We Had Some Massive Nights

Ok, let's start this off by saying that last week I had a miserable sore throat!  I went to the Dr on Saturday to get this checked out and was informed that the silly piece of paper the insurance company assured me would suffice, indeed would NOT suffice.  Therefore, I was forced to pay 200+ out of pocket to find out that I had throat ulcers- your guess is as good as mine...  So, I stay in bed all weekend and wake up Monday morning feeling like I did on Christmas morning (I already saw what I'm getting, but I'm still so excited!!!!).  What could make a miserable week/weekend followed by a dreaded Monday so appealing you ask??  The Hold Steady! of course!!

My good friend Andrew had gotten us tickets, wisely it turned out, ahead of time to this sold out show at the 9:30 Club.  First, if you have never heard of The Hold Steady!, you should stop what you are doing and go listen to "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" right now to get properly acquainted with our unlikely rock'n'roll hero Craig Finn.

Ok, now that that's outta the way, let's get back on track- The Hold Steady! at 9:30 Club...

The evening started with the band Wintersleep who played spacey indie rock (think Silversun Pickups, except the singer's testicles have actually dropped).  They put on a great, rocking opening act which got the crowd even more revved up for the main event.  Andrew and I were able to sneak to the front during Wintersleep as the crowd hadn't even gotten to 1/2 of what it would be by the end of the night.  After a final, long, extremely well played song by Wintersleep which got a massive roar from the enthusiastic crowd, the masses came from the shadows and into the front of the stage.

Now the evening was getting great.  The crowd was absolutely amazing and energetic with not many of those douchebag dudes in painters' hats.  Then, George Cos... No, Craig Finn comes out on stage and immediately gets the crowd in the right mindset with an amazing rendition of "Hornets! Hornets!"

If you haven't been to a Hold Steady show, or have heard nothing about them, then you probably don't know that Craig Finn wants 100% crowd participation, and he constantly was goading the crowd to be louder, to clap louder, to jump higher.  It was incredible.  What ensued for the next 2 hours was complete bliss for both Andrew and me.  And as much as we enjoyed what we were witnessing, it was hard not to believe that Craig Finn and company weren't having twice as much fun.  The set consisted of old and new songs alike, with the majority seemingly coming from "Boys and Girls in America."  I had heard in an interview that the new Hold Steady concert without their old keys player, Franz Nicolay, had turned into more of a jam band type show.  As unappealing as that MAY sound to some, the type of jamming that happened here was completely tasteful.  Not that Phish crap...   Back to the show.

As I said, Craig Finn and company were more revved than the crowd it seemed, and our unlikely rock hero was getting fired up on Diet Coke all night long.  By the time they got to the closing song of their first set, "First Night," I was in no way ready to go home and only wished that it wasn't a Monday night which would soon bring a Tuesday work morning...  Alas, they came back and ripped through an amazing encore which could barely keep the crowd under control.   They ended with "Stay Positive," which just seemed appropriate for one of the best concert experiences I have ever had.

As we were leaving, I looked over to Andrew and he simply said, "Unbelievable."  It seemed the only way to explain the experience of The Hold Steady! live in concert, and I would urge anyone and everyone who has the opportunity to go see them to simply do it.  There is no way you will be disappointed.  Especially when you see a guy who loves his job and life more than conceivable.

I once had a girlfriend tell me, after getting back together, "But, just so you know, I will never like The Hold Steady!"  Last night really put that into perspective....