On a rainy Monday at the end of summer The Gaslight Anthem rolled into town and settled into the House of Blues for back to back nights of The ’59 Sound 10 Year Anniversary Tour. Supported by Canadian rockers Matt Mays and Brooklyn punks Worriers, Boston was in for a hell of a two night stand.
Worriers kicked the night off right around 8 o’clock as the room filled with sailor tattoos and PBR’s. Channeling major Against Me! vibes it was no shock to learn they’d previously worked with Laura Jane Grace on their 2015 release Imaginary Life. More recently they’ve sigend with SideOneDummy and have been in support of their most recent LP Survival Pop.
Next up was Matt Mays, who was initially met with some murmurs as the crowd realized there was another band before Gaslight. It took mere moments before the crowd hushed and were completely drawn in as Mays & co. flooded the room with chunky leads backed by waves of soothing organ and acoustic guitar. Mays brought not so subtle undertones of country into their southern rock inspired set. Repping material from as far back as 2005 they managed to keep a consistent yet oddly diverse sound throughout their set, leaving quite the impression.
After what seemed like far too long and far too many beers, The Gaslight Anthem hit the stage quietly and unceremoniously. They immediately launched into “Handwritten,” one of their more well known singles, off of their 2012 LP of the same name. You, like me, may have thought “Well that’s not off the album I came to see” but have no fear! There was no lack of material on this night. The band then pumped out another track off of each other full length from their discography before seemlessly transitioning into The ‘59 Sound.
It was just as good as we all remebered and a much needed marathon of nostolgia on a humid August night. The crowd practically shrieked along to all 12 songs while dancing and cheersing each other, and more than one arm was thrown around a friend during the more notable choruses. After the final chords of “The Backseat” faded out, the crowd erupted in pure bliss figuring that the night was close to over, while frontman Brian Fallon nor the rest of the band even seemed to acknowledge the transition and proved the crowed wrong as they settled in for the rest of their performance which consisted of an additional dozen songs spanning their entire catalog and career.
Matt Mays
Tall Trees
Faint of Heart
Stoned
Station Out of Range
Indio
Take It on Faith
Cocaine Cowgirl
Terminal Romance
The Gaslight Anthem
Handwritten
Wooderson
The Spirit of Jazz
Mae
The ’59 Sound
Great Expectations
The ’59 Sound
Old White Lincoln
High Lonesome
Film Noir
Miles Davie and the Cool
The Patient Ferris Wheel
Casanova, Baby!
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Meet Me by the River’s Edge
Here’s Looking at You, Kid
The Backseat
Mulhollan Drive
Helter Skeleton
Boomboxes and Dictionaries
Too Much Blood
Underneath the Ground
45
Howl
1930
Halloween
National Anthem
We’re Getting a Divorce, You Keep the Diner
American Slang
See below for photos from the show:
The Gaslight Anthem
Matt Mays
Worriers
