The Gaslight Anthem have been one of those bands for over a decade that I’ve wanted to see live, but just haven’t been able to make it work until now. First, if you’ve never seen or heard of this band, it’s probably because their genre is a bit of an odd one that seems to sit in the middle of others, but what really attracted me to them to begin with was my love for pure folk style rock ’n roll, similar to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, just pure American rock with the folky, north eastern style edge to it.
While I think Gaslight Anthem started out a tad heavier and punkier than they are now, live, they certainly understand that most fans that come to see them, or at least in San Francisco, was more of a “punk” type crowd, so playing the heavier, faster songs was definitely a must. But what I enjoyed thoroughly about this set as a whole, was that they mixed in the slower, melodic, more folky songs after playing two faster ones or so, allowing the crowd to breathe and set to breathe a bit.
The setlist, which also ran for almost a full two hours included their biggest singles such as “45”, “Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts”, “Great Expectations”, and of course “The ’59 Sound,” while also including some fan favorites along the way. The full setlist can be found below.
The energy of the band was definitely a little more on the soft side, not a ton of movement or working to get the crowd involved, but still allowed the fairly packed Warfield fans to sing along and keep spirits high as they powered through all 21 songs. I’m not sure what I expected going into the show, but this is a band that musically sounds absolutely amazing, and comes through even better live than on album. Live just has that little bit more stage presence and energy than what we get on album, and singer Brian Fallon really allows his voice to ring through live. I highly recommend seeing them if this is your style of music!
SETLIST:
45
High Lonesome
The Patient Ferris Wheel
The Weatherman
Bring It On
History Books
Wooderson
Get Hurt
Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts
Miles Davis and the Cool
Little Fires
Mulholland Drive
Keepsake
Autumn
1930
Blue Dahlia
Handwritten
Michigan, 1975
Mae
Great Expectations
The ’59 Sound
