Brian Fallon and The Howling Weather w/ Caitlin Rose at Minneapolis Music Hall (17 Apr 2018)

It could only take a band called The Howling Weather and its leader, Brian Fallon to chase away the last vestiges of a long winter that had overstayed its welcome, and bring some sustaining warmth to downtown Minneapolis and the crowd that had gathered on a weeknight at the Minneapolis Music Hall. 

The venue itself has been known by several names over the few years (The Brick, Mill City Nights and before that a Christian club called Club Six Degrees) before its latest incarnation, but remains essentially the same- a long, skinny downtown space with a balcony and decent sightlines and sound that can hold about 1,200 and brings in a variety of acts. 

On this night, the evening started with a forty-minute set from Nashville singer-songwriter Caitlin Rose, who is (over)due to release new music, as her last full-length was 2013’s The Stand-In (ATO Records), but seems somewhat relieved to just  be on the road again  Admittedly suffering from some first night jitters, the set began slow but soon kicked in nicely with ‘Own Side’ from 2010, her music bending toward more classic troubadour country, than following any trendy, more current sound. 

After teasing a Nils Lofgren medley early on, Rose and band did do a full cover mid-set, a somewhat obscure 1962 Wanda Jackson tune that showed some feistiness and a peek into the influences of her own songwriting.  Covering themes like a tale of a prostitute in Georgian London, “a sociopathic love song” called ‘Gemini Moon’, and a tune “not about heroin” but just excessive smoking, called ‘Shanghai Cigarettes’ that ended her set, showed Rose’s ability to touch on subjects far and beyond the simple perspective of just boy-meets-girl.  

Brian Fallon is a man of many faces, whose raspy voice, street-smart songwriting, and unabashed attitude has earned him legions of fans that loyally follow every project he puts his hand to.  Since breaking through with The Gaslight Anthem, Fallon has also recorded as part of The Horrible Crowes and Molly and the Zombies in just the last few years, with this latest incarnation The Howling Weather re-joining him with Crowes’ guitarist Ian Perkins, drummer Dave (Social Distortion) Hidalgo Jr, and St. Louis Park, MN’s own Nick Sailsbury on bass. 

Their ninety-five minute headlining set began with the band walking out casually (Fallon in a simple pulled down hat and a tight but light jacket) and beginning with the short but moody ‘Last Rites’ before picking up rhythm with 2013’s ‘Red Lights’. 

Fallon’s music has always been rooted in punk-tinged folk rock with a Jersey shore demeanor and when he first spoke after playing the first three songs, he spoke at length- about the weather, (the lack of) climate change, Boston beer, reaching middle age, and the Gallagher brothers (among other subjects). “Did they give you a microphone up there?” he shouted back at a yelling fan in the balcony, making it also clear that any heckling battle would be theirs to lose. 

After the swing of ‘Little Monsters’ (inspired by We Were Promised Jetpacks’ ‘Quiet Little Voices’) Fallon moved to the piano, cocked his hat to the side, and riffed on the title track from his latest, Sleepwalkers (Island Records) before another mini-conversation with the audience, and getting his voice more growly and gravely for a stirring Tom Waits cover. 

Fallon is justifiably proud of the new record, playing all but one of the album’s twelve tracks, painting vivid lyrical pictures like “ a carpet of gold for the mermaids he drowned” in ‘Neptune’, the moon being “upside down, hanging on a telephone” in ‘My Name is the Night’, and “chasing all the umbrellas in London” on the new ‘Watson’. 

The main set ended with the new ‘Etta James’ and Fallon singing with Springsteen grit “finally, my love is in my arms” then backing off calmly to coo “at last, at last” as tribute to the legendary singer.  The band then departed, but Fallon stayed behind the piano for the first of a three-song encore. 

Beginning with his biggest radio hit to date, a balladeer version of The Gaslight Anthem’s ‘The ’59 Sound’ put its lyrics more to the forefront, resonating with the enraptured crowd and Fallon stayed solo for the closing track of the new record, ‘See You on the Other Side’ before the band re-joined for the record’s lead track, ‘If Your Prayers Don’t Get to Heaven’, a mid-tempo number that had fans clapping along to the Perkins solo that capped the song, and the evening. 

Winter may finally be in the rearview for the season, its delayed exit seemingly helped on by the musical heat generated by Brian Fallon and The Howling Weather– the ideal kind of band to chase away any last remaining winter blues, and welcome the wonderful life that comes as a part of spring.   

(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)