Also Out Today: The Hold Steady - "A Positive Rage"

The DVD documentary/CD live album, recorded at Chicago's Metro at a Halloween show in 2007, sees release today. Read P4K's take on it here.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jon Graef)

MFR Is Concerned About Gary Oldman

*MP3: Hold Steady - "Positive Jam"
*MP3: Hockey Night - "Grim Break"
*MP3: Interpol - "Heinrich Maneuver"
*MP3: Justin Timberlake - "Sexy Back"
*MP3: Cloud Cult - "Fairy Tale"
*MP3: Bon Iver - "Babys"
*MP3: Kanye West - "Stronger"
*MP3: Kings of Leon - "Knocked Up"
*MP3: Les Savy Fav - "What Would Wolves Do"
*MP3: Elliot Smith - "Needle In The Hay"
*MP3: Say Hi - "November Was White"
*MP3: Coconut Records - "West Coast"
*MP3: Animal Collective - "My Girls"
*MP3: The Strokes - "Trying Your Luck"
*MP3: Mates of State - "My Only Offer"

The other night, I saw The Unborn. It was bad, just like anyone would expect. However, there was one redeeming aspect of the movie. At about the one-hour mark, Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Harry Potter, Fifth Element, JFK) appeared in the form of a liberal and free-thinking rabbi. I was absolutely pleasantly surprised; in fact, I gave my friend a wee silent cheer. Rarely there is a movie I can disagree with that features Mr. Oldman and his wonderful accent. But as the movie progressed, my mind began to wander. I began to question why Mr. Oldman would take on such a role with the knowledge that the movie would be complete crap; I am, of course, assuming that Oldman is near genius, if not a complete genius. I mean, just look at him and that mustache.

With that in mind, I think it's safe to say the Mr. Oldman took on this role merely for monetary gain, which I normally would fault an actually successful actor like Oldman for doing. But now, I'm thinking that his decision was more responsible, dare I say, economical. As you may have noticed, we are in the midst of a large-scale recession. A recession which I believed only influenced the meak, such as myself. It never dawned upon me that this recession could even take a bite out of the careers of popular actors. Well, to put it plainly, while something was happening in the movie that involved some near-dead zombie child, I was blowing my own mind with this economic riddle within a rhyme.

The fact of the matter is this: Gary Oldman is in trouble. Gary Oldman needs our help.

If I get 100 comments to this blog post, I will start garyoldmanneedsourhelp.com and will begin accepting donations on behalf of the Oldman estate.

In case gold old GO reads this, here's a mix to make him feel better.

Smooches.

The Hold Steady Hear Many "Sound Opinions"

Download: The Hold Steady - "Magazines" (Live on "Sound Opinions)

This past weekend, The Hold Steady dropped by the studio where Sound Opinions is taped to talk about their last record, 2008's Stay Positive, their reputation as a "literary" band, and, of course, their insanely energetic live show.

Listen to the podcast here, and, while you're at it, check out the acoustic rendition of "Magazines" that 3/5ths of the band did in the studio at the top of the post.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

Video: The Hold Steady - "Stay Positive"

STAY POSITIVE - The Hold Steady


(Via)

Review: Hold Steady and Drive-By Truckers @ First Avenue

Download: Drive-By Truckers - "Zip City"
Download: Drive-By Truckers - "World of Hurt"
Download: Drive-By Truckers - "Loaded Gun In The Closet"
Download: The Hold Steady - "Chips Ahoy"
Download: The Hold Steady - "The Swish"

It's been a rough year for Minneapolis. In September, we had the Republican National Convention, which spurred a massive infringement on civil rights across Twin Cities. Tempering a hopeful presidential election, Michele Bachmann was elected a United States Representative again – an ugly reminder of the hatred blossoming in our own backyards. People are feeling the economic crunch here, just as they are anywhere else.

And that's why it felt so good to see the Hold Steady play the other night. America's best bar band returned to America's best rock venue (First Avenue, in case you live under a rock) midway through their "Rock and Roll Means Well" tour with Drive-By Truckers for two performances Saturday and Sunday night. In a set full of jubilation at the saving power of rock and roll, the Hold Steady left me feeling completely refreshed.

