When a young band gets booked at a large venue you never know how they’re going to react. It’ll either be the egos that grow or their appreciation for the fans. In the case of The Gaslight Anthem it was the latter. Having plugged in an entire three years on the music circuit, it was quite surprising that they were placed in a venue like the Midland. A venue that seats over 3,000 people generally houses acts like B.B. King, Steve Martin and Ok Go, and so it wouldn’t have been a surprise for anyone if the band had thought themselves rock stars in that place. But when the four members walked out on stage, there was nothing but genuine ear-to-ear smiles on each. To this the crowd appropriately reacted with their own glee and thus the show began. 
From the new album came songs like: “American Slang,” “The Spirit Of Jazz” and “The Diamond Church Street Choir.” “American Slang” got everything going with its alt rock beats paving the way for a little guitar pitched up to an octave generally only seen in the likes of pop rock bands. Yet for this song, it’s that octave that was the perfect place for the cheerful sentiment that inevitably resulted.
Staggered between the newer selections were a few solid and slightly older hits. One of these (“Old White Lincoln”) seemed to groove on a slightly different frequency than the rest, but still proved to translate to the stage almost seamlessly. The fairly monotone rhythm section though not really defining, did manage to bring in a The Killers kind of dance (or sway rather) from the audience.
“This next song proves that Miles Davis is cooler than me.” When Brian (lead vocals) uttered these words, there was an instant increase in respect. This naturally stemmed from the vast appreciation of Mr. Davis and his music, but also from the reassuring fact that Gaslight still believes that they are at the beginning of their careers and have much to learn. The point of this was not to do anything just mentioned, but rather to preface the song “Miles Davis And The Cool.” A song while not directly influenced musically by the classic jazz of the 60’s, still referenced a feeling ever to familiar to Miles – the blues. Again a comparison to The Killers pops out with the repetitive and quick motions from the guitars and lyrics that sound like they come out of a man who was just beaten down by love. 
An hour long set ended and an audience full of mid-to-late twenties begged for more. At one point they actually randomly started chanting a soccer saying, which was odd, but apparently effective. After a quicker than the normal “fashionable wait for encore” time, the boys were promptly back on stage. While the wait was shorter than normal, the encore was longer. Six songs made it on the list, like the song “Film Noir.” A song that was positioned for a guitar solo, however this solo was surprisingly impressive. Though fairly simplistic in nature, it screamed of 80s classic. It was the type of guitar talent similarly seen in a band like Cream. That type of rock faded for some punk rock gut wrenching screams so raw and raspy you’d swear it was Tim, veteran punk from Rise Against.
The night ended with their huge hit from The ’59 Sound album called “The Backseat.” It squeezed out what little energy that crowd had left with its choruses bursting with emotion and chord progressions that just wouldn’t let go. Those feet that were previously merely tapping had convinced the entire body to let go.
The masses of people that flocked to the show came without expectations. They only wanted to hear one of their favorite bands perform. No fancy effects or expensive equipment was needed. And that just what Gaslight was happy to do.
