Webster Hall, 2/26/15

The '59 Sound
1930
High Lonesome
Handwritten
Old White Lincoln
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
The Diamond Church Street Choir
Helter Skeleton
Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis
1,000 Years
Stay Lucky
Say I Won't (Recognize)
45
Howl
Red in the Morning
Sweet Morphine
Keepsake
Great Expectations
Stay Vicious
The Queen of Lower Chelsea
Wooderson
Film Noir
Red at Night/I'm on Fire
Blue Jeans and White T-Shirts
Backseats


There was plenty of good and bad at the first proper New York City show since the release of the new record.

Brian's voice sounded great tonight, and he had no trouble hitting the high notes.  Even more notable, Alex Levine's backing vocals sounded great as well.  It's some combination of him singing better, more confidently, and a better mix but on the songs where the backing vocals really matter (think "Handwritten") he sounded great.  Ian seems to be singing more as well so that may be part of it too.

Brian spoke about how the band wanted to find some different old songs to play and were digging deeper to find things and that showed up nicely in the setlist.  The combination of "Stay Lucky" and "Say I Won't (Recognize)" was a great example of this - songs that have been only infrequent visitors to the set sounded reinvigorated at this show.

The band did a slowed-down version of "Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis" and a stripped-down version of "Great Expectations" that I hadn't seen in person yet and I was a fan of both.  I got the distinct impression that the band also had slowed the tempos slightly on some of their more familiar material - "'59 Sound," and "1,000 Years" in particular seemed to lag a bit.  Conversely, the slightly-slowed "Queen of Lower Chelsea" was a highlight; the slow burn and then Benny killing the drum break was fantastic.

The "Red At Night" / "I'm on Fire" mashup was a last-minute addition to the setlist; Brian talked about it with Benny, and then let everyone else know what they were doing, telling the audience "we're gonna try something for you here" but no other introduction.  (I guess that announcement from Australia about how it was the only time they were doing it got rescinded).  I was unsure about it when I saw it on Youtube but in person, I think it really did work.  Crowd seemed to love it.

The first of the two giant disappointments in this show was the dearth of new material.  It can't be that the band forgot about their new album; there was a wall-sized version of the front cover hanging behind them as they played.  Yet there were nearly as many songs from "Senor and the Queen" (the four-song EP) as there were songs from their new album.  

I do not understand why they would be giving up on these songs live.  There are several there that are among the very best things they've written.  Their lack of faith in this material, evidenced by them not playing it, is really sad, in my opinion.  They should be showcasing this material and not relegating it to a few token spots in the setlist.  That's the sort of things that's done by bands who don't have anything interesting to say anymore.  That's what bands who aren't relevant or innovative do.  Gaslight is a better band than that.

The other tremendous problem with this show is that it was 98 minutes and 3 seconds long.  That is a precise measurement.  

The Gaslight Anthem is a major, big-time band signed to a major label and with 5 full length albums.  They simply cannot play these abbreviated sets if they want to be taken seriously as a headlining band.  This is difficult problem to grapple with as someone who loves this band, but turning up and playing a 98 minute set is, on the continuum of rudeness, somewhere past "inconsiderate" and dangerously approaching "disrespectful."  Frustratingly, if the band was playing a full-length show, they could also solve problem #1, by adding those missing new songs back into the show.

It was a bad choice to have two opening bands when there was an early curfew at the venue.  It's nothing against either opener, but simply put, one of them needed to be removed from the bill and that time instead given to Gaslight so they could do a proper length show.  I appreciated Brian pointing out that in the interests of time, the band wasn't going to walk off stage for an encore, but in view of when the show ended, I find that comment disingenuous now.  If time was such a problem, they also could've started earlier (the stage was fully prepared and sat empty for nearly 10 minutes before the band came on).  

Some may point to a failure of management or logistics, and that may be the problem here.  It's certainly been a problem in the past (for example, no matter how you felt about the pre-show experiences, everyone can agree the announcements of them were handled poorly).  Yet blaming "management" only goes so far.  The band makes final decisions, and the band is responsible when those decisions negatively affect the show.  Simply put, they screwed up here.  

I love this band's songwriting, performances both on record and live, and the care they put into their live shows.  I cannot understand why they won't make them a proper length.

I was actually just thinking how Get Hurt really is getting the "American Slang treatment" already. Although at least we heard 4 songs not 3 off of it, so that's slightly better than AS's typical allotment. I hope though that if they stick with the 4 songs deal, that they at least switch it up and don't fall into that trap they've gotten into with American Slang where they play the same three songs over and over and over. Although we did get Stay Lucky tonight so that was a treat!

