One of the most written about, upcoming American bands of 2009 and '10, and having heard their excellent three albums released to date, i was really looking forward to seeing the Gaslight Anthem at the small Picture House venue in Edinburgh.
This review makes no criticism of the band's enthusiasm, energy levels or musicianship, which were all unfaultable on the night. However, they were very badly let down by a quite awful sound mix for their set, hence the meagre two stars awarded.
The vocals were way too low in the sound mix, making it extremely difficult to appreciate Brian Fallon's powerful, throaty rasp of a voice. Anyone who's heard him singing Springsteen's No Surrender, will understand how potent his voice can be. Additionally, and probably the biggest problem, was that both lead and rhythm guitar sounds were given way too much 'top end' dynamics, rendering both lead and rhythm to be virtually indiscernible from one another, apart from the two or three slower songs, and making the guitar section sound a tinny mess. All too frequently, it was very difficult to work out what song was being introduced and played until a recognisable inflection somewhere or other briefly emerged.
Unfortunately, the whole set was afflicted. I don't know what the sound guy was doing as this problem was also picked up on by a few friends and my 15 year old daughter. Although the venue isn't perfect, i saw Arrested Development at the same place a few weeks ago and their sound was crystal clear with strong dynamic range for all instruments and vocals. If the band want to develop as a live act, they need to monitor more closely sound in each venue and have someone at the mixing desk who is responsive to obvious problems.
So, the two stars awarded are purely for the quality of the band's performance as enjoyment of that performance was severely dented by the poor quality of the sound.