The Gaslight Anthem / Marry A Thief / Of Angels and Lions / Twilight Armada

Tuesday July 8th 2008 / New Brookland Tavern / Columbia, SC

So I live in Sacramento California. Sacramento is great. Its got a great selection of pub’s, a ton of great Mexican restaurants and is smack dab in the middle of Lake Tahoe and San Francisco. Although Sacramento is roughly four times the size of my hometown of Columbia it doesn’t do near as a good of job of pulling in music. So why my friends have seen The Colour Revolt like fives times, I am waiting on my first.

I naturally get excited when I come back to Columbia since there is always a chance that I’ll get to see a good show. When my friend Bryan told me The Gaslight Anthem were playing on Tuesday I realized that I got real lucky.

I unfortunately didn’t get to see any but the last opening band and was too busy catching up with old friends to give them much attention. They were young and may or may not have been christian.

The Gaslight Anthem is the perfect band to see live. Even if you can’t remember all of the words you can mouth along. Nobody will care (or at least you shouldn’t). The energy in the room was the magnitude of any of my more memorable punk rock shows. The setlist mainly consisted of Sink or Swim and all the tracks from Senor and the Queen. I don’t think got to hear a lot of stuff from The ‘59 Sound. For a show on Tuesday night, we’re you are looking forward to drinking and singing along to good music, you sort of prefer it that way. My favorite moment was the combination of “Say I Won’t” and “We’re Getting A Divorce, You Keep The Diner”. Both are great live songs with moving sing-along moments.

The sad truth is the only time I’ll be able to see The Gaslight Anthem on the West Coast is at The Warped Tour, which I’ll never do, or some overcrowded SF music club. Its not that seeing The Gaslight Anthem at a large venue would be bad but you prefer to see them in a smaller club.

To use an analogy, this was a show that I would have waited for the DVD rather than see it in the theater. Maybe it was the 10:00pm doors coupled with the 7:00am alarm before and after. Maybe it was the high hopes brought on by Unwed Sailor / Sybris two weeks prior. Whatever the culprit, I left The Orpheum feeling like I had just left my office: eager to get home.

Local underage drinkers Everise were probably the biggest reason why I felt this way. As a tactful person, I’ll simply say that Everise would have been much better suited playing at a prom night after-party. Sorry guys, but you were way out of your element and your league.

I really wanted to like Petrograd in Transit. Their 2007 debut EP Lifesize Balloon Animals (which can be downloaded legitimately at Wise Owl Records) was a competent installment to the anthemic post-rock catalogue. Petrograd in Transit have a rich, full sound spiked with 80’s new wave style electronics to keep things fresh. It’s great to know that Tampa/St. Petersburg can produce musicians skillful enough to take on this technical, composition intensive style of music and come out victorious. But live…I’m not quite as convinced, not yet anyway. For me, the set lacked sufficient volume and energy to put it over the top. The loud didn’t seem loud enough, and the hallmark crescendo of the post-rock sound didn’t quite reach the epic climax that was alluded to. I’ve read and heard many wonderful things about the live aspect of Petrograd in Transit, and I’m looking forward to our next encounter in early July at a much better venue, so it’s a mulligan for now.

Fortunately, El Ten Eleven shattered the mold of disappointment that shaped the evening. Watching Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty construct and layer songs brick by brick was truly riveting, and is something I would reccomend to anyone that appreciates music and composition. This was a rare opportunity to observe musicianship at a level that seldom sees the light of day, let alone the dark and cavernous void that is a Wednesday night show in Tampa. The set was filled with old favorites, new material (expect a new album anytime now) and a cover of Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” that seemed a little out of place, but absolutely slayed.

El Ten Eleven were the special effects that made the previous hours of excruciating dialog and fruitless plot worth sitting through.

SAL Review of El Ten Eleven’s Every Direction Is North can be read here.

In true Friday the 13th form, something had to go wrong. Red Room Cinema was supposed to be the local support act, but, sadly, never made the stage. Chalk it up to some sort of miscommunication or scheduling conflict, which is a shame really. They put on a respectable live set, and their 2007 self-released s/t debut is a great listen. You snooze, you lose, I guess.

