'Cause Everybody's Shakin' Like The End Of The World

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a big fan of Bruce Springsteen. I never understood the hype about 'the boss.' A couple of years ago I heard another band's name thrown around a lot, The Gaslight Anthem. I never really gave them a chance because anytime I would ask someone to give me a comparison of who they sound like, their reply would always be Bruce Springsteen. Nooooo thank you.

Boy, was I ever wrong. Maybe I should have actually listened to them, or gone to one of their shows before I let my judgement call rest.

Gaslight's singer, Brian Fallon, had a scheduled acoustic show at my favorite Hollywood venue, The Troubadour. Never really hearing Gaslight, I had a strange urge to go. I'm a sucker for acoustic. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing bands perform live, but if there's someone from a band I like (or in this case, a band I had a stigma against for being known to sound like Bruce) performing acoustically, you better believe I'll be there. In most cases, I'll probably enjoy it more than seeing the actual band live. That may be due to the fact that its more of a rare occurrence, which makes it a real treat. Brian Fallon proved me wrong like a brick to the face. He was amazing.

We were running a little late, so by the time we had gotten there, he had already started. We walked in mid story to a glowing fella holding a guitar, with a HUGE smile on his face. He was so excited about the story he was telling. I instantly took a liking to him before I even heard him play a song or caught on to what his story was about. He was so animated, gave off so many humble vibes, and simply seemed down to earth.

Brian did a good job of making fans in the crowd feel like they had known him for years. He told the crowd stories about how he geeked out when he first met Bruce Springsteen, how he would have swallowed nails when he was younger to sound like Chuck Ragan (now a friend of his), growing up in Jersey, stories of things his mother tells him, and the shock he always had when tough Jersey guys from their hardcore scene would confront him and say, "Hey I like your band." He used a different voice for every new character he would talk about which only made it more entertaining. I'd pay to grab a cup of coffee with him just so I can hear his animated stories.

When he started playing, that was a whole other story. He owned the stage and his entire set was amazing. From what I understand, he played mostly Gaslight Anthem songs rotating between their two full length albums and their EP. He closed with an encore of The Clash's "Lost in the Supermarket." Leaving The Troubadour that night, I have to say my wall of a stigma against Gaslight immediately tumbled down. I can only hope to see their music live as a full band now.

(Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I don't have any of my own videos or pictures. I snagged the photo below - Photo by Matthew Baldwin for The Daily Titan, and the video of Brian's encore is from youtube.)