The Gaslight Anthem played Kool Haus in Toronto the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and roused everyone in attendance out of their turkey and stuffing-induced comas. These guys are all about having a good time, which was evident even before the word ‘go!’ – indeed, was evident when the pre-show music died, the stage darkened… and the band members took the stage to ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’.
They kicked things off with ‘High Lonesome’, thus beginning the night-long sing-along. That’s something Gaslight really has going for them: Brian Fallon’s songwriting/storytelling is mournful and accessible and catchy as a shortstop. Maybe people didn’t know the verses of ‘High Lonesome’, but everyone’s mouth was opened toward the sky when the chorus began: ‘Well Maria came to Nashville/With her suitcase in her hand/I always kinda, sorta wished I looked like Elvis’.
Another of the band’s virtues is that they give a workman-like performance without sacrificing the audience interaction. Fallon didn’t say a whole lot, but lobbed a couple of short-but-sweet anecdotes (for example, how the opening of the fair each summer inspired ‘The Patient Ferris Wheel’) and was more than willing to let the audience sing their way through parts of songs.
As good as Gaslight is at getting a crowd moving, the audience seemed to anticipate the slower songs just as eagerly. ‘Blue Jeans and White T-Shirts’ is one of those songs that makes you wish you were a smoker, if only because you’d have a lighter to hold up. And ‘Here’s Looking at You, Kid’ is a classic heartbreak song if there ever was one. Fallon talks about bragging to ex-loves about his ‘crazy Hollywood nights’; his sheepish shrug while singing ‘… And even if that’s deceit’ planted the crowd snugly into the pocket of his leather jacket.
All said, it was a terrific show. This is a band that can get your heart moving in all of 30 seconds, only to break it with their next song. But in the kind of sing-along format that is typical of their shows, and with front-man Fallon smiling the whole way through, the overwhelming message is one of holding onto those idyllic dreams ‘of classic cars and movie screens’. It’s cheesy, I know. But go to a show and try not to get swept away by the good vibes. I dare you.