I just want to say a few words about Drive-By Truckers. They were phenomenal. Even in the middle of the tour, they performed with explosive energy and teeth-gritting passion. But the Hold Steady is the home team, and the band I'm more familiar with, so I'll be focusing on them.

The Hold Steady is a band that's easy for Minneapolitans to care about. Their lyrics are peppered with references to familiar landmarks and people. Even if they're based out of Brooklyn, it always feels like we own a piece of them.

And when you see them live, it's abundantly obvious that they care about us, too. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Craig Finn spends the show pushing out towards the audience, reaching and screaming at fans. He bounces like an excited four-year-old and flails around, dancing like a punk teen dropped into the middle of a French house club. His sheer and undeniable ecstasy at being on stage is contagious – even the 30 something hipsters in the audience were doing the white guy wiggle.

The band mostly played from their latest, Stay Positive. I have really mixed feelings on the album. On the one hand, I really appreciate the lyrical content. It gets down into the gritty reality of college towns, addiction and, ultimately, hope.

Unfortunately the album was sonically stagnant. After 2006's remarkably perfect release, Boys and Girls in America, Stay Positive doesn't really seem to tread new ground. It's owes a little more to the Ramones than Springsteen, but it isn't a dramatic or terribly interesting shift.

Luckily, the songs translate really well live. The Hold Steady has always been a well put-together band live, delivering their albums with a sheen of excitement. The rapid staccato guitars of Stay Positive have a really heavily rhythmic sense to them. They batter the audience, compelling everyone to make awkward, jerky attempts at dance.

They, of course, hit all the old highlights, too. They opened up with "Positive Jam," the first track off their debut, Almost Killed Me. It makes a wonderful starting place. It declares everything important about the Hold Steady. Over its three-minute span, "Positive Jam" declares the band's ethos, its meaningful separation from the legacy of Lifter Puller and establishes a context for the rest of the set.

Afterwards, the band launched into "Constructive Summer" and "Sequestered in Memphis," which hit with a transformative, triumphant energy that sustained through the rest of the set. The boys banged through the rest of the set, hitting the highs off of Stay Positive (the desperate, break-down love song "Yeah Sapphire" being one of my favorites from the evening) and a good volume of songs from Boys and Girls in America.

My only real complaint about the setlist was how far back in the set "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" was performed. I've been to four Hold Steady shows and the 30-second mark of "Hoodrat" is where the audience always goes ballistic. I can't help but feel like it should have been a little further forward in the interest of getting the audience in motion earlier.

One really cool thing the Hold Steady did during their set was a cover of the Minutemen's "History Lesson, Pt. 2" with lyrics subbed in to pay homage to Minneapolis music. Tipping their hats to the whole experience, in addition to specific acts, the song was a nice little touch for those of us who grew up in matinee concerts just like Finn did.

At the end of the show, three-fifths of the band popped back up on stage with the Drive-By Truckers to play a few last songs. Let's talk about iconic things for a minute. Everyone has a different image of rock and roll, but for me, that image is now Craig Finn. It's him on the edge of the stage, screaming "I'm not f---ing sorry," pulling the microphone from its stand with one hand, waving around a bottle of Jack Daniels with the other.

The two bands closed with "Rockin' In the Free World," a cover from Neil Young. A little cliché? Yeah. A lttle old? Yeah. Exactly the right note to close on? Hell yes. The Hold Steady and the Drive-By Truckers put on a rock show in the most ridiculous, spectacular sense of the phrase. Keep on rockin', indeed.

(April Wright)

The Hold Steady "Stay Positive" On "Late Night With Conan O'Brien"

Stopping by the veritably self-deprecating (who's red-headed friend to night owl viewers everywhere) late night host's show this past Monday, the perennially-described "America's Best Bar Band" took time off from startin' some shit with Radiohead to play the title track from their fourth album, Stay Positive. I'm not sure about the array of handclaps The Hold Steady start off the song with, but by the time that Youth of Today get name-dropped, and the wordless harmonies in the chorus come around, even the most strident skeptic cannot resist singing along. "We gotta stay positive": a message sorely needed in 2008.

