(One of the only good photos I took with my phone – Ticket said they didn’t allow cameras, so I didn’t bring mine – Other people didn’t care though lol)
Saturday night The Hold Steady put one a great show that I will never forget. It was filled with a tight set that was all about one thing: rocking out.
Openers were The Oranges Band, who are from Baltimore, Maryland. They have been supporting The Hold Steady throughout this small U.S. tour, and it makes sense. The Oranges Band shared the Hold Steady’s linking for big tight guitar riffs. They put on a good set that the crowd exciting. However, you could tell everyone was way too excited for The Hold Steady to come out.
By the time The Hold Steady came on, all the frat boys and drunken Syracuse middle aged men were drunk beyond belief, spilling their beers and stumbling on one another. If this was at a Grizzly Bear show, I would be pissed, but it made sense to see this at a The Hold Steady show. Craig Finn came out looking very happy to be playing, and the band immediately got the crowd going with a fantastic rendition of “Same Kooks”. After that they went into “Magazines”, before launching into my favorite Heaven Is Whenever song, “The Weekenders”. In the middle a song bassist Galen Polivka took out his wallet and threw cash into the crowd. Things like this made you realize The Hold Steady are normal guys who happened to have natural rock star charm.
After that the crowd went nuts for “Sequestered In Memphis”, singing-along in drunken fashion. They ripped through a mix of songs from all of their albums, keeping the energy going and never losing control of the crowd. The band played with enthusiasm and passion, having fun and smiling while doing it. The new songs were great, but nothing was better than rocking out to classics like “Your Little Hood Rat Friend”, “Stuck Between Stations”, and “Constructive Summer”. The only misstep was that they didn’t play “Chips Ahoy!”.
They came back with a solid three song encore that included “Stevie Nix”, “Stay Positive” and “Southtown Girls” which the crowd sung along to enthusiastically.
The Hold Steady lived up to the hype for their incredible live shows. Craig Finn is a true showman, putting on a lively show on stage, giving his all. They had tight guitar riffs, and mean guitar solos. The show got me even more excited for Heaven Is Whenever, which can’t come out soon enough.
Setlist (New Songs From Heaven Is Whenever are in bold)
- Same Kooks
- Magazines
- The Weekenders
- Sequestered In Memphis
- Soft In The Center
- Constructive Summer
- Hot Soft Light
- Touchless (Heaven Is Whenever Bonus Track)
- Navy Sheets
- Banging Camp
- The Swish
- You Can Make Him Like You
- Rock Problems
- Girls Like Status
- Criminal Finger
- Hurricane J
- We Can Get Together
- Your Little Hoodrat Friend
- Stuck Between Stations
- A Slight Discomfort
Encore
- Stevie Nix
- Stay Positive
- Southtown Girls
The Hold Steady Taped Show Archive has the whole thing for download right here. You can see some photos here as well.