Only other negative of the night for me was the crowd. NYC I've lived in or near you my entire life, and I still do not get you. This crowd just had "issues" all night. Every slow song someone around me was discussing logistics of something, or adjusting their grip on the barrier from the second row. I actually told one girl she could slam into or grab my shoulders to brace all she wants just move her hand. When the second row sticks their arms through like that, it stabs you in the side. The poor woman next to me got slammed good by a crowd surfer because the like 5 security guards must've all been absent on the day of training where they tell you to CATCH crowd surfers. Unfortunately she needed to take a breather, understandably, but the amount of shifting and people hopping back and fourth over the barricade and discussion that went on at several points during the show because of this, and then some other issue happening a few feet away, and the security guys chatting during every slow song, it was all very...distracting. The crowd also had no energy, minus that handful of surfers and one tiny pit. Not that we need a big pit but ya know, some movement is nice.

But enough negativity! The show itself and the set was overall great. I was more excited for Red in the Morning than anything else oddly enough, for 2 reasons; 1) I've been on an odd kick with it lately, and 2) it came up on shuffle a suspiciously high number of times in the last 2 days and I thought to myself "hmm, wouldn't it be funny if this was a sign that they're gonna play it tonight." and then they did! And considering its far from a set list regular, that was cool. Side note: crowds do not know the sink or swim songs anymore. It's so sad

As stated above by Glenn, the slow versions of some of the songs were awesome. Heck the overall selection and performance of all the slow songs tonight were really one of the highlights of the show. I didn't really notice 59 or 1000 years being slower than normal, although maybe I'm getting used to them at that speed. OWL was the only one that bothered me. It wasn't fast enough to jump to, but it also wasn't slow enough to just quietly appreciate. It was caught in the middle and they have sooo many mid-tempo songs now that bringing some faster ones into the middle range can make things drag a bit at times. But don't get me wrong, the ones like Great Expectations that they've gone from fast to completely slow. Those are awesome.

I'm so glad they included Red At Night with I'm On Fire. The crowd loved it. That was the most singing along I heard all night with the I'm On Fire parts. And it really enhances that song.

Regarding the show length. It didn't really bother me for two reasons. 1) all the talk of them needing to be off by 10 had me thinking we were gonna get a shorter than normal show, so when it was normal, I was pleased. 2) I think I just have low expectations at this point. Maybe someday they will decide they're up for an entire tour of 2 hour shows. I'm not holding my breath, or letting it ruin the 1hr 40 minutes that we do get.
Also, the curfew thing. I think it's a bit drastic to remove one of the openers entirely. If it was an issue, it would make more sense to switch their set lengths from 30 and 45 minutes to 20 and 30 or something. They deserve a chance to play. I just don't get why the venue moved doors up a half hour, and then moved them back again. That could've helped the situation.

That comment about not breaking for encore wasn't disingenuous. That's a new thing they're doing indefinitely. It had nothing to do with the curfew, he was just pointing out that it's a pointless waste of time where the band could've played at least one additional song if they just stay out there and that's especially significant when there is a curfew. They did this all through Europe if I'm not mistaken.

All in all, twas a great start to the tour.

Yeah no encore on their last dates over here.

I tried to remember how long their shows were at the last EU tour but I am pretty sure they were not much longer than 1,5 hours. Which I find not bad at all personally - playing 1,5 hours without the encore break. But maybe that's because I have seen many bands play for less than that including an encore break.

I wasn't at the Webster hall gig but I found the setlist impressive and very powerful. Yes, I'd also miss songs from Get Hurt but then again they played a lot from the new album at their last tour so perhaps they just felt like playing more of the old material again. I'd be happy with that setlist for their upcoming headline shows over here.

And I would say 25 songs is a good setlist length

And just for the record. Gaslight first played the Halloween show in Berlin without walking off stage before the encore and as far as I know they never did again since.

Thank you Glenn and Shelby for your write ups. I agree with many points both of you made...perhaps whenever I see you the next few days we can thrash through in person.

Happiest though to hear how well everyone's vocals sound and see some highlights in the setlist (Helter and Recognize, for me).

I posted some video clips and photos here:

http://sonicawareness.net/post/112225711247/show-recap-the-gaslight-anthem-nyc-2-26-2015

Thoughts:

The Gaslight Anthem are a great live band and certainly one of the better acts you can see live. Any "criticism" that follows is definitely within the context of holding them to an incredibly high standard that they themselves set over the years.

The crowd was pretty much a standstill despite a solid opening trio of 59/1930/Lonesome. I didn't really understand why until the crowd actually picked up for Handwritten: it looks like most of the crowd there were probably new comers with that album. As someone who has seen them since the release of Sink or Swim, that kinda blows my mind but it is cool that they continue to pick up new fans.. hopefully some of the new ones dig backwards and not just for the singles.

