Gaslight Anthem review

backtorockville review of the gaslight anthem
Review: Gaslight Anthem

One of the best Bruce Springsteen tribute bands in the world didn't play a single song by The Boss Saturday at the Beaumont Club. It wasn't necessary. The men of The Gaslight Anthem understand that the best way to pay homage to Springsteen is to bring his classic rock sound to a new generation through exhilarating original material.

A good portion of the approximately 600 fans who attended Saturday's joyous rock 'n' roll revival wouldn't be caught dead at a Springsteen concert. They might argue that the Gaslight Anthem are a punk-based band in the tradition of Rancid and Social Distortion. But there's just no denying the obvious: Behind itsaccelerated tempos and underneath their tattoos, the New Jersey quartet are hardcore Springsteen freaks.

Steeped in the American iconography of cars, dreams and rock n' roll, songs like "Meet Me By the River's Edge" and "Great Expectations" are practically Springsteen parodies. Still, it's not all about Bruce. The band's songs also make direct and indirect references to Tom Petty, Elvis Presley, Bob Seger, Tom Waits and Paul Westerberg.

And during the best songs of their 70-minute set- "We Came To Dance," "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and "The '59 Sound," the Gaslight Anthem achieved glorious heights that they could claim as its own.

While Saturday's concert was the band's third Kansas City appearance in six months, it was their first gig as headliners. They still have a bit of work to do. While he's extremely likable, front man Brian Fallon has little of Springsteen's dynamic stage presence. And the band still lacks the explosive range of The E Street Band.

Consequently, they were almost shown up by the Heartless Bastards.

The Ohio-based band evoked the sensual blues of Slim Harpo and the pop smarts of Big Star. They also offered Crazy Horse-style stomps and plaintive country whining. All of it was mesmerizing.

Australia's A Death In the Family battled an extreme visiting-team disadvantage. There was absolutely nothing wrong with their brawny brand of melodic punk. Even so, Kansas City band the Architects work the same general territory with unparalleled ferocity. A Death In the Family, therefore, never had a chance.

| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

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