Gaslight Anthem @ Cafe Metropolis, Wilkes-Barre PA – 9.18.08

Gaslight Anthem have been making some noise since their debut album ‘Sink or Swim.’ Now they have been attracting even more fans with their hot new release ‘The 59 Sound’ off Side One Dummy. I became a fan of the band with their EP release of ‘Senor and the Queen’ and I hadn’t seen them live until this show. I’ve heard great things about their live show and they certainly didn’t disappoint. If you like their new album, you have to make an effort to go out and see these guys perform!

Gaslight Anthem started off with the excellent “Great Expectations” and I just had to sing along with the band & the rest of the crowd. The band played many songs from their hit album “The 59 Sound” and I was glad they played many songs off of it. There might have been 1 or 2 songs they didn’t do from that album but from the most part, that album was heavy represented. I loved hearing “Old White Lincoln,” “The 59 Sound,” “Miles Davis and The Cool” and “The Patient Ferris Wheel.” Their first album and their EP were also represented as well. The one song I loved hearing was “Blue Jeans And White T-Shirts,” which was the song that got me hooked on the band. I was really impressed with Brian Fallon’s singing and his stage presence. He sounds exactly how he sounds on the band’s albums, and that’s a good thing in my mind. The rest of the band is great as well, and add the nice “whoas” and “ohs” in the background. After their hour set, they came back to play 3 or 4 more songs. They played “Here’s Looking at You Kid,” which sounded excellent live. Gaslight Anthem finished off with a few from their older albums.

Gaslight Anthem’s shows reminds me of Against Me’s show because the entire crowd is singing along to every word. Even if you don’t know all the words, people still sing along and it’s a fun time. At one point, someone stage dived and then knocked into one of the lights in the club. Brian told the crowd to not wreck this club because then places like this will close down. He has a point, but the ceiling is pretty low at Cafe Metropolis. For right now, the band seems like they will be just be fine playing smaller clubs like this. But I have a feeling they will get a lot bigger, which will result in them playing bigger clubs. I’m fine with that as long as they don’t change the sound they currently have because these guys are the best thing I’ve heard in a long ass time.

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Tags: american steel, cafe metropolis, Concert Photography, gaslight anthem, new brunswick, pa, Photography, polar bear club, the menzingers, wilkes-barre