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Author: nosepail
Date: 07-17-12 11:18
Any Hold Steady fans on this board? (Probably not, I guess - they are very Springsteeny and therefore unlikely to get too much love here.) I go see them tonight in Boston and am very excited. I jumped ship after Boys and Girls in America - a record I loved, but seemed to reach the limit of their themes and sonic possibilities. As show prep, I picked up their 2010 record Heaven is Whenever (an inauspicious title if you're kind of Craig Finn fatigued) and am enjoying it thoroughly. How are they live?
Nose
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Author: Michael Toland
Date: 07-17-12 11:43
I like 'em, though I'm much less fond of Heaven is Whenever than you might be. (I was put off by the slick production - I need to revisit it.)
I saw them at the Rachel Ray SXSW party a couple of years ago and was unimpressed by their live show. However, (a) it was a SXSW party, during which bands often give performances that vary widely in quality and (b) they'd just followed the New York Dolls, who rocked the place into the ground. Nothing that followed the Dolls could've compared, let alone a rock band that often allows its own sense of irony to get in the way of the business at hand. So take my opinion with a grain of salt.
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Author: Jermoe
Date: 07-17-12 20:43
I'm a big Hold Steady fan. I've seen 'em a half-dozen times. They can put on a phenomenal show, and have do so most of the time. Finn really needs to pick out a few people to engage with, and he will. If you're anywhere near the front, you'll get to hear a steady stream of commentary from him off-mic, which seemed really weird at first, but it's actually funny. Oh, and Tad Kubler is quite capable of some Steve Vai-level shredding, which is both impressive and sort of geeky...right up my alley.
I enjoyed the last couple of albums, but they've divided the fans. I have a soft spot for the way Heaven is Whenever's "The Weekenders" looks back on Boys and Girls in America's "Chips Ahoy" a few years later while playing the same tune at half the speed. It's a gimmick, but it works. They still manage to fit an insane amount of references to their own stuff (and everyone else's) into just about every verse...
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Author: BCE
Date: 07-17-12 23:44
Didn't they cover Springsteen - Atlantic City, IIRC? - on a covers comp a couple years ago? Them and Gaslight Anthem. Two bands that don't get enough credit.
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Author: Jermoe
Date: 07-18-12 10:35
They did "Atlantic City" on the War Child presents Heroes compilation (2009), where the original artists were asked to select a newer artist to cover one of their songs. The concept was interesting, but I felt the results underwhelmed over all:
Beck – "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" (Bob Dylan)
The Kooks – "Victoria" (The Kinks)
The Hold Steady – "Atlantic City" (Bruce Springsteen)
Hot Chip – "Transmission" (Joy Division)
Lily Allen and Mick Jones – "Straight to Hell" (The Clash)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" (Ramones)
Franz Ferdinand – "Call Me" (Live) (Blondie)
Duffy – "Live and Let Die" (Paul McCartney and Wings)
Estelle – "Superstition" (Stevie Wonder)
Rufus Wainwright – "Wonderful/Song For Children" (Brian Wilson)
Scissor Sisters – "Do the Strand" (Roxy Music)
Peaches – "Search and Destroy" (The Stooges)
Adam Cohen – "Take This Waltz" (Leonard Cohen)
Elbow – "Running to Stand Still" (U2)
The Like – "You Belong to Me" (Elvis Costello)
TV on the Radio – "Heroes" (David Bowie)
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Author: nosepail
Date: 07-18-12 11:48
Show was great. Band was super tight (though the Steve Vai analogy is quite stretch). The crowd was stoked and into it from beginning to end. Craig Finn is really a wonder. His nerdiness / dorkiness score is off the charts. The glasses, the cheap polo shirt, the goofy grin, the way he acts out his verbose lyrics with silly hand gestures, and pounds his chest. What a goofball - but what a great lyricist, and engaging perfomer. Highly recommended.
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