HOLMDEL — Twenty-two miles and 32 minutes.

That's the distance between downtown New Brunswick's most influential rock club and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.

But for singer Brian Fallon and his Jersey rock outfit The Gaslight Anthem, the trek from their first local scene in Middlesex County to the home-state show of their wildest dreams has taken a little longer.

"It's been a lot of years from Court Tavern to PNC," Fallon said to a crowd of more than 10,000 fans Saturday night, in what was easily his band's largest New Jersey show — and its largest headlining gig in general — to date after eight years of touring.

The nostalgic alt-rockers played nearly two hours of wonderfully sharp, hard-hitting tunes, mixing old favorites in with a batch of very new songs off the group's latest LP, "Get Hurt," released last month. The set opened with "Stay Vicious," which kicks in with a huge, heavy riff that ripped and boomed through the amphitheater.

The tone was set for one of New Jersey's most popular rock acts to deliver arguably their greatest home-state show so far. They were atop one of their turf's grandest stages and they weren't going to walk away from it without a performance to remember.

Here's some more notes and a set list from Gaslight's big night.

WHAT YOU MISSED

• After "Stay Vicious," Fallon yelled "Hey, New Jersey!" Of course, the hometown crowd produced a deafening scream. At that moment, the grin across Fallon's face probably could've stretched from Holmdel to his native Red Bank. He was glowing.

• With such a well-versed audience, who seemed to know most everything the band played new and old, the guys delved a little deeper into their songbook and pulled out older album tracks like "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and "High Lonesome" from 2008's "The '59 Sound." Great to hear those more obscure songs.

• Many have covered the folk staple "House of the Rising Sun." Few add the grit and pain to it that Fallon does. Gaslight's take on The Who's "Baba O'Riley" is great and closed the show, but "Rising Sun" was worthy of goosebumps as Fallon scratched out the high notes.

• Fallon told a story about being an 11-year-old kid and his parents bringing him to a Depeche Mode and Primal Scream concert at PNC in 1991. He pointed out where he sat in the back of the theater and how he looked at the rockers on the stage back then and thought "I gotta figure out a way to do that." Well, he figured out a way to do that.

• It's interesting that after all that stuff Fallon said about The Court Tavern, Gaslight played "We Came to Dance," which he said is based on playing shows there, but the band didn't follow with "The Diamond Church Street Choir." The Court Tavern is located on Church Street. It's a little odd that at the Jersey show they left that one off the list completely. They did bring back "Navesink Banks," about the Navesink River in Monmouth County, though.

NOTES AND MUSINGS

• Veteran Arizona rockers Jimmy Eat World opened for Gaslight — not the other way around — as would likely have been the case if this wasn't Gaslight's tour. But for how much longer? With another well-received album in their pocket, is the Garden State band a nationwide headliner now? Time will tell, but after Saturday's showing, it's clear the guys are up for the task. Their sound translates very well to these open-air arenas.

• Jimmy Eat World lives and dies with the passionate, bright-eyed performing style of singer Jim Adkins. Luckily for the rest of the band, his love for rock seems eternal. It's refreshing to see a singer still enjoy playing the few hits that most people know best and not just power through them on rock-star autopilot. When Adkins plays "The Middle," "Sweetness" and "Bleed American," which all broke through more than a decade ago, he treats them all like their brand new jams. That same tuft of front-falling hair still bounces around on Adkin's head.

• Jimmy Eat World has been around for 21 years. Let that sink in for a second.

• Florida punk rockers Against Me! opened the night with a booming set, peppered with sneering anti-establishment lyrics propelled by singer Laura Jane Grace's fervent vocal. The group's mix of retro punk and edgy alt-rock feels more like punk seen live.

• Those poor lawn seat ticket-holders. A misty rain poured down nearly the entire time, from Against Me! to the end of Gaslight's set. Who knows how many fans just didn't come at all because of the weather. The lawn was only half full.

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM SETLIST

"Stay Vicious"

"Wooderson"

"Rollin' and Tumblin'"

"Even Cowgirls get the Blues"

"Handwritten"

"Helter Skeleton"

"Film Noir"

"Get Hurt"

"Old Haunts"

"45"

"Underneath the Ground"

"House of the Rising Sun" (cover)

"We Came to Dance"

"Break Your Heart"

"Dark Places"

ENCORE:

"Navesink Banks"

"High Lonesome"

"The '59 Sound"

"Blue Dahlia"

"Have Mercy"

"Great Expectations"

"1930"

"Blue Jeans and White T-shirts"

"Baba O'Riley (The Who cover)"

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier. Find NJ.com on Facebook.