Gig Review: Gaslight Anthem @ Troxy, London

Gaslight Anthem- Troxy, London 30/3

The Gaslight Anthem, in my opinion, are one of the most talented bands around at the moment. So when I saw that they were touring the UK, I had to take the chance to see them. They didn’t disappoint. In fact they were far better than I imagined they would be.

The venue itself was very impressive. Having never been there before, it was new to me, but I really liked it. Being an old cinema, it gives the building character and its definietely different to any other venue I’ve been to before. It’s got carpet for a start. Mixed with the Gaslight Anthem’s enthusiasm and performance though, it held a fantastic atmosphere.

Before we got to see the New Jersey guys though, we had entertainment from Canadian duo Japandroids with their own brand of upbeat garage rock. The name registered on my subconscious somewhere, but they were an unknown quantity. I was really impressed with them actually. They played with an impressive amount of energy, and made a lot of noise considering it was just the two of them. The drummer in particular was impressive; his hands were a constant blur. They say you have to be mad to be a drummer, but this guy also has serious talent. All in all they were a solid support act, a band that are worth checking out.

The Gaslight Anthem were next, walking out to Motley Crue’s ‘Kickstart My Heart’ and launching straight into ‘Highsome Lonesome’.  To be honest, every song was crowd pleaser, and they played with a real energy that really got the crowd going. There were favourites from their last three albums in particular though that provided the highlights. For example, ‘The ’59 Sound’, ‘Great Expectations’, ‘American Slang’, ‘45’ and ‘Here Comes My Man’ had everyone singing and clapping along.

 

The band were clearly enjoying themselves, and feeding off the fact the crowd were doing exactly the same. They may be known for their Bruce Springsteen-esque sound, but their sound has matured into one that really is their own. They have a real radio friendly sound that is very accessible and very easy to listen. With singer Brian Fallon’s heartfelt vocals over the top, you end up with an energetic set, full of feeling.

There was a real mix of people in the crowd. From your typical middle aged rocker to the student type, there was a real diversity amongst the audience. Everybody though was having a good time. One guy was having a particularly good time when he was invited up on stage from the audience to play guitar, but it transpired he couldn’t play and instead took his shirt off and mooned the audience. The band took it in their stride though, and just continued their set. It shows how much they were enjoying themselves though, and there was a good amount of interaction with the crowd.

They finished with a strong 5 song encore, including one of my personal favourites ‘Here’s Looking At You, Kid’ and finished brilliantly with ‘The Backseat’. Since it was the end of the tour, the bass guitar met the sort of end that Pete Townsend would have been proud, with Alex Levine smashing his guitar in typical rock star fashion.

If anything, this concert made me even more excited to see them again in June, when they open for The Killers at Wembley Stadium. That’s going to be one hell of a show.