Last year, the Gaslight Anthem took part in what came to be affectionately known as the RAGATALK3 tour, opening for the incredibly solid lineup of Rise Against, Alkaline Trio and Thrice. Back on that tour, it seemed the only people who knew their songs were me, and about six other dudes with beards. They won a lot of new fans on that tour and since then, have pretty much blown the fuck up. This fall, they're on the road with three incredibly solid bands yet again, only this time as headliner.

I had only been to Denver's Ogden Theater once before, for a Brand New show in 2007, but I remembered the venue had GREAT sound. Last night's show only reinforced that. Frank Turner came out first and was greeted by some adoring female fans with roses. I would have liked to see him with a full-band setup, but his solo acoustic format worked out nicely for the venue, which was still filling up. He played a good mixture of new and old and definitely made some new fans, much as Gaslight did on the Rise Against tour last fall.



Set list:

1. I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
2. Try This at Home
3. Long Live the Queen
4. The Road
5. Worse Things Happen at Sea
6. Journey of the Magi
7. Photosynthesis
8. The Ballad of Me & My Friends

I've been a fan of the Loved Ones ever since Keep Your Heart was released on Fat in 2006; however, this was my first time seeing them live, and I definitely wasn't disappointed. Watching Dave Hause live, you can definitely tell he's been studying Brian Fallon and copying his stage moves. I also saw a little bit of Billie Joe Armstrong in there. However, he was pretty entertaining, and he pointed to my Replacements shirt and gave me the thumbs up, so that was cool. The band played super tight and I was pleasantly surprised to hear my favorite song of theirs, "Massive."

Set list:

1. The Inquirer
2. 100K
3. Distracted
4. The Bridge (Super fast version)
5. Massive
6. Breathe In
7. Pretty Good Year
8. Jane
9. Louisiana

I've bought a ticket to see Murder by Death before, but my friends and I were there for Fake Problems, and we left after their set (It was Valentine's Day, and we had a lot of drinking and crying to do), so this was my first time actually seeing them. I was definitely impressed. When I heard about this tour a couple months ago, I picked up their two most recent albums, but hadn't given them much attention. I definitely will now. Bonus points for their cellist/keyboardist, who is hands down the prettiest girl I've ever seen at a punk show, on stage or otherwise.

Set list:

• Ball and Chain
• '52 Ford
• Sometimes the Line Walks You
• - a bunch of songs I didn't know -
• Brother
• - a couple more songs I didn't know -

Gaslight came out and did what they do best -- having seen them quite a few times now, I knew what to expect, so I wasn't wowed like the first couple times. Brian promised "This is the last time we'll make you come out and see us to hear the same old songs." That's pretty much what the set list consisted of, although "1930" was a nice surprise. He also promised that the new album was sassy, full of magic and swords, and that Mastodon would be psyched.

Set list:

1. High Lonesome
2. Casanova, Baby!
3. Old White Lincoln
4. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
5. The '59 Sound
6. We Came to Dance
7. Film Noir
8. Miles Davis & the Cool
9. The Patient Ferris Wheel
10. Stand by Me / I'da Called You Woody, Joe
11. Angry Johnny & the Radio
12. Great Expectations
13. Here's Looking at You, Kid
14. The Backseat
    Encore:
15. Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts
16. 930
17. Say I Won't (Recognize)

This tour's lineup is absolutely fucking awesome, and they're only about a week into it, so if you have the chance, don't think about it, GO!