The band wisely only picked 4 from Get Hurt, and the selections were probably the cream of the crop which allowed them to dig into their much stronger albums a bit more.. they even did 3/4 of the EP, which was nice (Recognize was nice to hear again!).

There were a few too many boring slow blocks (such as Morphine > Keepsake > reworked slow Expectations), but I think the biggest offender is the general loss of tempo on a lot of their best songs.. 59 and Lincoln are painfully slow to sit through these days.

The Red at Night rework / I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover) mashup was pretty cool, it's a fantastic way to breathe life into an older song and also take on a cover at the same time. Speaking of covers, very grateful we didn't get the weak Pearl Jam or The Who covers that seem to constantly pop into the area's setlist.

Stay Lucky and Wooderson were the the biggest treats, but, again, since it seems like a lot of people didn't know Sink or Swim, the crowd was sadly dead for the latter. Not sure the last time I saw Stay Lucky, but it was unexpected and awesome.

Great show, excited to see them at Skate and Surf.. looks like they have some of the older material back at their disposal, which should mean a rowdier, more energetic show in that environment.

What was the curfew?

An hour and forty minutes is a perfectly reasonable set time. The vast majority of bands don't play longer than that. Some do and that's awesome, but it's not like an hour forty is a rip-off.

Curfew turned out to be 10:45.

@ACA Pearl Jam covers that constantly pop up in the setlist? What are you smokin? Haha. Seriously though, State of Love and Trust is the one cover I'd like to see live but they barely play it! And I don't recall any other PJ songs being played, ever. I agree with you about Baba though. It's a fun as hell song but I'd much rather hear one of their songs and I honestly really missed The Backseat as a closer.

@Jen, I'm hitting the first 4 shows so hopefully I'll see you if you're going to any of them!

pleasepassthesoup wrote:

An hour and forty minutes is a perfectly reasonable set time. The vast majority of bands don't play longer than that. Some do and that's awesome, but it's not like an hour forty is a rip-off.

I would bet The Gaslight Anthem played the longest set Webster Hall has seen all year. 1:40 is much longer than average.

Plus, in that 1hour 40minutes they played 25 songs. That's a wicked set, how it could be construed as disappointing or even disrespectful is beyond me.

Does anyone know if they're playing tuned down again? On the first leg, they were playing everything in standard tuning, then seemed like they were going back down, which was nice cause it doesn't strain Brian's voice (plus most songs were recorded that way).

NervousFeetHeartofStone wrote:

Plus, in that 1hour 40minutes they played 25 songs. That's a wicked set, how it could be construed as disappointing or even disrespectful is beyond me.

Does anyone know if they're playing tuned down again? On the first leg, they were playing everything in standard tuning, then seemed like they were going back down, which was nice cause it doesn't strain Brian's voice (plus most songs were recorded that way).

If you complain about a set length of 25 songs or a 90+ minutes, you are ignorant, an idiot, and/or a dick.

It sounded like some songs were both slower and tuned down, even lower than their recorded versions.. but don't hold me to the tuning, the sound was very bassy and it's not something I was actively listening for amid the jumping around and singing along. You can try to determine it from the video clips I posted, if you care to.

ACA wrote:

If you complain about a set length of 25 songs or a 90+ minutes, you are ignorant, an idiot, and/or a dick.

Classy response.

I personally find the "Gaslight can do no wrong" responses unhelpful.  There's a difference between blindly loving a band and recognizing when they can and should do better.

Thanks @ACA, just checked 'em out and looks like they were tuned down which is awesome! Much better for Brian's voice, and I find they sound better that way. Even Stay Vicious was played tuned down which is neat.

@GlennR, far from the "Gaslight can do no wrong" club. Toronto got 22 back in September, which I was happy with. 25 is a hefty setlist; I've seen VERY few acts play more than that. I'm just saying, I'd be stoked with 25 songs and a 98 minute set. Loads of music, all crammed into no more than 2 hours? Perfect.

[quote="GlennR"]

ACA wrote:

Classy response.

I personally find the "Gaslight can do no wrong" responses unhelpful.  There's a difference between blindly loving a band and recognizing when they can and should do better.

TGA can do plenty wrong and often do. I've seen some weak TGA shows among great ones.

I didn't read your first post and I wasn't originally speaking about you specifically, but I'm reading it now, and I'm going to guess you're some combination of all three, but I will withhold judgement and just ask a few questions. Honestly, I'm asking politely:

What bands have you seen play 1000-capacity venues and how long were their sets? If you want to take issue with 90+ minutes / 25 songs at a $40 ticket, I don't think it should be with TGA but with the live music industry in general. I saw a few hundred bands in 2014 alone, and TGA is certainly routinely up there on the list of "longest sets".