Or, you know, just watch some people rocking the fuck out at the top of the post.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Oh Noes!: The Hold Steady Disses Radiohead

What kind of motherfuckery is this? The motherfuckery that says I have to choose between two of my favorite groups, that's what. In a recent interview, Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler dissed Radiohead and their music. Regarding In Rainbows, the Kub says:

I think they've lost the plot. What are they doing? Where are they going? What's happening? I don't get it any more. They lost me. I still appreciate what they're doing, or what they're trying to do. But I think they're trying too hard not to be Radiohead. That seems a little ridiculous to me.

Strange assessment, considering that, in the context of Radiohead's oeuvre, In Rainbows, while not exactly conventional, is certainly their warmest and most optimistic-sounding album they've put out in quite some time. As far as the music is concerned, Kubler says this:

I like them as a rock band, all the buttons and sequencing and stuff like that I don't really care for. I'm a fan of rock music and what they're doing now I don't think is very good. When you have that kind of money, you can put on a great performance regardless of what you do. If you can't go out and pick up your instruments and play a good show, that doesn't do it for me. I don't have any interest in that

Now, I'm sure the man's been quite busy holding steady for various people's in various nations. But, couldn't he at least make the time to listen to "Reckoner"? Or the Beatles-aping "Faust Arp"? Certainly, he'd have heard something more "rock" in that material. Even the contemplative "House of Cards" is pretty straightforward.

Here's where it gets really strange:

The guitarist has been exclusively talking to BBC 6 Music about his thoughts on the UK music industry, and in the interview he didn't hold back when it came to the 'Creep' artists.

Muse also came under fire, but he couldn't speak highly enough about Mancunian rockers Oasis.

(head explodes)

So, whose side are you on?

Radiohead MySpace Page
The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Tonight: The Hold Steady at First-Avenue

"I've played in all kinds of clubs all over the world now, I still don't think there's one that compares to First Ave." - Craig Finn

The Hold Steady are playing their pseudo home turf tonight with openers The Little Ones. I've never met a Hold Steady show I didn't like, so I'm pretty sure I'll walk away from this show loving the world like always.

The show starts at 8 p.m., it's 18+, and if you can't get in, stand outside the venue and glean all of the jams you can.

The Hold Steady on MySpace

(Ian Anderson)

Comedian Andy Kindler Spends Time With The Hold Steady

"You look like me. Why aren't I a rock start?"

"I don't know, maybe you're doing something wrong?"

Click above for more hilarious highlights of comedian Andy Kindler's time interviewing Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, as well as some intermintent fans of the band.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Video: The Hold Steady - Live on "Late Show With David Letterman

The Brooklyn-via-Minneapolis quintet, whose latest album, Stay Positive, was physically released on Tuesday, play first single "Sequestered in Memphis", with horn help from the "Late Show" band, led by Paul Shaffer. Additionally, the group participated in a "Late Show" sketch (that's the "help" that Letterman is thanking them for at the end of the clip), but so far, footage of that has not yet surfaced. Once it does, you can bet we'll post it, as the sketch is about the life and times of "America's Rock Band". Sah-weet.

Watch "Sequestered in Memphis", live on the "Late Show With David Letterman" at the top of the post.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Pitchfork Bestows The Hold Steady With An 8.4

For a while there, it seemed like any band from Minnesota who put out a record got pooped on by Pitchfork. First, there was the great Tapes N' Tapes murder of 2008, where the 'Fork called Walk It Off "a textbook sophomore slump" before ever-so-gently backhanding the MPLS quartet with a 5.9. Oh snap, son! Apparently, the fork giveth and the fork taketh away.

What's that? Is that you, Cloud Cult? Did you put out your eighth album of cathartic, artistically-minded, socially-conscious orch-rock this year, too? How. Dare. You. Feel Good Ghosts felt pretty bad, and so the 'Fork slapped the album with a 4.2.

