The Hold Steady
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
www.theholdsteady.com
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Parish (Austin, TX)
Opener: The Loved Ones

“…and we are all . . . The Hold Steady!�

That’s how it ends. And good Lord, what a show. But let’s rewind the clock a few hours and figure out how we got there.

A sold out crowd invaded the intimate confines of The Parish in Austin, TX, ready for a night of The Hold Steady’s fun, rowdy brand of rock. Morale in the city had been low with Austin approaching a record number of 100-degree days, but spirits immediately rose in the air-conditioned room. The cold beers helped a bit, too.

The show began with a set by pop punk group The Loved Ones. While they didn’t have the sing-a-long notoriety of the headliners, they provided an entertaining warm up. My favorite moment wasn’t exactly a song, per se, but rather their segue into the first song. “Paper Planes� by M.I.A. was playing on the overhead speakers, and the band began to drum to the gunshots in the chorus. The music then faded and they seamlessly moved into their first song. Cool stuff. Another great moment was Franz and Tad from The Hold Steady joining the band on stage for the last song, “Louisiana.� But really, the crowd was just biding their time until The Hold Steady.

And just like that, there they were, belting right into “Constructive Summer,� which blended into “Hot Soft Light� and “Chips Ahoy.� There was little between-song banter from the group, as they wasted no time picking nuggets from their four-album catalogue, including many from the recently released Stay Positive. I marveled at the crowd’s ability to jump and sing along to even the new tracks. But then, these songs make you sing along, with Craig Finn providing the raucous lead, half-yelling and half-singing into the microphone.

The Hold Steady are in their element in a live setting. They’re clearly having fun on stage, and they didn’t hold back Wednesday night. Songs like these make it hard for certain writers to refrain from ripping his notepad in half and jumping around like a half-drunk fanboy.

The night continued with songs like “Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night,� “Banging Camp,� and a touching rendition of “Lord, I’m Discouraged,� providing one of the few breathers throughout the night.

The set ended on a high note with the back-to-back songs of “Stay Positive� and “Slapped Actress.� But the crowd, the bloodthirsty jackals they were, wanted more. Lucky for them, Craig and company clearly didn’t want to go home yet, either. Beaming, the lead singer yelled to the crowd, “There is so much joy in what we do up here. We’re The Hold Steady, and we fucking love you!�

The band treated Austin to two encores, including an oh-so-perfect duo of “Positive Jam� and “Killer Parties� to close out the second encore. As the final song wound down, Craig raised his arms and sang to the crowd, “If she says we partied, then I’m pretty sure we partied. I remember we departed from our bodies. And we woke up in Austin, Texas, and we are all . . . The Hold Steady!�

And so we’ve come full circle. I couldn’t have enjoyed this show any more. The band, the crowd, the energy of the room…this went beyond a simple rock show: this was a communal experience. We are all The Hold Steady.