Band break-ups, for the most part, can never be taken too seriously. There's been more bands that have returned after a "farewell tour" in the last five years, particularly bands that once topped the emo/alt-rock scenes, that it's become clear that you can't ever really take a breakup too seriously. Yellowcard just came back for the second time. Motion City Soundtrack came back. Underoath did, too. Anberlin have crept further and further back in. It's trickled down into some more niche bands from the scene, as Man Overboard have played a few one-off shows, and Fireworks are now on tour as direct support for the Wonder Years. In the end, all of this is a good thing, as it keeps good music playing in venues all over the world, but there's a large grain of salt hidden in every press release that announces a band break-up these days.
The Gaslight Anthem, somehow, felt like they'd be an exception to that. After announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2015, there was only radio silence from the band until an epic announcement revealed the band would be giving its once-in-a-generation album The '59 Sound the full Anniversary World Tour that it deserved. That tour culminated with a weekend-long stay at Asbury Park's Stone Pony Summer Stage where, on the final night of the tour, the band pulled the title track out of the album and played it last. That substitution, coupled with a passionate speech from frontman Brian Fallon, who discussed the band's rapid rise once The '59 Sound was released and encouraged fans who were seeking a creative outlet to pursue that outlet relentlessly. "If you have something you want to do, or something you want to make... just go do it, you never know what can happen if you try" was a memorable quote from that speech, and it sounded an awful lot like this speech would be the culminating address to the fans of The Gaslight Anthem. The band had returned for one of the few albums that actually deserved an anniversary tour, and perhaps this was the last time we'd see them onstage together. If that was the end, it would have been a fitting one for New Jersey's finest rock and roll output in a generation.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, after some not-so-subtle updates to the band's social media profiles, Gaslight fans were given a piece of news many never thought possible: the band were returning, not only for a full world tour, but to also create new music with one another. Given the band's connection to its fans, it was fitting that the tour came first, and as those assembled at The Met Philly last Friday learned, the band may have picked up some new tricks in their time away.
Opening with bonus track "Have Mercy," a track so obscure it isn't even on Spotify at the time this is being written, the band's classic unpredictability with the contents of their setlist was proven early on. It was a slow build to the band's set, but when "Old White Lincoln" kicked in with Alex Levine's driving bass groove, the crowd immediately went into a frenzy. Each word was shouted back at the band, and the Met's high ceilings created a wall of sound that carried a great volume throughout the night. Those who have been hounding Setlist.fm throughout the tour would have already known that the band had been switching songs in and out throughout the tour, and this night was no different. A surprise addition of "Wooderson" to round out the songs I was able to see from the photo pit, and after one of Fallon's signature meandering monologues, the band kicked into often-overlooked Handwritten standout "Biloxi Parish," and the crowd was on the edge of its collective seat in anticipation for whatever song the band decided would be next.
In so many ways, the return of The Gaslight Anthem feels like a reunion with a long-lost friend. There's such an anticipation to see them, you almost feel an anxiety that things won't go the way you're hoping they will. But in the end, the mere sight of them, their presence near yours, is all you need to feel at ease, and it's as if no time had passed at all. So many of us have had these moments since COVID-19's hold on the world has loosened, and it's been so great to see so many people we hadn't been able to for so long. As The Gaslight Anthem kicked into "Old White Lincoln," and the lights got brighter, and the crowd got louder, and the smiles on the faces of the people onstage and the people assembled before it got bigger, that familiar feeling came back in full force. It was still Fallon, the Alexes (Levine and guitarist Rosamilia), drummer Benny Horowitz, and their support system onstage in the form of Ian Perkins and newcomer Bryan Haring, and they were playing songs new and old, each one being belted out by the crowd that had likely all seen the band at least once before that night at the Met.
Still, there's a sense of the band's performance being elevated now. In addition to the anticipation of the band's first shows in four years, it appears the band's collective musicianship has been elevated to a new level. Throughout the set, there were at least a half-dozen songs that featured extended jam sessions, with Fallon and Rosamilia trading solos, and everyone else adding their own flavor to the pot. The most notable example to this was the extension of the solo in "Stay Vicious," the riotous opener to the band's last full-length Get Hurt. The band's light show also became a highlight here, as the strobes and bright warm lights flashed nearly to the same tempo that Benny Horowitz was pounding his kit. It was the band's biggest flourish of the night, which says a lot considering "The Backseat" was included in the setlist, and it showed that this is not a cash-grab reunion; The Gaslight Anthem are back, and they seem like they're out to show that they still have plenty left in the tank.
The Met was well-suited for the night of sing-alongs and catharsis that The Gaslight Anthem, to be sure, but the truth is that any venue in any city would produce the kind of night I had last week. The Gaslight Anthem's music is so timeless, so personal, and so empowering that it's transcended into one of the most successful careers a rock band have had in the 21st century. And it's a career that, against all odds, is back for more, and may have never sounded better.
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