Hammersmith Odeon, I mean Apollo.

Last night a trip across London to Hammersmith to see Gaslight Anthem in concert. Gaslight came to my notice after supporting Bruce Springsteen's tour last year. There is some similarity, both stem from New Jersey, and there is a 'New Jersey sound'. The band showed enough to suggest the 'hype' is justified, they are a driving rock band, whose music is designed for listening to while driving a car. On the night I thought the mixing was too simplistic allowing the guitars at times to blot out Brian Fallon's vocals. The material some of which came from earlier albums, was well received by a sell out audience. For me who has only heard the American Slang album it was a slightly uneven set, yet one with many highlights.

Standing on the side of the hall I remembered my first visit in 1969 to see Aretha Franklin in concert, the following years saw me witness Ike and Tina turner and Santana. In recent years I've had the pleasure of seeing Alison Krauss & union Station, Counting Crows and the legendary Neil Young. On the night however I found myself thinking back to Hammersmith's most famous night when Springsteen played there in 1975.

The concert gave rise to an immortal live album and dvd. I was wondering whether the Gaslight Anthem concert would mean as much to the younger sections of the audience who spent much of the evening in a see of movement on the floor, including a couple of crowd surfers who were ejected by security. Gaslight have most definitely paid their dues to Bruce. Brian Fallon in one of the quieter moments of the evening explained how when he first came to London he drove past Hammersmith, and asked the band whether one night they'd play there. Well they've arrived and will probably play bigger venues.

For all that perhaps it was the first concert where I've realised that I was one of the oldest members of the audience. A moment to reflect upon without doubt.