Where The Bands Are (Brian Fallon & The Howling Weather, 28 April, 2022)

Brian Fallon’s concert in Pustervik, Gothenburg was originally scheduled for 26.04.2020, as a tour to support his then newly released album Local Honey. The concert has then been postponed twice due to the pandemic and on Thursday (28.04.2022) the time had finally come for the show. Along for the ride Fallon had brought Jesse Malin and Chris Farren.

Pustervik is an intimate all-standing venue with a capacity of 900 spectators. The former cinema/theatre has a wooden floor and two bars in the back. My friend and I arrived early and managed to get a place up front to the right. The advantage of standing at the front barrier is not only that you don’t have to stand on your toes to see the band, but also that you have something to lean on.

The evening opened at around 8:30pm with Jesse Malin together with keyboardist/guitarist Derek (?). Malin with an acoustic guitar in his hands wasted no time kicking things into high gear with Hotel Columbia. His set of eight songs included a great rendition of Wendy and my personal favourite Chemical Heart (request from the audience).

*Setlist: Hotel Columbia, Brooklyn, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, Before You Go, She Don’t Love Me Now, Wendy, Chemical Heart, Meet Me at the End of the World Again.*

Second act of the evening was Chris Farren. He and his drum machine and projected visuals offered an energetic set which, for example, included an instrumental soundtrack (Death Don’t Wait) from a spy film that doesn’t exist.

As Brian Fallon and his band the Howling Weather finally entered the stage it was less than one and a half hour until the Thursday night curfew. Fallon commented on that a after the opening song. He told us that they would play as many songs they could until the curfew and try to talk as little as possible between songs.

Fallon then performed a mix of fan favourites from three of his solo albums (Painkillers, Sleepwalkers and Local Honey). Throughout the show the audience showed their appreciation and enthusiasm by clapping their hands and singing along. The biggest response of the evening came towards the end as he closed the set with A Wonderful Life and Smoke.

I’ve now seen Fallon perform three times (2016, 2018 and 2022) and it is great to see that he has grown so comfortable in his solo career. Fallon is an entertainer and now has an impressive catalogue of music to pick from and he seems to enjoy himself on stage. It was a great set. Most of my favourite songs were played. However, I kind of missed some of the interludes between the songs where he normally chats with the audience.

Setlist