New Jersey’s own The Gaslight Anthem has been out touring in support of their first album in nine years, History Books (2023). I got the chance to catch their set in Central Park, part of this year’s Summer Stage lineup. Let’s take a look back and relive the rock and roll magic!
Opening up the night was Baltimore, Maryland’s Pinkshift. The young group, which draws influence from bands like Nirvana as well as many Riot Grrrl artists like Bikini Kill, brought a high-energy performance to the stage. Despite a small crowd from the early start time and being the first band on, they had the crowd moving and singing along, absolutely making plenty of new fans that day.
Up next was the emo punk group Joyce Manor who has become a dominant name in their scene. Between countless sold-out shows at Crossroads, to working with Weezer both on tour and on an anniversary version of “Surf Wax America”, the band has been doing anything and everything. Their set showcased the range of styles the band can play, from opening with the fast, bass-driven “Heart Tattoo”, to the more indie-sounding “Eighteen”, to their thrashing punk closer “Catalina Fight Song”. The band had their fair share of fans in the crowd to start, but nothing compared to what was to come.
The Gaslight Anthem came out with the title track to 2010’s American Slang and thus started well over an hour of easily one of the most outstanding performances to grace the Summer Stage. From the fast highs like the anthemic “45” to the softer lows of “Here’s Looking At You, Kid”, the group delivered a career-spanning performance that had everyone sticking around to the very end.
In between songs came probably some of my favorite bits of crowdwork ever. The first time frontman Brian Fallon had a chance to address the crowd, he informed us that they had a “tight schedule” because of “some celebrity who lives over there that will shut this down” if they played past curfew. Later on in the night, he went on a rant about how “right here is the best place to get New York pizza in New York”, which slowly spiraled out of control before introducing the next song as “New York’s Best Pizza”.
To end the night, The Gaslight Anthem brought out local musician Karina Rykman for a cover of Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes” through the end of their set. Upon the conclusion of their smash hit “The ’59 Sound”, Fallon rushed a series of thank you’s before bringing Pinkshift back out for one of the most memorable covers of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” I’ve ever seen. The high energy coming out of “The ’59 Sound” fed perfectly into the half-planned finale, leaving everyone present with a parting gift just in time for a long, loud fade out that went right up to the 10 pm curfew for the park. Without a doubt, the best impulse show I have ever attended, and was lucky enough to get to shoot.
The Gaslight Anthem played a 20-song set that consisted of:
American Slang
45
High Lonesome
We Came to Dance
The Weatherman
Positive Charge
Wooderson
Howl
Miles Davis and the Cool
Michigan, 1975
Handwritten
The Spirit of Jazz
Mulholland Drive
Keepsake
Here’s Looking at You, Kid
Ocean Eyes (Billie Eilish cover) (with Karina Rykman)
Mae (with Karina Rykman)
Great Expectations (with Karina Rykman)
The ’59 Sound (with Karina Rykman)
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana Cover) (with Pinkshift and Karina Rykman)
