New Jersey may take the occasional licking when it comes to its greater national identity, but the Garden State can always be proud that it gave us the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. As music's patron saint of the working-class stiff and the romanticism of adolescence, Springsteen has continually provided some much-needed heroism to a way of life that some people easily could have dismissed as a dead-end existence.

While many bands have tried to replicate the songwriter's sonic exaltedness, one of the closest to date is the Gaslight Anthem. Led by frontman Brian Fallon, these younger New Jersey sons often feel like they burst from the skull fully-formed from “Born to Run,” tackling on their breakthrough album, “The '59 Sound,” the kind of subject matter as home grown as high-top sneakers and back-seat making out. With a bruised vocal growl and retro-punk soul, Gaslight Anthem performs the National on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. $18-$21. 612-1900.