Gaslight Anthem Shine, But Don't Explode

I hope Broadway Calls fans will forgive me for thinking that meeting a friend for a couple of Ontario microbrews at C'est What was a better way to spend the early part of Tuesday evening than seeing the Oregon pop-punk band. I'm sorry, kids.

But the Kool Haus was already pretty full when we arrived a couple of songs into Jesse Malin's set, and I had to take a couple of looks to make sure it was him since he's dyed his hair jet black in an attempt, I'm assuming, to look younger than his 41 years.

Malin has been a somewhat hit or miss musician for me over the years. I liked him as the frontman for glam-punk band D Generation in the '90s, but I found the music didn't age well and I've since given away the New York City group's three albums. I've enjoyed some of Malin's solo material, while other songs left me flat. I've felt the same way about the three previous times I saw him at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern, but I was generally impressed with Tuesday's performance. "Broken Radio" and D Generation's "Degenerated" were the highlights of Malin's power pop and pop-punk set.

I wasn't nearly as familiar with Murder By Death, having only heard a few songs online. The Indiana quartet started promisingly with material that blended elements of punk, roots rock and psychobilly, but things hit a plateau pretty quickly and didn't go anywhere from there — and even cute cellist/keyboardist Sarah Balliet couldn't hold my attention. The rest of the band left the stage for a song so frontman Adam Turla could sing and play his electric guitar with no accompaniment. He should realize he's no Billy Bragg.

The Gaslight Anthem hit the stage 15 minutes past their scheduled 10:30 p.m. start time, but wasted no time in revving up the crowd with "High Lonesome." The quartet hail from New Brunswick, N.J. and the influence of another prominent state resident, Bruce Springsteen, is infused through their melodic, rootsy and soulful punk rock. Singer/guitarist Brian Fallon has performed with The Boss and he even looked the part at the Kool Haus in his jeans, white T-shirt and black leather jacket.

"Old White Lincoln" got the fans up front pumping their fists and raising their arms and pointing, and that didn't stop for "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues." Fallon noticed the love he was receiving and said Canadians were "the weekend" in comparison to fans the U.S., which he called "the week" (or maybe "the weak" might be a more appropriate spelling). I guess that means we like to party.

The Gaslight's Anthem second album, The '59 Sound, was one of my favourites of last year and was also a commercial breakthrough — reaching #70 on the U.S. sales chart and hitting #55 in the U.K. I was surprised that the title track, which is probably the group's best known number, was the sixth song in the set. Even if it arrived earlier than expected, the infectious cut was still tremendous.

The set list was much heavier on The '59 Sound than The Gaslight Anthem's 2007 Sink Or Swim debut, which was most notably represented by "Angry Johnny And The Radio" and then "1930" and "I Coulda Been A Contender" in the encore.

The Gaslight Anthem also threw in a cover of Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise's "Once Upon A Time," which was released as an iTunes-only bonus track with The '59 Sound. The hour-long set was rounded out by "Film Noir," "Great Expectations" and "The Backseat," while the encore also included "Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts" and the title track from last year's four-song "Senor And The Queen" EP and The '59 Sound's "Meet Me By The River's Edge."

I've read articles calling The Gaslight Anthem one of the best live bands around these days. While there was energy and I love a lot of the songs, I'd call that assertion an overstatement. I likened the performance to the quartet's music. It's not overly original, but very competent.

That's often enough, but it wasn't on Tuesday night. Perhaps my expectations were too high this time, but I'll definitely give The Gaslight Anthem another chance when they come back to town again after releasing their eagerly awaited new album next year.