The Gaslight Anthem Tour Blog

Gaslight Anthem drummer Benny Horowitz gives Rock Sound an inside view on the band's UK tour.

Posted Monday, 28 June 2010 by Benny Horowitz in

Blog

And another tour begins...

We had a lengthy time away from shows, over five months, while we were writing/recording 'American Slang' and being involved in our respective home lives for a little while. With the exception of our record release show, this European run is the first proper sets we've played in quite a while.

We started last week at the Hurricane and Southside festivals in Germany. They were the same as last year; cold and rainy and somehow the crowd didn't give a crap. Those kids are nuts, but I appreciate it, cause both shows were fun.

I had a panicked moment on the ferry from Calais to Dover, which included (in my head) my certain drowning and a late-dash for the top deck. Luckily when I got up there, the English Breakfast line was still open and two members of Hot Water Music were on the sunny deck! Went from an inevitable Titanic moment to a memorable and scenic morning.

When we hit Dover, most of us rushed to make a Maida Vale session for Zane Lowe. Our merchandise man Danny and I went to see Hot Water and Failsafe at Islington instead. Great show. They continue to be one of the best bands around, period. Especially when they did a spot on cover of 'True Believers' by The Bouncing Souls. When I got back on the bus there was a Ghostbusters 1&2 double playing, and overnight we went on our way to the new O2 Academy in Birmingham.

There we finally got to meet up with Sharks and Twin Atlantic, two bands we've been looking forward to doing a run with. Tuesday marked the official beginning of our headlining touring, and it's nice to get the crew together and have our own stage and do things proper again. Home was confusing without music, and I was very much looking forward to this show, for innumerable reasons.

Sharks kicked off with a half hour ripper of a set, including a cover of 'Can't Hardly Wait' by The Replacements, great tune. Twin Atlantic also played a super tight, moody set that brought me back to the mid 90's in a good way. I like the guitar work and they have a very tight, seamless show. Both bands set the bar nice and high.

We came out and were blown away by the size, noise and activity of the crowd. It's totally surreal to come on stage amidst that kind of energy, especially when I know it's aimed at us. We came out and did a fairly rusty, but blast of a set that had most of the new record, about half of 'The '59 Sound', and some choice nuggets from the older stuff. Again, we've had some time off and writing/playing sets and all gets better as it goes on, but I couldn't have been more pleased with how it went. The vibe was great and the crowd reacted really well to the new stuff.

That night I fell down in an old man state of disrepair while our trusty stead (the bus) drove us to Glasgow. The last time we did a show there was at The Garage with about 500 people in attendance. During that time we were amazed that that many people came to our first show in Scotland. In the States and Central Europe, we were still doing cities where way fewer people would come and we'd sleep seven to a motel room rubbing feet in the night. So for our second headlining show to be a 2,600 venue sold out completely, we were shocked.

The academy in Glasgow is a nicely kept old theatre with a great sound system and, dare I say, ambiance. Something I miss about the newer venues of today, detail and quality, and a place designed for optimal sound for any seat in the house. Show got going before I knew it and Sharks were on. Again, both them and Twin Atlantic (their's being a hometown show) were a treat to watch.

I was playing a little Marvin Gaye right before the set and felt a cool wash over me before we hit the stage. That cool was quickly dampened with heat, because that place was a sing-along sweatbox from the first hit to the last. Shows like this are the times I close my eyes on stage, imagine myself anywhere, and then open them, and thank fucking somebody that it's me doing it.

We're definitely starting to get in the groove of things, and the crowd and the venue were really welcoming. It's a show that makes me, as I sit in my underwear drinking my morning coffee and writing this, so excited to get on the stage tonight and do it again.