Several beers and an hour and a half later, it was time for Unwed Sailor.

With all due respect to headlining act Sybris, it was Unwed Sailor that I was there to see. Let me start by saying that Jonathan Ford is a total class act. He respectfully and sincerely thanked the dozen or so us that bothered to show up and then led the way in a truly inspired set despite the earlier snafu and despicable turnout. Playing for the 14th consecutive day on a month long tour that began on the other side of the country catches up with you eventually. It was clear that while nobody was at 100%, they gave all they had to give. The highlight was an absolutely amazing new rendition of the, dare I say, “classic” song Firecracker. To steal a shouted quote from Sybris drummer Eric Mahle, “That was like a whole pack of firecrackers.” Indeed it was. The version of this song, along with other re-worked Unwed Sailor songs will be present, I’m told, on the forthcoming 2009 release History. If Firecracker was any indication, it promises to be an album worth waiting for.

Now, with all due respect to Unwed Sailor, it was Sybris that stole the show. Admittedly not being especially fluent in their music, I brushed up on what I could prior to the show. Recorded Sybris is a little like an edgier, rockier version of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs spiced with a 90’s Sonic Youth vibe. Live Sybris is a different beast altogether. The soft is still soft, but the loud is way louder. Eric, Phil, Shawn, and Angela collectively craft a wall of sound that will both agitate your body into movement and lull you into submission. Musically, it would be tough to hammer down a favorite song – every one was tight – but Burnout Babies gets the vote simply because I got to clap along to it with Unwed Sailor. Angela Mullenhour’s voice, for those that haven’t had the pleasure of hearing it, is almost a song in and of it self and is what I can only describe as the perfect blend of salty and sweet. If Sybris ever make their way back down to Tampa, it’s safe to say that I’ll be there.

Music aside, this was one of the most personally enjoyable shows I’ve been to in a long time. The complete absence of a crowd, which I initially found somewhat embarrassing, definitely played out to my advantage in the end. I was able to talk with each member of both bands, which was a rare treat. Between songs, Angela asked if she could share my cigarette with me, to which I willingly obliged. How rockstar is that? The night was fittingly capped off with hugs, handshakes, and shots for all. As a parting gift, I received a brown paper bag packaged CD-R copy of Sybris’ new album Into The Trees that has been playing all afternoon.

Tampa, you truly missed out.

Links:
www.sybrismusic.com
www.unwedsailor.net

Saw the great Murder By Death on Tuesday night. I have probably seen the band four or five times now but this was close to tops on the list. The band sounded as great as ever but the fact that they were debuting new stuff seemed to put a little extra something in their playing. I was worried that the band would overkill on new material but they started the set off strong with three or four songs that the crowd intimately knew. All in all the band mixed in three or four new songs and let me be the first to say, the new stuff was impressive. The new songs instantly showed off a more melodic and streamlined approach for the band. The usual dark lyrical suspects of the band (The Devil and drinking for the most part) seemed to remain prevalent though. Oh, and the one new song that lead singer Adam Turla described as being about “revenge and other kick ass shit” was my favorite overall. The band commented that the new album was about to be mixed and should be released in early 2008. They promised a big announcement soon as well. That announcement came out rather quickly on Wednesday. Surprisingly, the band’s brand spanking new album, Red of Tooth and Claw, will be out in February of 2008 on Vagrant. Congrats to the band.

I am taking Friday off…but I did want to make a spotlight post about The Gaslight Anthem. Oh, and to boast about finally remembering to take pictures at a show instead of just drinking. Anyway, I saw The Gaslight Anthem play here in Columbia earlier in the week. The band was sandwiched in on a show that certainly was not the best of matches. Here in Columbia, we take what we can get though. The lineup did not seem to matter one bit to the band as they tore through a brilliant set of songs. The Gaslight Anthem’s set was heavy with songs from the band’s debut, Sink Or Swim. The anthemic quality of the band shines bright in a live setting. Songs like “Wooderson”, “We Came To Dance”, “I’da Called You Woody, Joe”, “Angry Johnny And The Radio” and “We’re Getting A Divorce, You Keep The Diner” were all part of the band’s energetic set list. It is a great feeling to see a band that is obviously doing it simply for the love of the music. You could see the guys had a blast playing these songs together. The Gaslight Anthem’s music is full of grit and passion and the sing-alongs were plentiful.

