blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2009/09/16/live-review-the-gaslight-anthem-the-ogden-theatre/
September 16, 2009
Live review: The Gaslight Anthem @ the Ogden Theatre
By Andrew Brand
The Gaslight Anthem strummed through their first six songs at the Ogden Theatre on Sunday without deviating from the track list on their ‘08 release “The ‘59 Sound,” and the newer material-dominated set list seemed to please almost everyone but me.
I stood behind two girls overdressed for the Ogden with expensive-looking purses slung around their shoulders, singing every word to every song, up until the band played a track from their debut album, “Sink or Swim.” At this time, both dug into said purses for their phones and spent the next three minutes more interested in their glowing screens and keypads than what Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon was singing.
Many critics (myself included) think of “The ‘59 Sound” as an incredible disc, so it’s more than a little frustrating that the band seems to already be forgetting about their equally-incredible early songs. The Gaslight Anthem did finish the last half of their set with some songs from “Sink or Swim,” as well as two songs from the “Senor and the Queen” EP, which the band released in between their full-lengths, but that’s mainly because they burned through most of their newer material.
Fallon thanked the crowd on multiple occasions for supporting the band on their third Denver show since the release of “The ‘59 Sound” last August and promised new, “very sassy” material was just around the corner. The audience greeted this news with equal parts laughter and applause.
The dead time between the last couple of songs and the encore was filled with Fallon pining for a turkey sandwich with all of the fixin’s. If this was any other band I’d probably chalk his banter up as drunken, annoying ramblings, but Fallon has a charismatic way of making almost everything seem amusing and interesting. By the end of the encore I found myself, a vegetarian by the way, rooting for him to get his turkey sandwich as quickly as possible.
Murder by Death played a relatively long set for an opening act. That typically leads to a crowd, there to support the headliner, feeling restless as the set list grows. The opposite seemed to be true as the crowd embraced the Bloomington, Ind., natives. The Loved Ones also shared the stage, and the U.K.’s (and former Million Dead frontman) Frank Turner played his first Denver show as a solo act.
Andrew Brand is a Denver-based writer and a regular contributor to Reverb.
Subject: Ogden Theatre review 
Thu Sep 17, 2009 12:54 pm
