Kicking off with 'Orphans', The Gaslight Anthem didn't let the rain or relatively small crowd damper their spirits as they took to the Download Festival Main Stage.
Brian Fallon was beaming throughout, thriving on such a large stage, despite Gaslight Anthem being outsiders at a predominently heavy festival.
It's almost certain that the band would have got a much bigger crowd had the weather been better, and it did result in a somewhat subdued atmosphere.
It didn't affect the energy and pride shown by The Gaslight Anthem as they powered through a set that covered all three studio albums.
A nice surprise was a performance of the title track from The Señor and the Queen E.P.
Perhaps an odd choice were performances of slower songs like 'The Queen of Lower Chelsea' and 'Even Cowgirls Sing The Blues'.
Both were played well (the latter in particular), but given the weather, a few of Gaslight Anthem's faster tracks would've helped keep the crowd's energy up.
As it stands, this maybe wasn't the defining Download Festival moment Brian Fallon was hoping, seeming to lack a little something.
It may have been the weather bringing the crowd down (both in numbers and energy), but it didn't affect the actual performance of the band.
Clearly having a great time, The Gaslight Anthem proved that they were worthy of the Main Stage, despite circumstances resulting in a poor turn-out.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
Tagged in Download Festival The Gaslight Anthem