Gig: The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady / Still Life Still

Lee's Palace. Sunday, September 27, 2009.

Making good time over to Lee's, had a few minutes to check out the merch table, grab a drink and rest for a moment, looking over the early-arriving types grabbing seated spots along the walls. Looked like a bit of an older crowd, folks who didn't come out to as many shows as they used to, but were making an exception for The Hold Steady. Once J. — the one who's like the drums on "Lust for Life" — made an appearance, we grabbed some spots in the middle of the dance floor, figuring it'd be harder to claim 'em later on.

Openers on the night were Still Life Still, not exactly an intuitive stylistic match, so perhaps more a sign they know people who know people in order to get them some primo exposure like this. Say what you will about the lads, they are certainly working it hard — this was the fourth time I'd seen them this year, and that was with me hardly going out of my way to do so. Their total number of local gigs over the past year must be pretty impressive. None of the previous shows had totally won me over, though I'd found their album to be okay. My ultimate conclusion is that I find them to be kinda enjoyable for three or four songs, then their lack of variety leads to diminishing returns.

On this night, it certainly felt like the band was cramming in as many songs as possible into their set, rather than letting some of the songs breathe and stretch out some. They played the entirety of their Girls Come Too album, though substituting the non-album cut "Keep Your Gun" — which isn't working a radically different sound — for "Wild Bees". The mid-tempo-y¹ "Kid" and "Planets" might have worked the best, the latter with a crowd sing along for "it's a family of wolves out there, they bury their young". It seems remarkable that despite the fact that this was a very sold out show for The Hold Steady that SLS still had a large, vocal coterie of fans right up front. After the set, I looked over at J. to gauge his reaction, and he sorta shrugged and shook his head — not a strong endorsement. The overall crowd reaction was pretty similar — warm approval from those up front, not particularly overwhelming from the HS crowd they were trying to win over.

Taking the stage to the strains of The Eagles' "In The City", one could immediately see and hear who the crowd were there for. Singer/guitarist Craig Finn was immediately handed a hand-made sign reading "THERE IS SO MUCH JOY IN WHAT WE DO" — a frequent pronouncement from the stage — that was received with a smile. That's a line that encapsulates The Hold Steady pretty well: you could come to love them either because of their classic rock riffs or their literate lyrics, but when it all comes together live, it's always an explosion of joyous energy. As always, Finn was an irresistible focal point, spitting out his sung/spoken words, and always having more to say than there are lyrics in the songs, his lips moving to a never-ending off-mic stream of consciousness between lines.²

The show's very existence was an unexpected delight. I got into THS one tour too late to see them in a club, and never thought I'd have a shot at seeing them in such intimate quarters. This cross-Canada jaunt seemed to be "one for the fans", and the band, no longer really touring behind '08's Stay Positive was choosing freely from all of their albums. We got a half-dozen from '05's Separation Sunday and a trio from Almost Killed Me (2004), not to mention a handful of new tracks, including the Hüsker Dü-referencing "Heaven is Whenever". Nice to hear some stuff that isn't normally pulled out, including an extended "bar band" version of "Charlemagne in Sweatpants" climaxing with a lead guitar face-off between Finn and Tad Kubler³

I suppose I don't have a lot more objective stuff to say — this was simply a rather fantastic show. A pretty good crowd, too, well into it and with plenty hoots of joy to be heard. The band played seventy-five minutes plus a four-song encore, starting with another new one and ending with "How a Resurrection Really Feels", with the penultimate track a run through "Most People Are DJs", including an extended mid-song get-those-hands-clapping monologue talking about how the experience of listening to music at home or at a party or wherever isn't like being at a show, crowded in among people. "This is rock and roll!" shouted Finn. Precisely.

Listen to a track from this set here. Aw hell, one's just not enough. Let's go with another one here, too.

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¹ Well, everything the band does is kinda kid-tempo-y. The main rhythmic difference, I guess, is how busy drummer Aaron Romaniuk gets on the high-hats.

² I've always imagined that Finn's additional unheard interjections would add up to a sort of Talmudic commentary on his own lyrics.

³ Or, "My good friend, Mr. Brett Favre", as Finn called him. Indeed, after a tour-cancelling bout of pancreatitis last year, Kubler is looking hale and hearty and leaner than previously.