Nobody captures yearning like Brian Fallon. Few write ballads that truly captivate me, let alone follow those up by something so deeply rock and roll it makes me feel young again to the point it damn near cures my arthritis. I write that now even as someone who stayed up way past her bedtime! I’m still riding the high if not just a little worse for wear.
I acknowledge I’m biased. I love The Gaslight Anthem, of which Fallon is the frontman. I named one of my dogs after the sole Horrible Crowes album Elsie. And his solo records continue to be go-to night drive, long-drive, windows-down drive — pretty much any time I’m behind the wheel of a car — material.
On the Sept. 30 stop of Fallon’s Not Bad for New Jersey tour celebrating the recent release of his latest solo record of the same name, I was quickly reminded the limitations recorded songs have to the thundering power of a live version in the hands of a group of guys who are genuinely having fun on stage.
The setlist spanned his four solo albums and included a couple choice cuts from Elsie (The Horrible Crowes album that, if you haven’t heard it, you should give it a listen. In fact, if you have, go give it a listen now in my Elsie’s honor) as well as a a cover of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” And their covers are worth appreciating because not only do they span genres and regularly change show to show, Fallon and The Painkillers truly make them their own.
If you can’t catch a date on this tour I cannot recommend enough making it out to a Gaslight Anthem show or another solo gig. You won’t regret it.
P.S. Shout out to Tim Barry for opening his set with “Dog Bumped,” a song about killing a family member’s abusive boyfriend with an especially satisfying twist given everything going on right now and also all of the fucking time. Admittedly, I was bummed that Donovan Woods wasn’t my date’s opener but Barry brought his usual dignified blend of rage and love that was probably more fitting.