I fell in love with The Gaslight Anthem back in 2008 when they had just released their sophomore album 59 Sound. When High And Lonesome was playing on the radio and I heard the band give a nod to one of my all time favourite bands, Counting Crows, I was hooked; “And Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand and I kinda sorta wished I looked like Elvis“. It was evident that this band and I had a shared love for the same music.
So I went to what I believe to be their first German show ever at the old Magnet Club back on Greifswalder Straße where they played for no more than 50 people and it was one of the best shows of my life. After that it got crazy. Their next album, American Slang (2010), turned them into a mainstream success and the next thing I knew the band played at Columbiahalle. Now that’s what you call a step up and there seems to be no end to it. For their next album, Handwritten (2012), they dotted the line with Island Records and it was again picked up by mainstream radio although – or rather because – it lacked the rough edge of their earlier punk rock expired work. By then, the band was frequently compared to Bruce Springsteen and for a while vocalist Brian Fallon was on the spot for his creationalist believes. This must be the proverbial ups and downs of becoming one of the greatest contemporary rock bands.
With the announcement of the new record, Get Hurt, the band said on their website we should get ready for something we’d never heard from them. It’s certainly a step up from their last release and brings back memories of their debut Sink Or Swim (Stay Vicious) as well as their breakthrough record 59 Sound (Rolling and Tumbling, Get Hurt). In a way, Get Hurt has mended my troubled relationship with this band. Although I’ll likely never see this band in a 150 capacity venue again, I wouldn’t want to miss any of their shows because”I still love Tom Petty songs ” (Even Cowgirls Get The Blues).
Support comes from Deer Tick and Bayside.