Things didn't look so good for major MPLS acts. But, as one man said, "When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold", and it so happens that that's the very album which started the Minnesota upswing, with Atmosphere's sixth album receiving a solid 7.0. The next big MPLS "indie" release is Stay Positive, the fourth album from The Hold Steady, which comes off the heels of the rapturously received Boys and Girls In America. So how did Craig Finn and company do? Drum roll please...

8.4!. That's good enough for the 'Fork's "Recommended" tag. Writer Jason Crock states that "While its title and lyrics often make Stay Positive sound like a darkest-before-the-dawn kind of record, the themes Finn keeps returning to... all speak to the redemptive power of second chances. When the Hold Steady plead with you to 'stay positive,'... you could do worse than take them at their word." Read the rest of the album review here.

But Pitchfork isn't the only online rag heaping praise upon the group. Yesterday, liberal opinion journal Salon published a great essay from Idolator/A.V. Club writer Michaelangelo Matos' review of Positive, which puts the band's work in the context of the NYC scene from the early aughts, the American road trip, and Craig Finn's past work in Lifter Puller. About Stay Positive, Matos writes

"Stay Positive" is a natural progression -- backward and forward. Nothing rhythmically fancy goes on in Hold Steady songs, but their beat hurtles, and Kubler and Nicolay both have a gift for instrumental fills that complement the onslaught of words. While there are a lot of new touches, particularly the brazenly plastic synthesizers of "Navy Sheets" and a handsome array of acoustic instruments on several songs, most of the time they just play basic rock. But they do it well enough that it can feel like you haven't heard its like in years. No new ground is broken; none needs be.

Read the rest here.

Re-read April Wright's take on Stay Positive below.

Stay Positive is out now.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

The following is a re-post of a review which ran in June, around the time of this album's digital release. The physical release is today, July 15th.

The Hold Steady
Stay Positive (Vagrant, 2008)
Grade: B

I really like not knowing how to feel about something. It's nice; open-ended. So I guess I should be glad that I'm having a tough time beginning to conceive of how I should feel about Stay Positive.I remember being 16 and getting a copy of R.E.M.'s Fables of the Reconstruction on vinyl as opposed to CD out of strict economic necessity – used LPs were three for two bucks at a local used book and music store. I had to huddle in my parents freezing basement to listen to it on the really nice speakers.There's a bonding experience in that. Though it's one of my least favorite R.E.M. records, there's a sense that I suffered with that record, and, goddamnit, I'm going to love it for all it's worth.

Stay Positive evokes a similar feeling. I work weird hours, the only record store in town sells used records, and I don't have Internet at home. So getting the album really gave me the run-around. Having jumped through all the flaming hoops, ran from the rolling boulders and made it through the laser tripwires, I'm bonded to this record.

I'm glad it's a legitimately competent record, so I don't have to completely trash it. Eight spins in, I can say Stay Positive is my least favorite Hold Steady record, but I still like it. Both "Constructive Summer," a rallying cry for summertime productivity of some sort, and "Sequestered in Memphis" make for a super strong start, recalling the most straightforward and muscular moments off of Boys and Girls in America.

I'm not sure whether to say everything goes downhill from there or not. "One for the Cutters" paints a picture of townie life, which as someone in the town with a thriving townie population, feels gritty and accurate.


(The Hold Steady - "Lord, I'm Discouraged" - Live)

And therein lies the problem. Am I supposed to like the song because I can identify with it or because it's good? The harpsichord on the song is dramatic, if a little over-the-top. The songwriting just feels kind of thin and forgettable, so I'm pretty sure I'm into this song because I can relate to it. Of all their albums (and Lifter Puller's), Stay Positive is the least wrapped up in its own mythos. Holly? Charlemagne? Absent. Minneapolis? Exists in vague ghostings. But still, Craig Finn's lyrics are supremely identifiable; he makes it hard to separate where the affection for him ends and affection for the Hold Steady's music begins.

Other songs help the listener make that distinction a little easier. "Lord, I'm Discouraged" describes a universal scene: The deteriorating friend and the struggle to come to terms with all the issues around them. The drunken swagger of the piano and lazy guitar line give the impression that any progress made is entirely accidental – a drunkard's walk, if you'll let me use some statistics. For a song that I wasn't that keen on when I first heard it, I think it's come together really well.

