The Gaslight Anthem @ Slim's

Headliner: Somewhere between Bruce Springsteen and Social Distortion their sounds meet at a junction called The Gaslight Anthem. With a combination of punk and rockabilly instrumentation and lyrics that pay homage "the every man's" real-life experiences, it is difficult not to be swept up in the energy of the music and the passion of the vocals and harmonies. There is certainly a charming element to the rough-around-the-edges appearance of the band members, which had the female portion of the crowd swooning, but what impressed me most was their spot-on live renditions of songs off of Sink or Swim, Señor and the Queen, and The '59 Sound. They played all my favorites and there were very few people in the audience who were not at least signing along with all the choruses. A fantastic performance.

2nd Act: If The Black Keys added two members, and Dan Auerbach was a female vocalist, then they would be the Heartless Bastards. As a HB first timer, I was blown away by Erika Wennerstrom's blue-eyed soul vocals and reverberating garage rock. They are definitely worth a listen, so check out their 2009 release, The Mountain. For San Franciscans, HB will be back for Outside Lands... so plan accordingly.

Opener: The opening act, A Death in the Family, were familiar sounding Australian punk rockers. Familiar because their sound was a combination of The Bouncing Souls, Rancid, and Bad Religion. A solid, energetic opener, but lacking originality... or maybe my pure punk days are behind me, which is possible.