It should come as no surprise that I have a bit of history with The Gaslight Anthem - it’s at least literarily ironic considering this was the History Books Tour. Spending any amount of time in New Jersey and befriending only one person in a band means you’re going to know everyone, everywhere, and if you don’t, you know a handful of folks who do. The NJ scene is WILD like that.
But first, let’s talk about Pinkshift and Joyce Manor.
Openers Pinkshift were as sonically ambiguous as ever - a loving and brilliantly take on early My Chem meets early Paramore. Hailing from Baltimore the now 5-piece started out slow and heavy, then made their way through 30 solid minutes of vibey, brash, and expertly crafted power pop punk with a slight tinge of metal. This was my second time catching them live and it was just as much fun as the first time around. After the release of their debut album, Love Me Forever, and a couple of EPs, I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with next. Something tells me it’ll be pretty great.
The direct support slot fell to West Coast indie/pop punk melody makers Joyce Manor, who’s on stage banter was matched in its brevity by their songs. Catchy, sung with a slight smirk - you can actually hear it, I swear - and really damn fun, Joyce Manor has mastered the “this song’s really moving along oh but now it’s over” style of songwriting and, I have to say, I appreciate it. It certainly makes for a sometimes jarring experience, but not unpleasantly so - each time it happened, I actually laughed a little to myself. I did enjoy their set quite a bit, and wonder how they’d play in a small venue. They certainly make sense on a stage the size of what Brady offers, but they’d crush in a sweaty, cramped space like the Revival Room at The Southgate House Revival.
Headliners The Gaslight Anthem are humble dudes. They’ve been doing this for a long time, they’ve seen some things, been through even more, I’m sure. My history with the band is unique but in a uniquely New Jersey way.
I spent about a decade in Northern New Jersey, near where The Gaslight Anthem first formed (though then they were known as This Charming Man). I have a lot of mutual friends, a good buddy even in a band with one of the members of The Gaslight Anthem (what’s up, Rocky and Mercy Union). Other friends have opened up for them at shows in New Jersey and on national tours, while still others worked with vocalist Brian Fallon at a now RIP’d national chain of movie rental retailers. A lot of my adult life has somehow swirled - not revolved, though - around The Gaslight Anthem in some truly weird ways.
Which brings us to August 27, 2024. The Gaslight Anthem in Cincinnati at The Andrew J. Brady Music Center headlining a tour centered around their 6th album, History Books, which was also the culmination of them also returning to “Hey, we’re a full-time band again” status. Plus all that other stuff I just mentioned. Were they good? Absolutely. As good as ever. Did they play the songs everyone wanted to hear. You betcha - they know what they’re doing. Were they having fun? Yes, yes they were. Having six albums of critically acclaimed material to work from, song that, by and large, fans listen to, adore, and absorb in very personal ways, it was nice to see smiles and the sort of quiet acknowledgment that what they have is special, and that what they’re doing matters to folks.
As a show designed by the band, it was also nice to see that they were playing this particular set of songs just as much for themselves as the fans - it certainly helps to have such a deep well of solid-to-great tracks to work from, but it also helps when you’re enjoying yourself the way each member of the band seemed to be. And I’ll be honest here - in situations like these, with bands so far into their career after what looked to be tumultuous times, to be able to get on stage, play with a smile on their face, hit all the notes that they want to it, and make sure their fans get what they want out of it? That’s what it’s all about, y’all. Cheers to The Gaslight Anthem for making it happen.
