November 27, 2006
What Did You Think? The Hold Steady at the Black Cat
Seeing as we've already effusively reviewed them twice, we figured that it was about time to step back and solicit your thoughts on The Hold Steady and their magical concert abilities. Were you at their Black Cat show Saturday night? Did you swig Budweiser and Jim Beam along with the band members? Were the songs lighter-worthy, or yawn-inducing? Did you find their presence powerfully earnest or overrated?
A quick spin around the blogosphere shows that many of you were blown away by what the band had to offer. Seth D. said, "It was a truly thrilling rock 'n' roll show even before the band grabbed audience members and pulled them on stage during their extensive encore. Along with maybe three dozen others, I got wedged in between drums and amps and covered in beer and Craig Finn sweat, which admittedly sounds way grodier than it really is."
James over at Feenord wrote that, "One of the qualities I look for most in a band in a live performance is a sense that they're enjoying what they're doing. The Hold Steady certainly had plenty of that. They were clearly having a blast, and it was infectious."
And Andy noted that "The focus of this band is completely Craig, who has developed into a charismatic frontman, even though he looks like the Verizon 'Can You Hear Me Know' guy with a wicked hangover. In between shout-outs to old girlfriends, he paid tribute to Minnesota Twins slugger and AL MVP Justin Morneau ("my favorite Canadian") and catcher Joe Mauer ("I spend more time thinking about Joe Mauer than I do thinking about most people I actually know")."
Anyway, leave your own opinions in the comments. We're especially excited to hear what you have to say because we have an internal and long-running staff war on the merits of The Hold Steady (DCist Ryan thinks that their "music isn’t bad, but it also isn’t particularly interesting or original. And it’s occasionally pretty tiresome," while DCist Tom says Finn's music is "subtle and funny and occasionally devastating."). So speak up!
Photos courtesy of Flickr user leafblower.
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Best damned concert I've been to in, well, ever. (It was even worth drinking at the bar for 3 hours through one mediocre and one craptastic opening band.) The Hold Steady loves what they do, every joyful, crowd-pleasing moment. Joy only begins to describe the feeling of watching Craig loosen up and enjoy being loved by the crowd. And dancing on stage with the band? Ecstasy.
I like the Hold Steady's albums, but I love them live. Even based on the albums, I cannot even vaguely understand criticism like "unoriginal." Their music certainly reaches back to the roots of folk rock with the scratchy Dylanesque story-telling, but Craig's poetry is more beat, with a modern twist, and the band is real guitar-driven rock n' roll. The true originality is, I suppose, in the lyrics themselves, with their gritty, character-driven, allusion-heavy stories of corrupted people finding spirituality where they can. A friend of mine calls them rock-n-roll for grownups (which probably just goes to show that they have something for everyone). That originality coupled with the energy of a live show was frenzied bliss.
Anyway, can you tell I love these guys? The Washington Post review pisses me off for the reviewer's aloof refusal to partake of what he calls the "festive atmosphere."
One word: amazing.
i agree. why all the haters? go back to awesome school, squares
Damn you, show that sold out inexplicably early!
I didn't realize The Hold Steady had gotten popular enough to sell out so early before the show, and therefore 4 of us were painfully shut out. I haven't seen Craig Finn since a Lifter Puller show in maybe '99 or '00, and it sounds like I missed a good time.
Blargle.
Why did this show have to be over Thanksgiving weekend? I thought about making an early trip back to DC for the show but it didn't work out.
I saw them this past Friday when I was home in New Jersey for Thanksgiving at a small place called Maxwell's in Hoboken. It was maybe a third the size of the Black Cat and just an incredible show.
The show was so much fun. The Black Cat's acoustics weren't great, so I found it hard to follow all the lyrics, but the band's energy made me feel so giddy (and that nerdy Mr. Finn was adorable). I've never before seen anyone at the Black Cat thank the audience for an evening of "joy" -- without a hint of snarkiness! I'm still smiling, and haven't stopped listening to their Boys & Girls album since.
I love THS's albums...this was my first visit to the Black Cat. I made the huge mistake of coming at 930ish. The 2 opening acts were only ok and by the time Craig and the boys came out, it was midnight. I stuck around for 2-3 songs (which were great) but i was completely hammered by the time they got on stage. Lessons learned...1. show up LATE to the black cat if you want to see headlining show, especially if there are several opening bands; 2. Drink less; 3. Be less of an old fart.
My review of the show can be found here:
http://www.wingsforwheels.net/wordpress/?p=203
i didn't make it to the show, but if you've heard one hold steady song, you've heard them all (although the songs are clever). i liked social distortion better anyway.
I loved it. It's probably the fullest I've heard a band sound at the Black Cat. They managed to successfully combat the club's shit sound.
My only regret is I didn't bring extra cash for a hoodie.
I absolutely loved the show. Although, I disagree that both openers were craptastic. I thought Statehood was great. It's nice to two of my favorite former-DPlan members making some great music again, and I thought that Clark is a great frontman.
The Hold Steady's music isn't unique instrumentally, but I think their lyrics are great. As a former Twin Citian (?), it obviously brings back great memories, but I think his analogies are intelligent enough to keep the "bar rock" interesting.
This was definitely one of my top shows of the year (out of about 30).
Easily the most fun show I have been to in recent memory. I was up in the front, so I don't know if everyone was as energetic as the first few rows, but the crowd's energy for the show was ridiculously strong (especially for a DC venue).
Overall, it was the rare experience where you could tell the band was having as much fun as the audience. And when the group starting pulling people up on stage to finish off the encore--admittedly a ploy they've used before--it felt like the helping hand of a band who loves rock music and rock shows to create a moment that the audience will talk about with the friends in the weeks to come.
I liked those guys before....I love them now.
Easily the most fun show I have been to in recent memory. I was up in the front, so I don't know if everyone was as energetic as the first few rows, but the crowd's energy for the show was ridiculously strong (especially for a DC venue).
Overall, it was the rare experience where you could tell the band was having as much fun as the audience. And when the group starting pulling people up on stage to finish off the encore--admittedly a ploy they've used before--it felt like the helping hand of a band who loves rock music and rock shows to create a moment that the audience will talk about with the friends in the weeks to come.
I liked those guys before....I love them now.
Easily the most fun show I have been to in recent memory. I was up in the front, so I don't know if everyone was as energetic as the first few rows, but the crowd's energy for the show was ridiculously strong (especially for a DC venue).
Overall, it was the rare experience where you could tell the band was having as much fun as the audience. And when the group starting pulling people up on stage to finish off the encore--admittedly a ploy they've used before--it felt like the helping hand of a band who loves rock music and rock shows to create a moment that the audience will talk about with the friends in the weeks to come.
I liked those guys before....I love them now.
I have to disagree - somewhat vehemently, at that - with any reviewers who dismissed the first opener, Statehood. I'd never heard those ex-Dismemberment Planners before (I think they said it was only their fourth show), but I was hooked immediately. Their frontman had a great presence and sound, and the music was solid.
That said, The Hold Steady rocked the socks off the Black Cat.