The Hold Steady

I hadn’t yet seen the Hold Steady live, but I’d heard good things. As they took the outdoor stage at a very crowded Club de Ville, the crowd went nuts. And the band seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. The lead singer, Craig Finn, scampered around the stage like a televangelist drunk on the Word. The Word of Rock. THS played a fantastically energetic set of talky rock that shifted from spoken word to jam band finesse, to goddamn hand-clap-inspiring rock and roll. The crowd was left happy and elated.