LIVE AND DANGEROUS: FM 91X's sold out concert packed a punch

There is so much to say about last Friday night.

With five bands unique and creative heading up just one night, it’s hard to know where to start. In that case, it’s always best to begin at the beginning.

Minutes after the doors opened, The Gaslight Anthem started the show with “Red Bull” energy, as the crowd began to pour in for 91X’s sold out, WreX The Halls show at 4th & B, in downtown San Diego.

According to its MySpace page, The Gaslight Anthem labels its music as falling into the category of blues, soul and punk: punk, yes; however, soul and blues did not apply much to its set at this concert, unless you count the naming of its songs as soulful.

Songs such as, “Old White Lincoln” and “Miles Davis and The Cool,” delivered sound and lyrics that mildly resemble that of The Killers and its lead vocalist, Brandon Flowers, yet do not compare to The Killers’ musical contagiousness. And even though the song titles hearten to a time of jazzy nights with oversized rides, the music itself did not.

Overall, The Gaslight Anthem delivered a fast paced, catchy and most of all repetitious set. This band is one you would expect to see as the opener for a Social Distortion tour. It’s not boring per se, actually it’s a good band to get the audience in the mood, but it’s cliché enough sounding rock that has been heard time and time again, which are aspects better suited for an opening act.

Second up was the Cold War Kids hailing from Long Beach.

This foursome of musicians served up the type of soulful rock that always draws a crowd and never goes unnoticed.

CWC began with newer tracks such as, “I’ve Seen Enough,” “Mexican Dogs” and “Something Is Not Right With Me,” off its most recent album, “Loyalty To Loyalty.” It ended the set with older songs such as “Hospital Beds” and “Saint John,” from its 2006 debut album, “Robbers & Cowards.”

During the set, Nathan Willett, lead vocalist of CWC, improvised his vocal tone at times, singing some songs at a slightly off beat, differently than he has in the past, but successfully pulling it off.

Willet, along with the rest of the group, has an erratic, vigorous and energized stage presence that devours attention. Willet gave all he could give to his vocal performance as usual, while lead guitarist Jonathan Russell was equally as devoted. Russell smacked stand-alone thimbles and drummed with empty bottles, all which contributed to the group’s abstract/rare percussionistic fervor.

CWC has only received mainstream attention in the last couple of years or so — These musicians are supposedly rookies, but play like pros. So far its exploration of unique sound and innovative lyrics should keep fans tuned in for future recordings that provide continued transitional musical discoveries.
Alkaline Trio ran third in the lineup and could have ranked second — if lineups are constructed by worst is first and best is last.

This group is having a musical identity crisis and needs to seek counseling, which was especially evident at Friday night’s showing.

Its performance came across as nothing but poppy choruses, out-of-place, overpowering guitar rifts that masked vocals at times and songs that all started to sound the same over and over again.

“Over And Out” was performed and is a radio play song that belongs at the Warped Tour, as it is only entertaining to the type of teenyboppers who know nothing about real talent.

Another song, “In Vein,” started out sounding great and then sadly slipped into the aforementioned monotonous chorus; a factor that will have this band heading down the path that so many other horrible bands have imprinted on the 21st century musical trajectory.

The fourth slice of the night was Cake.

Its rendition of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” made this band a perfect candidate for all other classic rock covers. Well-known songs such as “Frank Sinatra” and “Never There” were other crowd favorites as well. Cake’s incorporation of trumpet, tambourine, guitar, rattle percussions and strong bass and drums, all headed by a genius front man, made this band of the night live up to its name: Delicious.

Finally, Slightly Stoopid — the Sublime-inspired rock reggae roots band from Ocean Beach — did what it always does in its hometown: satisfy its fervent fans’ cravings for Bob Marley-motivated songs such as “2am,” “Anywhere I Go” and “No Cocaine.”

There was nothing too spectacular about its performance, except for its third song, which was pretty much just a jam session displaying the band’s instrumental diversity.

One thing is for sure: The night definitely went from fast to slow, which was either a good or bad night, depending on one’s listening preference.
Another thing is also true.

The show was sold out, so we know that all those who did attend wanted to be there and by all appearances, seemed to enjoy the night thoroughly.

For more information on upcoming shows at the venue 4th and B, visit its Web site at www.4thandB.com.

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