Does anyone know what songs Northcote played? I want to become familiar with their music before I see them in a month or so

Asmith1912 wrote:

Does anyone know what songs Northcote played?  I want to become familiar with their music before I see them in a month or so

They most commonly play:

How Can You Turn Around
Counting Down the Days
Find Our Own Way
When You Cry
Hope the Good Things Never Die

@ACA

Thank you!

First...for the life of me I wish they would turn Brians microphone up. He is too often drowned out by the band. It drives me nuts. I've been to Frank Turner concerts where the band is rocking out, the crowd is singing at the top of their lungs, and I can still hear Frank over everyone. Showcase your damn voice Brian!

They played 25 songs.  That's a pretty standard number of songs for a headliner. I've been to some shows where the headliner plays 18-19 songs.  I have no problem with the set time.  If anything, I like that it doesn't give Brian time to ramble on about god knows what.  We're there for the music, not the fraternization.

Went to Bayonne High School with Jared from the Scandals so it's pretty awesome to see them opening for Gaslight just across the Hudson.  

Northcote I thought was solid but I felt like a lot of their songs sounded similar, but enjoyed them nonetheless.

The crowd I thought sucked.  The Cleveland crowd I saw Gaslight with had more energy and knew more words than the hipsters of last night.  I felt like the crowd was SUPER young and I'm 28 lol.

The setlist I thought it was slowed down a bit much for me.  I'm ready for them to retire Blue Jeans. I love the song but the crowds don't seem to respond the way they used to to that song.  Now everyone uses Blue Jeans to check their phones or run to the bathroom.  Would have loved to hear Red Violins and Selected Poems.  I feel those are the best songs on Get Hurt. They are catchy, powerful, and just fun to sing along.  I don't really get the point of basically ignoring the Get Hurt album.

Songs I would be ok not hearing for a while: Blue Jeans, Diamond, Lincoln, Red, Elvis.

Thinking of posting for a Terminal 5 ticket for tomorrow.

ACA wrote:

I didn't read your first post and I wasn't originally speaking about you specifically, but I'm reading it now, and I'm going to guess you're some combination of all three

Wow. The double-down on name calling is itself way out of line. But then, to further have the temerity to suggest you are "asking politely"?

---

In the interests of moving the discussion back to something productive, one example that immediately came to mind was a show I saw by The Hold Steady this past December. I see them as a decent comparison here (similar amount of albums; similar reputation for being a top-notch live band). It was at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and was a $45 ticket; seems like a close enough comparison in terms of price and venue size. Show was slightly over two hours long.

---

Yet simply comparing Gaslight to other bands is not the point. The reason I want to see Gaslight multiple times on multiple tours is because they are *better* than other bands. I don't think it controversial to suggest that's an opinion held by several other people who frequent this message board. Just because another band (or hundreds of other bands) are playing short sets, doesn't mean it's ok for Gaslight to do so.

A two hour set isn't something that's new to Gaslight. There were reports of several long shows over the past European tour. I'd have to verify with the recordings but my recollection is that the Radio City Music Hall show in 2010 and the Asbury Park Convention Hall show of 2011 both exceeded two hours.

And yes, those were larger venues. Pointing out those shows was no accident because Gaslight has openly aspired to become a band that can play larger venues. Their musical heroes and influences - the ones they invoke and reference in song and on stage - are known for not just for the quality of their live performances but also for length.

I dare not suggest that Gaslight start playing three hour shows the way that Pearl Jam does. They can get to that point when they've been around for 25 years. They're not going to get anywhere close to that sort of live band though if they stay stuck in the rut of 90 minute songs. The band needs to keep developing and moving their live show forward by incorporating both their new and old songs in longer sets. It is the easiest and most effective improvement they can make to their show; it doesn't require more equipment, or different lights or sound equipment, or more personnel - it just requires playing longer.

"for the life of me I wish they would turn Brians microphone up."

THIS. I don't know ONE single thing Brian said the entire show, and I love when he chats to the crowd. So if anyone can enlighten me about stuff he said, that'd be awesome. I think I caught some mention of Philly but I don't know what it was in reference to. I thought I was going deaf but the people around me confirmed they had no idea what was being said either. The sound in general sucked the entire show, at least from the side. Was it any better in the center?

I didn't love the crowd. I was surprised they weren't more vocal. I also noticed the earlier stuff was lost on the people around me.