The latter half of the album captures a Hold Steady we've seen glimpses of before – older, sadder and kind of tired. Musically, Stay Positive bounces between being riskier than any of their previous records and really conserving their earlier sound. "Both Crosses" calls to mind Fleetwood Mac (which is brave, considering how well they did Springsteen), but "Stay Positive" trips nostalgic, recycling lines from Almost Killed Me and punctuating them with Boys and Girls-style "Oh, oh"s. And it feels funny. I like it – at least partially due to the fact that I've heard it before. And I don't like it because it occupies this awkward transitory phase of confusion.

I'm more than a little disappointed that the album closes on a big old retread. "Magazines," "Joke About Jamaica" and "Slapped Actress" all feel a little too familiar, as if no progress has been made since their last album. I like the tracks well enough; I guess I was just hoping to be floored.

I guess that's the bottom line to the whole album: It's fine; it's competent. I like it all right. But I'm not blown away. It's probably my least favorite album in the Hold Steady catalog (maybe even the HS/Lifter Puller combined catalog) for the simple fact that I don't think it goes anywhere. Sure, it contains some of the biggest risks and gambles in their history, but not every poker hand is a winner; I'm not convinced they all pay out. I wish it was better, but it's still worth the eight spins I've given it. Is it going to be worth the next ten or fifteen I'll give it this weekend? Maybe...but then again, maybe not.

Stay Positive is available digitally now, through iTunes, but will not be available as a hard copy until July 15th.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(April Wright)

The Hold Steady - Live on AOL Interface

(The Hold Steady - "Sequestered in Memphis" - Live on "AOL Interface"

Having just heard the nostalgic title track of The Hold Steady's latest release, Stay Positive (which drops tomorrow) on The Current, I was highly curious as to how the new tracks would hold up live, although I'd already had gotten some sneak peaks at some of what would become the new album when the band Chicago last fall.

Apparently, lots of other people are curious as well, not the least of whom are the folks over at AOL Interface, who recently invited the Brooklyn-by-way-of-MPLS quintet, frequently described as the best bar band in America*, to perform on their program. The group play several cuts from its new record, and sit down for an interview segment, during which they discuss how to age gracefully playing rock music, amongst many other topics. You can watch "Sequestered in Memphis" at the top of the post and "Joke about Jamaica" and "Constructive Summer" below.







Stay Positive is out tomorrow. Watch the rest of the Interface sessions here.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)


*a descriptor I'll never understand, seeing how most bar bands I've seen do poor renditions of early 90s alt-rock. Maybe I missed the golden age of bar bands?

Stream The Hold Steady's New Album In Its Entirety

We first heard about how Brooklyn-via-MPLS quintet The Hold Steady were "Sequestered In Memphis". Now you, yourselves, get to hear the rest of the album, and see how it stands against past classics like Seperation Sunday and Boys and Girls in America. Stay Positive, the band's highly anticipated fourth album, is streaming at the band's MySpace page. Click on the link in the previous sentence to listen to it.

Stay Positive is in stores on July 15th

Once again, stream Stay Positive at The Hold Steady MySpace Page

h/t Stereogum

(Jonathan Graef)

New Hold Steady - "Sequestered In Memphis"

Download: The Hold Steady - "Sequestered In Memphis"

We went koo-koo for The Hold Steady's proverbial cocoa-puffs, which, in 2006, arrived in the form of Boys And Girls In America, their third studio album in as many years. 2007 came and went with no new record from the Brooklyn-via-Minneapolis quintet, the first year that has happened since the band's inception. However, the band still toured and, on a few shows, they debuted some new songs like "Lord, I'm Discouraged" and "Joke About Jamaica" to various degrees of fanfare. Once it was announced that record number four would be called Stay Positive, and it would arrive on July 15th in the States and the day before abroad, anticipation heightened. And now, finally, we have a first single called "Sequestered In Memphis".

