Another month another absolutely fantastic lot of albums that have been released. Such new albums from The Joy Formidable, Bob Mould, Richmond Fontaine, The Wild Feathers and Adult Books have been particularly great but my top favourite has to be Brian Fallons first release as a solo agent titled Painkillers.
This post was ideally meant to be posted last week but better late than never, thats a phrase people say? Anyways, I have been a big Brian Fallon fan from his years in The Gaslight Anthem. Their blend of emotion stirring Americana rock and roll has always made me some kind of way in the same way that of Springsteen (to give a nice and dated reference) does. It is that quality of storytelling lyrics about the every-man that connects seemingly easy with me and gives a personal extra layer of enjoyment from the music. This solo release was a great progression from his work in the band, keeping everything that I loved about the bands sound, then adding the more personal lyrics to the tracks and taking more responsibility on his shoulders for being a solo effort. My track highlights are Among Other Foolish Things (possibly for the Beatles influences), Steve McQueen and Long Drives. Below is one of the single releases Painkillers, please watch the video and go get the album if you like what you hear! Enjoy!
It has been a while since I heard this song and upon hearing it today, it rekindled a flame in the back of my memory somewhere. Memories of good times and sing-a-longs with friends. It is nice to hear it done acoustically and I am not sure exactly if Jimmy Fallon adds much apart from the awkward high vocals but he is enough of a legend just getting this video recorded and posting it online for everyone to hear. Coxon soloing on the resonator guitar was my personal highlight. I hope you dig it as much as me. Enjoy!
Last night I went to see Springsteen with my papa at the Ricoh Arena. This was my first stadium sized show I have been to and let me tell you it was brilliant. Driving there and back was a proper ball ache due to the amount of traffic but once we got inside the venue all was good. It was quite easy to get a decent spot in the crowd and we didn't have to wait too long before the main man came on stage. I was impressed with him not having a support act and doing the whole set which was roughly 3 hours long just himself and the band. He has so much energy, running all over the stage and putting so much effort into singing and guitar playing, it really is amazing. With The E Street Band I was sort of expecting a backing band like The Roots are on Jimmy Fallon's show but I was dead wrong. It was much more of a partnership, those guys are so talented and brilliant musicians and I was particularly impressed with the saxophonist, some of his solos really stood out for me. Another thing I really liked about the show was Bruce's interaction with the audience, either by picking people to come join him on stage or getting handmade signs from audience members he particularly likes, more bands should learn from this guy. On the set list side of things I think he had a decent mix of older tracks and stuff from the new album, there were both songs for me and my dad to sing along to. I can honestly say he kept me excited and pumped up the whole way through compared to some bands in the past where at points my interest wavers. He was easily worth the money paid for a ticket and I would for sure see him again.
