type but others are spoken word, such as the Marine Corps Combat Field Recordings of the Second Battle of Guam (1944). Whether or not you're interested in the Guam recording (or a reading of The Little Engine That Could), here are a number of selections that should pique your interest and are well worth your time.





First off is "Smokestack Lightning" by Howlin' Wolf (1956). Providing the undercurrent of modern blues and defining the dirty edge of rock and roll, the Wolf was a scary and otherworldy sound coming over the airwaves in the 1950s. At that time radio was regional so what was happening in Clovis, NM, was isolated and not influenced by what was going on in Nashville, Chicago, L.A. or any other locale. Music and styles developed in a vacuum.

This was even more true where "Black" and "White" music was concerned. Any white kid listening to his (or her) transistor radio tucked under the cover late at night -- when the air was clear and radio waves traveled great distances -- trying to pick up messages from The Great Beyond would be scared to death of what was out there if he managed to bring in Howlin' Wolf. That's hard to understand today, with all music worldwide influencing other music worldwide, but click on Pat Boone's "Love Letters in the Sand" and follow it up with the "Smokestack Lightning" clip and you might get a sense of why Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, and thousands of others fell asleep with the lights on. And don't bother trying to figure out the "story" in Wolf's song; he's just upset.



Next up is "Tutti Frutti" by Little Richard (1955). Richard Penniman was a 22-year-old dishwasher when he recorded this song, giving us the unforgettable phrase, "A-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom." Like many breakthrough recordings, such as Elvis Presley's "That's All Right," this one was an accident. Penniman was in Cosimo Matassa’s New Orleans studio to record his first sides for Specialty Records -- and nothing was happening. He couldn't get loose, there was no rapport with the band, and no one was happy -- until he started screwing around between "serious" efforts at singing. He dug into the patter he relied on to dis his boss (patter the boss didn't know was meant for him) and the result is this rock and roll masterpiece that got everyone from The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix hopping. Like a lot of good rock Penniman's recorded version was "cleaned up," but you get the idea. And to hear how black music was "improved" for white audiences - and what Little Richard and Howlin' Wolf were up against -- check out Pat Boone's version of "Tutti Frutti."



But the LOC didn't only deal with popular music -- they honored jazz as well and they couldn't have picked a more important or inventive group than The Bill Evans Trio, selecting The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings of 1961. This is challenging music that can easily fade into the background -- but don't let it. Evans, pianist of the highest order, lead the trio which included Scott LaFaro on bass and Paul Motian on drums. And while communication among the players was undoubtedly helped by the club atmosphere, this is breakthrough stuff in its own right. Prior to this performance bass and drums were relegated to supporting roles, defining the background and bottom on top of which guitarists, pianists, trumpet players, and even vocalists played the melody.



But Evans took that on and integrated LaFaro and Motian as equal partners in exploring the melodies and intricacies of jazz standards and originals. The result was "must hear" classic records such as Waltz for Debbie and Sunday at the Village Vanguard. The complete recording of the night -- five sets worth -- was eventually released in 2005. The unfortunate thing is these are the only recordings of this risk-taking group as LaFaro was killed in an auto accident just 10 days later.

Other rock honored by the LOC includes Patti Smith's first LP, Horses, and The Band's second LP, The Band -- each well worth your time and effort to get to know.