Sunday, August 2, 2009

Summer 2009: Featuring The Hold Steady

The concert after THE Concert

As Ben noted in his post, Phish was the concert of the summer. I was there as well, and it was truly an incredible night at the Valley. Check out the setlist and you'll understand. But Marcus already wrote a stellar guest post about that tour, and we've also had posts about the bands who put on two other great shows I've seen: Grizzly Bear and The Dead Weather (although The Dead Weather post was removed from the site for alleged copyright infringement. Screw that.)

So that brings me to a spectacular Sunday night I had at the Taste of Randolph Street. Sunday shows are inherently different from other shows; you're typically worn out from weekend antics, and rocking your face off isn't really the first thing on your mind (not on my mind anyway). The Sunday of this particular show was the night after Phish, so I was in an even more unusual position. Still riding high on the euphoria from the magical night before, and knowing that there was another show at Alpine Valley that I was missing that night, I set out with a couple of the McGibbons to see The Hold Steady. For those who don't know, The Hold Steady are a rock band from Minneapolis via Brooklyn whose songs are extremely memorable for their storytelling and for the style and antics of lead singer Craig Finn. His talking/singing style isn't for everybody, but their live shows sure are.

Nick and Neelu had been to several of their shows and knew what to expect. I did not. These guys rock. Very hard. Finn is nuts on stage (plus his appearance makes his style all the more impressive), and from what I've heard their set at Randolph Street was relatively tame. They played all their hits, a few of which you can sample below. All in all, it was a fitting end to a rockin' weekend. And the next time I see them, I'll be sure to party to the max rather than hanging back in Sunday mode.

The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
The Hold Steady - Sequestered in Memphis
The Hold Steady - How a Resurrection Really Feels

The music video for Stuck Between Stations and Stay Positive
The Hold Steady on Amazon



Lollapalooza preview coming soon!

1 comment:

  1. These guys are awesome! I'm only dissapointed that I didn't know more about them a few weeks ago when they played the majestic!

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