New York Times review of Bowery Ballroom show

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/arts/music/19fallon.html


The New York Times
January 19, 2010
Music Review | Brian Fallon

Music, Impersonations and Insights From the Crowd

By JON CARAMANICA

Brian Fallon, the frontman of the terrific New Jersey punk band the Gaslight Anthem, played a rare solo show at the Bowery Ballroom on Friday night, but he was not unaccompanied. His three band mates weren’t there, but in their stead he got soused singalongs and hecklers.

Amid all this Mr. Fallon was good-natured and maybe a bit neurotic, persevering with two hours of lullabies for the inebriated. And chatter, lots of chatter. He talked about the making of his band’s forthcoming album, “American Slang,” about old jobs working on roofs and around asbestos, about shopping for a Pogues record one Christmas Eve.

There were impressions too: Tom Waits, Al Pacino, Joy Behar from “The View.” Mr. Fallon, it turns out, is a card.

The crowd was at its quietest when he strayed the farthest from character — talking about the movie “Beaches,” and covering Kelly Clarkson’s “I Do Not Hook Up,” which inspired at least one unprintable epithet from an audience member.

It’s likely that Mr. Fallon will have to get comfortable with alienating some of his loyalists: Gaslight Anthem is a sensitive, arty, pop-savvy band in tough clothes that’s only getting sharper. Someday Mr. Fallon will most likely retire his well-worn longshoreman’s cap for good.

For now, though, it remains, along with his trademark light, mottled gasp of a voice, so distinct that it completely painted over the original versions of songs he covered here: the spiritual “What You Gonna Call Your Pretty Little Baby?,” “Dollar Bill” by Screaming Trees and Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”

The Gaslight Anthem songs he sang — “The ’59 Sound,” “Miles Davis & the Cool,” “Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts” — lacked their typical rhythmic thrust, though. Normally they could soundtrack a bar brawl, but here, with little in the way of Mr. Fallon, they were gentle, which only, naturally, appeared to lead to agitation.

Not surprisingly, that inspired the usual dunderheaded shouted requests, “Free Bird” and so on. Mr. Fallon mused on how Tom Waits might have responded, dipping into Mr. Waits’s voice. Then he related a story he’d heard about how Van Morrison had once complained that someone was stealing his “ ’70s moves.” Mr. Fallon did an impression of Mr. Morrison, then imagined how his own influence might play out down the line. “I can’t wait,” he said, “till someone is like, ‘I stole his 2010 moves, when he was awkward in public.’”

It annoys me that people were being so idiotic, your at an acoustic show if you want the normal versions go watch the full band dont go to a solo show and shout things while hes playing. People like this dont have any respect for music , i went to a Gary Moore concert which was a blues gig so he just played blues songs, and this fat guy behind me kept shouting 'out in the fields' (he didnt play it) and then at the end of the gig shouted 'that was shiit'.

I wasn't there but it sounds terrible how the crowd was. I can imagine it was pretty annoying

There will always be drunk assholes at shows, but why would you heckle the person you came to see. I can understand harassing a shitty opener, but the act you paid money for that just doesn't make sense.

Guys, don't focus on all the crowd stuff, this is a GREAT REVIEW.

not that great...

eh, i thought the reviewer seemed like kind of a dick also though.
he doesn't seem to know much about gaslight.

"“The ’59 Sound,” “Miles Davis & the Cool,” “Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts” — lacked their typical rhythmic thrust, though."
really dude? they lacked their typical rhythmic thrust?
possibly because it was acoustic (no rhythm section) and Brian reworks songs to have them sound how he wants acoustic, which is generally much much different from the full band song.
say what you want about the crowd, but it was still a damn good time.
I like brian because he doesnt ignore people, even people shouting in the crowd.
he might kindly make fun of you for saying something stupid, but its all in good fun.
I had a blast at the show.

Sorry to harp on the crowd, but I was in the front row and didn't even hear the Pacino and Beaches stories! Must have been while people near me were shouting. Hrmph.