Brian Fallon & The Howling Weather visit Chicago in support of the current album, Sleepwalkers

Brian Fallon returned to the Chicago House of Blues, one of his favorite places to perform. As happy as he was to play there, the audience reciprocated as they packed into the Music Hall to welcome him back with open arms. 

Whilst the majority of the night’s setlist was taken from his recent album, Sleepwalkers, there was a strong presence of songs from Fallon’s many other projects. The night kicked off with “Last Rites” from his time with The Horrible Crowes, with “Crush,” “Sugar” and “I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together” also making it into the self-proclaimed “master setlist planner” set.  “Long Drives” and “Smoke” from his time with Molly and the Zombies were also included. However, it was the stripped back solo version of The Gaslight Anthem’s “The ’59 Sound” which garnered the biggest reaction from the audience, with Fallon taking to the piano for this variation of the popular song.

Whilst fans are clearly eager to catch The Gaslight Anthem’s celebratory tour for The ’59 Sound’s tenth anniversary, with shows selling out immediately, no matter which guise you catch Fallon in, the fans will surely come. Not a guy to sit back and take it easy, he always seems to have many irons in the fire.

Throughout the show, Fallon took a few interludes to chat with the audience, to the point that you almost forgot it was actually a concert and felt it was a catch up with a long-lost friend. One over-eager concert-goer shouted for him to play a song to which he immediately retorted, “I’ll play a song when I’m finished. Is it your name on the ticket?” Be warned, if you are going to heckle, he’s ready for you, but it was all in good jest.

For those of you who have not had the privilege of visiting the Music Hall in the House of Blues Chicago, there are levels of balconies which wrap around the sides. During one of Fallon’s interludes, he worried that someone he was talking to on the balcony looked a little over excited, and seemed to be leaning over just a little to far to which he recommended that they didn’t do an impression of 90s Eddie Vedder and jump onto the crowd below, as “if you get busted up, there ain’t no refund!”

There’s nothing like a Thursday night show to get you revved up for the upcoming weekend, and this show did exactly that. Fallon is ever the entertainer and now has an impressive catalog of music to pick from each night. During this tour, the setlist has changed every night, keeping that element of surprise for when you are there. 

Throughout the show, the audience sang along wholeheartedly with fans clearly excited to see him once again. Showing their appreciation and enthusiasm all night, however “Rosemary”  received one of the biggest responses of the evening.

There’s just a handful of US dates left on this tour before it heads back over to Europe. Don’t worry, as The Gaslight Anthem tour then kicks off in May for those lucky enough to snag a ticket.

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Brian Fallon
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House of Blues
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Event Date: 19-APR-2018

About The Author

Kirstine moved from the UK to Chicago in 2011, and has fallen in love with the city and its music scene. She enjoys combining her two biggest passions – music and photography. If there is a band with a guitar playing, chances are she’ll be there…camera in hand. Kirstine went to her first live concert at 7 years old, and hasn’t looked back since!