Wednesday night April 17 was another great night for live music in Seattle. The Neptune Theater hosted New Jersey’s own Gaslight Anthem. Fresh off a Coachella performance, Gaslight Anthem are a little bit Springsteen, a little bit Clash and enough of their own unique sound to make them, well, unique. Vocalist Brian Fallon sounds like he has a throat coated with sandpaper, belying his boyish looks and charm.
The minute this band hit the stage everyone in the house was singing along with all their songs word for word. I’ve never seen such adoration for a band and I’ve been to a lot of shows. Fallon even joked about this between songs stating whatever he said he’d get a reaction. He was right. He even mocked a heckler, telling him “no one paid to come hear you.” This brought the house down.
Their twangy guitar licks and locomotive speed songs ignited so much pogoing in the crowd that I was surprised the floor hadn’t caved in. I was also surprised I still had all my ribs after being crushed against the front of the stage practically non stop.
Their one and a half-hour set included a long encore. Gaslight Anthem are, Brian Fallon (lead vocals, guitar), Alex Rosamilia (guitar, backing vocals), Alex Levine (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Benny Horowitz (drums, percussion). They’re a relatively young band, having just formed in 2006 but already they’ve developed a large and loyal following and can work an audience like pros. Gaslight Anthem is also a pretty band. For being under a decade old, they put on as good a show as any band who’s been around two or thee times as long. This is probably the last time they’ll play such a small venue. The place was packed like proverbial sardines. I’m sorry I’ve not had the chance to see them live before, but I’m glad I had the opportunity last night. My only complaint was that they didn’t perform their tribute to Joe Strummer, I’da Called You Woody, Joe. Other than that, a fine show was had and I’d see them again in a heartbeat.
The show was opened by Nova Scotia’s Matt Mays and Kenny Fletcher who compiled a five piece band. This solid band played hard driving guitar laden music that flowed like a well lubed locomotive. There wasn’t a whole lot of audience interaction from them, but their music stood on it’s own merit. They were very well received judging by the well-deserved cheers and applause they received after their set. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes open for their return.
