Well, I hate to be a downer. But I have to disagree: I thought the Hold Steady were merely Pretty Good on Saturday. As great as the new album is, as raucous as the guitars sounded, as joyous as the band was, there were some problems.
First, and predictably, the Black Cat sound: it was lousy, as usual. The keyboards on this last record are more important than they have been before, but they were nearly inaudible whenever the guitars were going. Sucky, sucky, sucky.
Second and more importantly, by the end of the show Craig Finn seemed more than a little drunk. That can be fine and charming, but this time, and to this curmudgeon, it wasn’t. His tossed-off alternate phrasings got grating, particularly during a downright Shatnerian performance of “Hot Soft Light”. I’m all for changing up arrangements during a live show, but this was closer to Duritz than Dylan.
But I don’t mean to complain too much. It may not have been as enjoyable as last February’s concert, but it was still a good show by a great band. I’m glad I went, but I would’ve been pretty pissed off if I’d been one of the people who got beer sprayed on them. But then, I am approximately a million years old. Consarnit.
totally fair enough. except you ARE a million years old, Tom. You don’t get to bitch ’til the shoving starts.
Yeah, you’re right. I probably would’ve been a little more game if I hadn’t been anxious to get back to Sommer’s.
hey, thanks for the link. I’m a million years old too. Perhaps the reason I enjoyed the show is that I stood way up front, where the sound was terrible, so I couldn’t hear those florid keyboards that I thought marred their latest record. Just the actual sound coming off the amps.
I left sweaty, elated, covered in sprayed beer. Haven’t had that happen in about 10 years. Perhaps if I had stood in the back and actually listened I would have had an opinion closer to yours.