The Gaslight Anthem are out on the road in support of their newest album, History Books. For the west coast leg of the tour, they've brought along The Dirty Nil and Joyce Manor. I was fortunate enough to make it out to their show in Anaheim at the House of Blues and it wasn't a show that should be missed.
Opening the night was The Dirty Nil. The band has been around for nearly 2 decades and despite having seen them in the past with Against Me!, this performance was a refresher. The Dirty Nil came out with confidence, energy, and showmanship. The band is also currently supporting an album they released last year entitled, Free Reign to Passions, which occupied most of their set with tracks like "Nicer Guy" and "Celebration."
Next up was Joyce Manor. This band never ceases to amaze me. They've built up such a dedicated fanbase by consistently churning out Powerpop/Pop-Punk powerhouses in under 2 minutes, which is hardly enough time to hold someone's attention, but they've been doing it for 16 years. This was kind of a pseudo-hometown show for them, and the fans came out in droves! In celebration of the 10th anniversary of their 3rd album, Never Hungover Again, the band ran through 80% of the record and still had time to play another 12 songs that spanned their entire career. With tracks from their latest album, 40oz. to Fresno like "Dance With Me" and "NBTSA" to back to their first song "House Warming Party."
It was finally time for The Gaslight Anthem. The room went dark and a display of giant books lined behind the stage started to glow. The band walked out and jumped into Handwritten's "45" backed by the title track before jumping into the '59 Sound rager "The Patient Ferris Wheel." The set had a cool down with "The Weatherman" and "History Books" before boastful renditions of "Here Comes My Man" and "Bring it On."
Gaslight continued to run through songs throughout their catalog, including older tracks "Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts" from their EP, Señor and the Queen (and was recently re-recorded for their History Books - Short Stories EP) and "Wooderson" from their debut album Sink or Swim. Rather than opting to walk out and do the whole encore gimmick, Fallon announced they had a couple more songs left. The band and audience gave everything they had left, including a fan with crutches who decided to crowd surf during "Great Expectations" resulting in a lively response from Fallon. Gaslight closed out the night with the 2008 hit, "The '59 Sound."
It was a night chock full of rock and roll, celebration, and excitement. If you have a chance to catch The History Books Tour, I encourage you to do so. All bands were firing on all cylinders. Gaslight sounds better than they have since before their hiatus. Joyce Manor will always be a fun time and The Dirty Nil bring a special brand of rock performance to the show. Don't miss it!
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