Cheers!

Good to see what you guys are doing here – it seems like a great place to find news and thoughts on the band. My compliments to all of you.

My name is Josef, I just turned thirty and I live in Tampa and Berlin. I grew up with Springsteen and became a ”The Gaslight Anthem“ fan after I had seen them play a very powerful and overall impressive concert in Baltimore in 2008. They are a truly talented band and, personally, I consider the quality of the songwriting nothing short of Dylan’s and Springsteen’s work - with, still, a lot of potential for future development. I think I’ve seen 21 concerts ever since 2008 and it’ll be very interesting to see what is happening to the guys as they become bigger and bigger.


I hope to talk to you guys,
Josef

Hi Josef, I'm Shannon. Welcome to the forum! That's amazing that you've seen 21 Gaslight concerts! WOW! And I agree, Brian's songwriting is right up there with Bob and Bruce, and that's a huge statement.

IrishNameAndAnInjury wrote:

that's a huge statement.

Thanks Shannon. It is a huge statement, that's true. But it's all right there, the lyricism, metaphors, leitmotifs, philosophical thought and street ethics, reminiscence, feel, voice, sound - you name it.

Hi Josef! I agree with that statement too about Brian's writing being up there with Dylan and Springsteen. Sometimes I have to remind myself not to hold EVERY songwriter to that standard or no one will ever impress me, haha. But you're right, it is all right there.

21 shows really is impressive. It has to be crazy for you to think about what it was like to see them in '08 vs now.

Welcome to the forum! I'm Shelby by the way.

Thanks Shelby. When it comes to their shows there has certainly been quite a change – all for the better so far. The same is true for the audience (size-wise and dedication), I think.

The band seems to grow somehow naturally, although, the marketing pressure on “Handwritten” is enormous.

Hi Josef, welcome to the forum! I'm Beth. I've seen Gaslight 20 fewer times than you

Beth are you going to any of the NE shows coming up in November? Maybe you could start catching up! I'm pretty behind too haha.

Josef that's awesome to hear. I wish I could go back in time and see them back then but it's good to know that they're only getting better. I agree, it is cool that the pressure of Handwritten really hasn't seemed to have phased them. I think right now people are looking for it to (hence some of the lovely arguments on here recently) but it really doesn't seem like it has "changed them" in any big negative ways.

I'm hitting 4 shows on the East Coast tour Maybe I can catch up in 4 or 5 years!

Hi Josef! Willkommen auf DSS
Seen them live 21 times? Wow! That's great. Are ou going to see them soon again?

Hi Manu(ela),

thanks - however, I've seen them 21 time over 5 years, so I guess it isn't that stunning... I am planning to see a few of their last 2012 shows once they return from Europe in late November.

Hi guys!  Good to see that the forum is still active.  I just moved back to Berlin for a couple of weeks; riding the subway with TGA on my iPod, which, gives the vibe of the city a nice soundtrack.