For those complaining about the set length, I'm very curious how many shows people here have been to where it's over a 90 minute headline set from a modern mainstream band like Gaslight.

I would have liked more from Get Hurt to be honest. Dying for Selected Poems. LOVED the Red At Night mashup. AND HELLO TO RED IN THE MORNING. So excited to hear that.

I also feel we all failed Alex L by not singing Happy Birthday

I am the first person to complain about set times. I think 90 minutes is too short normally.

However, if you are going to play a tight 25 songs in that 90 minutes I dont see how anyone can complain. Most bands that play 2 hours still arent playing more than 25 songs.

I am also shocked by the whole that crowd sucked vibe im getting from everyone. Normally I am in the middle to the front, and always hate the crowd because of the moshing and the crowd surfing and since I'm tall I get kicked in the head all show. So for the first time in a long time I just stayed in the back area relatively close to the bar. And from where I was the crowd looked awesome.

You cant have it both ways and say "there was no energy in the crowd" and then complain when there is more energy and people are moshing and crowd surfing. To me it looked like one of the better crowds with people jumping up and down, but for the most part respectively and also singing most of the songs throughout the night. Its funny how being either difference of opinion or different spots on the floor we could come to different conclusions about the crowd.

I remember regretting halfway through the show that I didnt get my normal spot on the floor because it seemed like it would be one of the better crowds to be in the middle of.

On to the music. I loved the set list. It was nice to hear some of the older songs mixed up being slower or just different. I've been to probably 15-20 shows, so hearing the same stuff over and over could get a little old, but I loved how they mixed it up.

Also people complaining about not enough Get Hurt stuff....wouldnt surprise me at all if they play more of it at T5. That was the show they announced first I believe...it is also a much bigger venue. I bet they are thinking T5 will be more of a casual audience (read: brofest) and they will play more of their hits and bigger new songs. Wont know that for sure until saturday though.

I actually thought yesterdays show was the best show they played since their last time at webster hall for the handwritten cd release show.

"I'd have to verify with the recordings but my recollection is that the Radio City Music Hall show in 2010 and the Asbury Park Convention Hall show of 2011 both exceeded two hours."

Radio City was 24 songs.

Asbury Convention Hall was 27 songs.

Webster Hall was 25 songs.

Out of the 11 shows I've been to I think 9 of them, Brian's voice was drowned out by the band. The two shows at Pier 26 were pretty well mixed. If you're a new fan and don't know most the words, I would prob not enjoy the concert as much because you can't make out the majority of what he says/sings.

This is an ongoing problem I think but I think it's done purposely...and I don't know why.  Sometimes I would wonder, hey maybe I'm going deaf...but then I think...no.. I could hear the opener's voices clearly and even at other concerts.  I just hate the way they mix his voice in, its terrible.

GlennR wrote:

In the interests of moving the discussion back to something productive, one example that immediately came to mind was a show I saw by The Hold Steady this past December.  I see them as a decent comparison here (similar amount of albums; similar reputation for being a top-notch live band).  It was at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and was a $45 ticket; seems like a close enough comparison in terms of price and venue size.  Show was slightly over two hours long.

Yet simply comparing Gaslight to other bands is not the point.  The reason I want to see Gaslight multiple times on multiple tours is because they are *better* than other bands.  I don't think it controversial to suggest that's an opinion held by several other people who frequent this message board.  Just because another band (or hundreds of other bands) are playing short sets, doesn't mean it's ok for Gaslight to do so.

I don't think comparing a holiday event show versus a tour is a good comparison. In either case, TGA still played more songs than THS in your example.. THS played longer because they usually take an encore and drag (unnecessarily, in my opinion, in the case of songs like "Southtown Girls") songs out.

And comparisons are the point. The world isn't a vacuum where you get to hold and spew opinions ungrounded in any basis of fact. You said:

Quote :

turning up and playing a 98 minute set is, on the continuum of rudeness, somewhere past "inconsiderate" and dangerously approaching "disrespectful."

That is hardly the case, and that's where the ignorance and dickishness I mentioned come into play.

TGA are above most bands in terms of set length -- take THS, your example, who played a mere 18 songs on their last New York date as part of a tour. You use the term "short set", but you don't really know what that means except for the definition in your own head and not within the context of 99%+ of live music. Would I like to hear a 50 song TGA set? Sure! But I also understand that 25 songs is a long set and well above average, if not in the very top percentage of similar bands.

TLDR: If you are arguing that TGA should play setlists longer than 99%+ of other live bands, that's fine, and that could make them even more special. But don't throw around terms like "rude", "inconsiderate", "disrespectful", and "short set" to describe a band that is already going above-and-beyond many, many bands.