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.