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View Full Version : The Gaslight Anthem/Good Old War - 3.31.09 - The Agora Ballroom - Cleveland, OH


TMS2787
04/01/09, 12:38 AM
Sweet, we've got a thread about the tour but I wanted to type a review since I haven't in a while.

The Gaslight Anthem/Good Old Water/RedWater Rojo
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Agora Ballroom
Cleveland, OH

RedWater Rojo opened the show and is my local act from Cleveland. My god, did they suck ass. I take it they are some Christian type act due to their "Jesus love me" that was repeated during one of their songs. Which, I won't knock them for but did not fit in with this show and neither did their extremely shitty, wanna be made for radio Alternative Rock sound. Thankfully we showed up about half-way through their set. I didn't like what I heard from Heartless Bastard's via MySpace but I would have welcomed them over this shitty band.

Good Old War was up next and it's hard to say if they toped last time when I saw them open for Anthony Green but this was a damn good set. To my pleasant surprise quite a few people knew the words to their songs and where singing along but even the people who didn't seem to enjoy it and get in to. But with music as good as Good Old War it's hard not too, right? The middle of the set where the songs are "drum-less" and the three guys stood together in the front of the stage was the highlight and completely awesome. The vocals sounded dead-on and the music was pretty spot-on as well. The new song sounded likes something you'd expect from these guys and makes me excited for the six song EP coming in a few months. They started a bit early, so they had time to do one extra song for us and that is something I cannot complain about. I will try my hardest to see this band every time they come Cleveland, after I first saw them last spring at The Bamboozle 2008.

Widow
Weak Man
Just Another Day
I'm Not For You
We've Come Along Way
New Song
Coney Island
Looking For Shelter
Tell Me

From the second the opening cords of Great Expectations came through the speakers the crowd was in a frenzy and when the opening lines came out of Brian's mouth I knew this was going to be amazing. They sounded fucking incredible, mid-way through the third song I turned to my friend and said: "They sound fucking great!" because that is the only way to describe how good they'd sounded. Brian's vocals sounded just like the recordings and the band was almost alway spot-on during the whole set. It was nice to see and hear most of the crowd singing along to almost every song during the whole set and certainly unexpected. Brian's stage prescene was nothing short was great, he owned the crowd and he knew it — he was never cocky or arrogant but he knew the crowd was there to see him. To hear him talk about meeting Bruce Springsteen and his couple references to The Boss were very enjoyable and his joking with the crowd that he couldn't hear when dudes yelled at shows, only girls. Someone yelled something and he said: "Ja Rule? What?! Ja Rule came to a Gaslight show?!" It was hilarious and the band just looked like they where having a fun time up there and loving every minute. During Here's Looking At You, Kid the emotion in Brian's face seemed as if he was really feeling it and singing to Gale, whoever and wherever she may be — it made the song all that more powerful. The closed the main set with the perfect closer, The Backseat and ended the show with Angry Johnny And The Radio, a great choice as both are my favorite songs from their respective albums. Brian's solo I'm On Fire cover was well done and the addition of Ben E. King's Stand By Me, Jimmy Ruffin's What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted? and the brief singing of the chorus to Cold War Kid's Hospital Beds where great. There is nothing else to say about this set but it was simply great, no flashy lights, no elaborate set-ups, no swinging of their instruments — just four musicians doing what they love and loving every second of it.

100% correct and in order:
Great Expectations
High Lonesome
Old White Lincoln
Even Cowgirls Get The Blues
Wooderson
The '59 Sound
We Came To Dance
Film Noir
Casanova, Baby!
<there might be missing a song that was played here, but i can't remember?>
Miles Davis & The Cool
Hospital Beds
Meet Me By The River's Edge
Here's Looking At You, Kid
The Backseat
______
I'm On Fire
Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts
Stand By Me -->
I'da Called You Woody, Joe
Angry Johnny And The Radio -> What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted -> Angry Johnny And The Radio

The show was very close to being sold out and it was a solid crowd, overall. We had a great spot on the riser next to the stage.

Overall, a great show — two great sets and well worth the $10.00 for the ticket, which was free for me. If this is coming to your town and you are you thinking about going please do it and don't think twice as you won't be disappointed.

whatwewant
04/01/09, 05:30 AM
nice review. i love that they played i'm on fire... i'm always a sucker for the gaslight/bruce connection. people were just screaming for them to play a bruce song and even chanting "brooooce" through the whole show when I saw them in london, ontario. obnoxious, but i loved it. i think brian said something along the lines of "you'll have to pay a lot more than 15 bucks to hear bruce live."

and it's true, sometimes all you can say about this band is "fucking great."

TMS2787
04/01/09, 01:06 PM
Thanks. Someone told him to be quite and he was like: "Hey, people payed to hear me talk, not you. You don't like it you can get out." He was obviously joking and he kept talking about Bruce getting in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, too.

fightoffyrdmns
04/01/09, 01:06 PM
"mid-way through the third song I turned to my friend and sad: "They should fucking great!" because that is the only way to describe how good they'd sounded."

said, and sound*?
Not being a dick, just thought you might like to correct.

TMS2787
04/01/09, 01:29 PM
Ha, thanks, that is what I get for not re-reading something I post at 3:30 AM.

phunkyprincess
04/01/09, 02:05 PM
what i find most interesting is that even though you thought that redwater rojo sucked, you still remembered them and the lyrics to their songs. enough so to even post about it.

food for thought, huh?

TMS2787
04/01/09, 02:20 PM
Not really, it isn't hard to remember when a band sucks that band and we were joking about it. Did you join just to say that?

jster2000
04/01/09, 08:03 PM
Hearing Miles Davis live would be amazing

johnnyonthespot
04/01/09, 09:56 PM
what i find most interesting is that even though you thought that redwater rojo sucked, you still remembered them and the lyrics to their songs. enough so to even post about it.

food for thought, huh?


What do you play in the band?

TMS2787
04/02/09, 03:49 PM
What do you play in the band?
I was wondering this also but there wasn't a girl in the band and I take it by that username that poster was a female.