all words: Andy Hess
all photos: the internet
Let me apologize to those looking for a review about The Loved Ones' Dave Hause. I walked in to The Black Cat as he was finishing his set. After talking to a friend, she said "that he seemed nervous and that he was a really good songwriter."
I'll take her word for it, because when I saw The Loved Ones in Oxford, Miss. opening for The Hold Steady, I just felt like I was at the Warped Tour -- nothing against Warped Tour, but I'm a little too old for the amount of angst that comes with a good number of the bands on their bills.
After a quick trip to the bar for my usual pint of Guinness, I found a spot stage left waiting for Brian Fallon, the frontman for the terrific New Jersey quartet The Gaslight Anthem. Taking the stage around 11 p.m., Fallon spent the first 10 minutes, and a good portion of the show, talking. But I'll forgive him since I was expecting a punk-rock version of VH1's StoryTellers when I bought my ticket.
Even with the extended introduction, Fallon is a talented song-writer and it shows with the stripped-down renditions. While the songs lacked the typical thrust from the full band, they were smart, sensitive and nostalgic numbers that channel Springsteen but don't drown on E Street. Between songs Fallon opened up about the songs and shared the stories behind them, handling the wooo girls and the ridiculous song requests ("Africa", really?) with patience and a laugh.
Fallon, who is known to throw a cover into solo performances, shared a few gems with the audience including Clearance Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?", a Tegan and Sara song during the encore with Hause along with Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire".
Even though The Gaslight Anthem seem poised to be the next huge thing to come out of indie rock (read: Kings of Leon huge sans clothing line), it was nice to see their leader so humble about being able to play his songs for us.
Previously in Live DC:
- 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
- 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
- 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre
- 2/7: LiveDC: Augustana/ Graffiti6 @ 930 Club
- 2/6: LiveDC: All Things Go Presents: Reptar/ Casual Curious/ Fort Lean @ Gibson Guitar Showroom
- 2/6: LiveDC: TYCHO/ Beacon @ RNR Hotel
- 2/6: LiveDC: The Kills / Jeff The Brotherhood @ 9:30 Club
God loves a cheerful giver.
It took me a while to love this band, but the I saw a video of them performing live and fell head over heels in love.
This show was fantastic. Closing with the Bouncing Souls cover in the encore made my night.
@Nina -- I was the same way. I didn't really believe the hype until I saw them on Letterman and was blown away. I'll forever be a fan now.
@Kira -- I totally blanked on that Bouncing Souls cover. I think next time they do something like this (if we're so lucky) Brian and Dave should just do covers and play together.
This was an amazing show. It didn't feel as much as a concert, but rather one big sing-a-long with Fallon leading and telling stories. Good times.
Yeah, Hause seemed to be looking around for his band up there, but I think he's actually a loads better lyricist than Fallon. He played some new songs that he felt "didn't fit" with the Loved Ones. You might find them less "Warped Tour" too. (though, for the record, I rather like the Loved Ones and their bouncing souls vibe, even if it is warped-sy) Hell of a fun sing-a-long with Fallon though.