Review: The Gaslight Anthem @ Manchester Academy

Date: June 24th 2010

Reviewed by: Abbas Ali

New Jersey's blue collar heroes The Gaslight Anthem returned with album number three American Slang earlier this month, and the promise that, having worn their influences on their sleeves, they are now master of them. But is that really the case?

Lead singer and songwriter Brian Fallon is something of a punk pin-up boy. With his tattoo “sleeves”, and earnest tales of working class America, he's the kind of man you want to believe in. He’s clearly studied the greats, as the music and lyrics are littered with references to them - in particular The Clash and local hero, Bruce Springsteen, who grew up not far from their own native New Brunswick. 

Indeed, it was the Boss’s patronage last year that saw them reach a new audience, as he joined them onstage at Glastonbury - and they returned the favour at Hard Rock Calling, and other dates on his UK tour. In April, Rolling Stone named Fallon no 28 in a list of 40 reasons to get excited about music – facts such as these can only place even greater expectations on the emerging band.

Bravely choosing to hit the stage with lead single from the new album, American Slang, they do appear to convince. By mixing in the odd song, such as ‘Old White Lincoln’, from their classic much loved second album, like a proverbial spoonful of sugar with medicine, they do as good a job as they can of selling their new material to a clearly enamoured audience. Indeed, with several lookalikes in the audience intent on copying the band, it’s clear they want to be impressed by the new material.

But it’s when Fallon stops to address the crowd for the first time, after five songs, telling them, “we’ve got some new songs and we’ve got some old songs”, and ‘The 59 Sound’ sets the atmosphere alight, that it becomes clear where the audience’s heart lies. Fist pumping, copious jumping, and a raucous singalong ensues. There are some strong tracks on the new LP, certainly, notably the Bruce-esque white funk of ‘The Diamond Church Street Choir’, and Clash-influenced ‘The Queen of Lower Chelsea’.

Overall, it’s a stodgy affair, lacking the freshness of the second album, exploring the same ideas without being as rewarding, and this shows through in their set. When the singer stops to tell a story about how he and his friends used to go the ice rink and sing as kids arm in arm, and had their picture taken, as a precursor to the nostalgic love song, and fan favourite ‘Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts’, it yields one of the few genuinely affecting moments of the evening.

The sudden emergence of the famous keyboard riff heard on TV’s CSI, before the band launch into The Who’s 'Baba O’Riley' is not unexpected, given the apparent shortage of quality new songs in the band's repertoire, exposing their clear love of British music. After all, Fallon’s former band were called This Charming Man.

When the band return for the encore, it’s ‘Here’s Looking At You, Kid’, which strikes the audience into near silence as cameraphones glow in the air, capturing the moment. It’s a reminder that, while they might be yet to reach the consistency of a truly great band, they are indeed capable of some inspired flashes of genius, and, one hopes, capable of delivering on their initial promise.