Sink Or Swim has been the pleasant surprise album for me in 2007. This show only enhanced my enthusiasm towards the band. Check out my interview with vocalist/guitarist Brian Fallon and the review for Sink Or Swim below. The interview is definitely one my SAL favorites.

The Gaslight Anthem Interview

The Gaslight Anthem Album Review

The Gaslight Anthem - I’da Called You Woody, Joe (mp3)

The Gaslight Anthem - Angry Johnny And The Radio (mp3)

The Gaslight Anthem - Drive (video)

www.myspace.com/thegaslightanthem

I had the pleasure of attending one of the best shows I have been to in years this past weekend. I got to see a long-time favorite (Lifetime) and a new favorite (The Draft) play for the first time and it exceeded all expectations. While, of course, this show was all about Lifetime, I was excited to see The Draft. 3/4 of Hot Water Music should be pretty damn good live and I thoroughly enjoyed In A Million Pieces, the band’s debut (which I reviewed here). It was no surprise that lead man Chris Wollard was nice and drunk by the time the band took the stage. Wollard was anything but sloppy though as him and the band sounded tremendous. The band wailed through much of their debut as well as some of the new songs offered on their recent digital EP and vinyl seven inches. In a live setting the band really flourished as the songs simply begged to be sung along to. The band seemed to be really into the show which one might not expect from guys doing this for so long. Wollard showed his enthusiasm as he jumped into the crowd on the band’s final song. Hot Water Music remains one of the best live bands I have ever heard. The Draft carried themselves quite well though. In fact, I would say this first experience with The Draft was better than the last few times I saw Hot Water Music. That is certainly a high compliment.

Next up was what I had been waiting for since learning of Lifetime reuniting a year ago. It had been 10+ years since the band had played Columbia. I unfortunately missed the band the last time so this was my first time seeing Lifetime. The band took the stage and for the next hour+ I was in a state of joyful unawareness. The show went by in a dizzy blur…but it was a damn fun one. The band’s set list was incredible as they pulled equally from 1995’s Hello Bastards, 1997’s Jersey’s Best Dancers and the recently released Lifetime album (which I reviewed here). As I sang along and pumped my fists like I was ten years younger, I came to the realization how unique and brilliant Lifetime really is. The band virtually created and perfected their own brand of poppy melodic hardcore before breaking up and disappearing for ten years. Yet, they came back while not missing one beat. As the band knocked out song after song you could see the smiles on their faces and the joy the band has playing together once again. It was the same faces of joy that were seen all across the audience as well. It was addictive to watch, hear and feel the vibe going back and forth from the band to the crowd. It was made all the more special to have some of my best friends back in town singing along with me. It is a moment in time that I wish I could have bottled up and kept forever. It is also a night I will never forget. Thanks Lifetime!

The show I attended last night certainly lived up to my hype. Unfortunately, Fifth Hour Hero’s van broke down so I missed out on my last chance to see the band. Andy The Doorbum opened the show and was very impressive. Despite some odd lyrical diatribes, his songs have a noticeable depth to them. There is also a great folk-punk sing-along feel to many of Andy’s songs which definitely fits the live setting well. I picked up his new album and a review should be upcoming in the next couple of weeks. Smoke Or Fire headlined and put on a raucous set. The band has been slimmed down to a three-piece and they sounded incredibly tight. They were much better last night than when I saw them as a four-piece late in 2006.

The highlight of the night was easily Tim Barry though who exceeded all expectations. Barry’s band Avail always put on tremendous live shows and his solo show was just as good. Sincerity in music goes a long way for me. There is no one more sincere about what they do than Tim Barry. He is as real as they get. His backing band sounded good but it was the more instrumentally sparse songs that Barry truly left his mark. As with Avail shows, Barry interacts with the crowd so naturally. There is one statement that Barry made last night that I think will stick with me for a long long time. At one point, Barry asked how it sounded out there before stopping himself short. Barry then said, “Fuck that, how’s it feel out there? Cause it ain’t how it sounds, it’s how it feels.” Amen brother and it felt great!