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support Emily Wolfe
author PP date 09/03/24 venue Den Grå Hal, Copenhagen, DEN

It's a cold Saturday night in Copenhagen. It's the kind of wind that eats into your bones. Den Grå Hal can be a freezing venue in winter if there aren't enough people, but fortunately, the return of The Gaslight Anthem for their first Danish show in over a decade means the venue is packed, so no worries there. They've been on hiatus all this time and only recently returned with a brand new album, "History Books", which they are cautiously introducing into the setlist, given its lukewarm reception overall. But first, let us talk through the supporting act, Emily Wolfe.

No photos of Emily Wolfe - unfortunately Stefan had a small mess-up with the memory card and the support pics were lost... next time

Emily Wolfe

Emily Wolfe is best described as a rock'n'roll songwriter. She plays a minimalist type of atmospheric rock that primarily relies on her great, earnest vocals and low-key presence on stage. A little too low-key, though, as there's virtually nothing happening on stage aside from some stand-still, bluesy rock'n'roll melodies that are at best decent, at worst forgettable. This is despite having an unusual formation with the drumkit setup on the right side of the stage rather than behind the band, as is the norm. She tries to charm the audience by mentioning how much she loves exploring our city on multiple occasions, and sounds genuine enough in her sparse interaction with us. Unfortunately, the songs are pretty boring at least on first listen, so no wonder people are chatting relatively loudly near me rather than spellbound by her performance. Not bad, but also just meh.

The Gaslight Anthem

It's quite a different story for The Gaslight Anthem, who have set up colourful bookcases behind them to highlight this tour is about their "History Books" album. That is also what they start with, where the familiar tones of "Spider Bites" are spent adjusting the vocals to hit the notes correctly. It's a new Brian Fallon - he's also sporting long hair - and it's been a while, so naturally, he doesn't sound exactly like his coarse vocal self from the good old days.

All such worries are immediately removed with "Handwritten", though, which erupts the crowd into a big sing-along almost right away. Fallon chuckles and shouts "Copenhagen!!", as if to tell us "there you are" after the less than stellar reception to the opening track.

"Old White Lincoln" is spiced up with a pianist (or a keyboardist? Couldn't quite see) in the background next to the colourful bookshelves flashing green, blue, yellow, and red lights throughout the show. It's a bit unnecessary as the original is excellent, so this grander version doesn't really add much, in my opinion. It also features a funny moment where they pause the song to allow the crowd to sing along a verse in a capella fashion, but half of the audience thinks the song is over instead. It happens with older material.

"Biloxi Parish" kicks off a segment that just feels awesome throughout. With the classic "Sink Or Swim" track "Boomboxes And Dictionaries" leading straight into "The '59 Sound" classic "Great Expectations", the crowd looks and feels like it's having an ecstatic party. There's an eerie vibe of nostalgia as we all sing along to the band's best songs, realizing that "History Books" and "Get Hurt" are going to be mostly an afterthought tonight (and for good reason - they are both weak albums, which the title track to the latter underlines right away).

"Old Haunts" continues with solid material from the first three records, where the focus seems to be mostly on "Handwritten"-era mixed with "The '59 Sound". Whenever the band deviates - like on "The Weatherman" - the show feels like it falls into a lull, only to return with energizing cuts like "The Patient Ferris Wheel" which just sounds so much better in a direct contrast like this. After all, it's the upbeat bangers like "The Spirit Of Jazz" that drive the show, not tracks like "Underneath The Ground" (from "Get Hurt") during which people start talking in the crowd once again.

I'd love to have heard more "Sink Or Swim" material than just the aforementioned "Boomboxes And Dictionaries" and "I Coul'da Been A Contender" (fantastic rendition, though), but that's just wishful thinking these days. We do get a rarity in the form of "Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts" from 2008's "Señor & The Queen" EP, which appears to be played after a fan request. Fallon brings "his best friend in the whole wide world", Emily Wolfe on stage for this one unannounced, which is a little unfair because there's just little chance she remembers the lyrics to such a little-known song without advance warning. She gives it a good go during the chorus, though.

Fallon is in a talkative mood and tells off a bunch of people on their phones near the front in his trademark casual arrogant style, as we remember from their previous shows. It's good to add some fervour to the show at this point, because both "Mae" and "Michigan, 1975" slow down the show to a crawl before Fallon wakes everyone up with a quick intro to Metallica's "Sad But True" before the title track to "American Slang".

From here onwards, it's echoing sing-along time with especially "'45" striking out with its epic "heeeey heeey, and I'll see you on the flip side" parts. Not to mention the community-style sing-along to "The '59 Sound" where it feels like half of the audience has been waiting for this exact song. People are smiling, and dancing all around the crowd, and the a capella segment is perfectly handled by the crowd word-by-word. Finally, the band leaves us with another big sing-along during "The Backseat" in what has been a solid show throughout, minus the quiet segments that didn't do much for anyone, it seems. While not spectacular, The Gaslight Anthem shows are still excellent even after all these years.

Setlist:

• 1. Spider Bites
• 2. Handwritten
• 3. Old White Lincoln
• 4. Biloxi Parish
• 5. Boomboxes and Dictionaries
• 6. Great Expectations
• 7. Get Hurt
• 8. Old Haunts
• 9. Mulholland Drive
• 10. The Weatherman
• 11. The Patient Ferris Wheel
• 12. The Spirit of Jazz
• 13. Underneath the Ground
• 14. Miles Davis and the Cool
• 15. I Coul'da Been a Contender
• 16. Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts (feat. Emily Wolfe)
• 17. Mae
• 18. Michigan, 1975
• 19. American Slang
• 20. 45
• 21. The '59 Sound
• 22. The Backseat

Photos by: Stefan Bruse thor Straten