Craig “The Shark” Finn

The only thing better than seeing Art Brut and The Hold Steady share a bill is seeing The Hold Steady play again like two months later. The boys from Minneapolis made their way down to Austin Thursday night to shake the dust off our normally monotonous concert going experiences. There are few bands that compare to The Hold Steady on any level. They are truly a gift to any appreciator of live music.

After loading up a couple whiskey shots, my party and I grabbed the bus downtown (because I’m not fucking paying for parking) ready to experience what is left of true rock and roll music in today’s scene . The evening began with a set from Austin’s own Zykos who drew heavily from their newest EP Keep It Light. It seems a daunting task to have to entertain a crowd ready for Craig Finn and company (unless you’re Art Brut), but the performance was enjoyable, providing a “calm” before the inevitable “storm” that is The Hold Steady. Catherine Davis’ delicate voice and sparse but effective keyboard arrangements provide the perfect contrast to the scratchy yells and haunting falsettos of lead singer Mike Booher. They were the wine to the Hold Steady’s whiskey. Or the cheese to the Hold Steady’s wine. I’m not really good at forming metaphors. Anyway, the Hold Steady came on next.

The excitement was boiling almost to breaking point when the band launched into a new song, presumably from the tentatively titled Stay Positive that is expected to be released later this year. They stuck around Boys and Girls in America for the first five songs or so, slipping a few new ones in there to nobody’s disappointment. After priming the crowd with “Hot Soft Light” and “Stuck Between Stations,” the band was ready to turn it up a notch, playing a couple of rowdier numbers back to back with “Barfruit Blues” and “Your Little Hoodrat Friend.” This was about the time that I was separated from my friends who seemed to be swallowed by the ravenous crowd.

The band continued playing, delivering tunes from all three of their studio albums. After the break, Craig Finn returned to the stage sporting his usual “I’m so happy to be here” smile and began strumming the chords to “Positive Jam,” the opening track off of Almost Killed Me. Released in 2004, this album was well received by critics but did not enjoy much commercial success. That came as quite a shock to me seeing as how it was probably the crowd favorite of the night, inducing a mass sing-along to the song’s mountainous finale, “HOLD STEADY!”

I’ve come to the conclusion that seeing The Hold Steady is greater than the sum of its parts. The setlist, the venue, and the opening bands are all secondary to the experience of seeing The Hold Steady. It’s a bond that you share with the band and with the people around you. I was separated from my group, but I was still among friends. They were people I’d never met before, but we knew each other. Fists involuntarily pump along to the heartbeat of the song, lyrics are screamed into faces, and no one is too cool to show how excited they are about the next song. I can’t really describe what it is that made me high-five everyone around me at the beginning of every song. I shouldn’t have to.