Palladium, Cologne, Germany11th August 2022
The Gaslight Anthem - “UK & European Tour 2022” - Support: Chris Farren
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM had disappeared from the scene for far too long. It was only in March 2022, a whole eight years after their last studio album, that there was a sign of life in the form of a tour announcement and the prospect of a new album from the band. Four gigs in Germany were on the bill - we were part of the party at the gig in Cologne.
Chris Farren
The concert was opened by support act CHRIS FARREN. The Indie Pop songwriter from the USA is no stranger to Brian Fallon, the undisputed head and singer of THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM. Brian Fallon and CHRIS FARREN already got together last year when they toured Europe together in autumn 2021.
Music & Performance
In Cologne, CHRIS FARREN started off with an incredible amount of energy. The singer and guitarist, whose live performances are supported by drums, bass and keyboards from the tape, didn’t know where to put all the energy he had in him at first. However, the tempo of the solo entertainer, who obviously doesn’t take himself too seriously, dropped noticeably after three songs. Only towards the end of the 40-minute set did CHRIS FARREN’s performance pick up speed again. The audience gratefully acknowledged this, and the applause was noticeably more intense after the livelier songs of the set.
Setlist
01. Search 4 Me
02. Say U Want Me
03. Be There 4 Ya
04. Death Don’t Wait
05. Until I Can See The Light
06. Brighter
07. Domain Lapse
08. Where U Are
09. The Way That I Love U Has Changed
10. Human Being
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 9
Light: 7
Sound: 9
Total: 8 / 10
The Gaslight Anthem
Eight years fans of THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM have been waiting for a new album from their band. But now it almost looks like the friends of the Rock band from New Jersey can look forward to exciting news. After the long break, the quartet seems to have decided not only to perform live again, but also to produce new music. This is also supported by the fact that THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM will come to us at the beginning of August for two festival appearances and four headline shows - one of them on Cologne. Finally, the most American of all American combos is coming back to tour with us. Punk references meet the heavy stadium rock of an early Springsteen, blues rock crosses with Americana, acoustic guitars alternate with hard electric riffs. And the live qualities are beyond any doubt anyway.
Music & Performance
After a short changeover and sound check phase - the audience sang along loudly with BELINDA CARLISLE’s ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth’ over the speakers - THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM entered the stage and promptly started their 23-song (!) set with ‘Have Mercy’. And it became immediately clear that Brian Fallon is the head of the band. In fact, of the total of six musicians, only the singer and guitarist was properly lit. The band around their head performed in the total of about 105 minutes not completely in the dark, but already much more inconspicuously illuminated than Brian Fallon. THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM convinced during their performance all along the line. The fact that the Rock band had disappeared from the scene for many years was not noticeable at any time. No, Brian Fallon and his band were convincing all the way through and performed their Americana-soaked Rock with excellence the whole time.
The audience in the well-attended (but not completely sold out) Palladium accepted the songs enthusiastically. Towards the end of the set, when THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM started the big finale with ‘45’, ‘The Backseat’ and of course ‘The '59 Sound’, the atmosphere was of course at its peak. If something actually annoyed, then it was the two longer speeches of the frontman of the group. There were two longer parts and one may assume that the humour of the singer does not quite correspond to the humour of the audience. Thank God, such outbursts were kept within limits. In general, the sextet played their set without any big breaks. Even if from the musicians only Brian Fallon was really well lit: the general light show was fantastic. Again and again, the man at the controls bathed the stage in warm light, colour combinations always seemed harmonious and it was simply a visual treat for the eyes to see the band perform on the illuminated stage.
All in all, it was a great pleasure to see the band perform at such a level after so much time off.
Setlist
01. Have Mercy
02. Great Expectations
03. Old White Lincoln
04. Biloxi Parish
05. Handwritten
06. Get Hurt
07. Mulholland Drive
08. Mae
09. Underneath the Ground
10. Blue Dahlia
11. The Diamond Church Street Choir
12. Halloween
13. The Patient Ferris Wheel
14. Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts
15. Stay Vicious
16. Howl
17. 1930
18. Keepsake
19. Sweet Morphine
20. American Slang
21. 45
22. The Backseat
23. The '59 Sound
Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Light: 10
Sound: 8
Total: 9 / 10
All pictures by André Wilms
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