So how is the track? Very solid. The mid-tempo track doesn't differ too much from the band's old material, but there are many hints in the arrangements that this band is surely--but also definitely slowly--edging away from the works of their past. Like "Hot Soft Light", "Sequestered In Memphis" is about a night in the pokey with a gal who "In bar light..looked alright(but)..in daylight...looked desperate". The horn touches are very Pleased To Meet Me. All in all, a decent effort with a great sing-along refrain at the end.

Stay Positive is out July 15th.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

The Hold Steady Are "Sequestered In Memphis" - But Not For So Long That They Can't Go On Tour

(Pic via Switchblade Comb)

Download: The Hold Steady - "Your Little Hoodrat Friend"

We already know the track-listing, title, and release date for the fourth long player from Brooklyn-via-Minneapolis indie-nostalgists The Hold Steady - but what about the first single? Will it allow us to Stay Positive about the Craig Finn-led group's irresistible winning streak of a recording career? We'll have to wait until July 15th until we truly know for sure, as that's when the album drops. But, on May 20th, which is in a few short days, we'll be able to hear the first single from Stay Positive. The song is called "Sequestered In Memphis", and it will be available on iTunes on the date mentioned in the previous sentence. No word on whether the label or the band will release that MP3 as a promo, but if we do, we'll let you know.

Being "Sequestered in Memphis" may or may not sound like your cup of tea vis-a-vis shootin' the shit and having good times, but certainly, a Hold Steady tour will float your boat. The band announce a full-length jaunt which begins in late June and goes all the way through August, with stops in Chicago for the P4K festival, amongst other summer fests. Check out the dates below.

6.08 - Chula Vista, CA - 94/9 Independence Jam
06.27 - Baltimore, MD - Ram’s Head Live!
06.28 - Philadelphia, PA - Festival Pier - School of Rock Festival
06.29 - Brooklyn, NY - McCarren Pool
07.17 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
07.18 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot Ballroom
07.19 - Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Festival
07.21 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre
07.22 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
07.23 - Fargo, ND - Fargo Theatre
07.26 - Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
07.27 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
07.29 - San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
07.30 - Los Angeles, CA - Avalon
08.02 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
08.03 - El Paso, TX - Club 101
08.05 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
08.06 - Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa
08.08 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s
08.09 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt
08.10 - Charleston, SC - The Pourhouse
08.12 - Carrborro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
08.13 - Norfolk, VA - The Norva

Tickets for the MPLS show go on sale at 10 AM Today. Click here for tix.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

The Hold Steady Announce Tracklist, Release Date of LP Number Four (Or: The Art of Stay(ing) Positive)

Out of the two bands to make a unique fan smile (the other being the Drive-By Truckers), only one is putting out a record this upcoming summer. And, even though this news has been broken by P4K and Billboard , it's still too exciting (for those of us who spend sad times with Boys and Girls alike) not to share: The Hold Steady have announced the tracklisting and release date of their fourth LP, Stay Positive.

Last year was the only year to not have seen a new Hold Steady record since the band's inception. One can only hope that the extra time spent on the LP was worth it. Based on the new songs they played on their tour with Art Brut, we can say it was. But on July 15th, we'll known for sure, as that is the date on which Vagrant will release the 11-track opus. Here's what made the cut:

01 Constructive Summer
02 Sequestered in Memphis
03 One for the Cutters
04 Navy Sheets
05 Lord, I'm Discouraged
06 Yeah Sapphire
07 Both Crosses
08 Stay Positive
09 Magazines
10 Joke About Jamaica
11 Slapped Actress

Glad to see "Lord, I'm Discouraged" make the list. Here's the video we uncovered of the track, taken from a show last fall:



Stay Positive is out on July 15h.

The Hold Steady MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Live Music Update: Wolf Parade, Yeasayer, Mill City, The Hold Steady

If you saw any of P4K's coverage of the Man Man/Yeasayer show from a couple of weeks back, then this news should undoubtedly get you excited, even if you've read the news already. Brooklyn's multi-culti experimentalists Yeasayer are going to be playing a free show at the Urban Outfitters in Minneapolis. Good thing the show is free, because I'd imagine everything else is over-priced. Print out your tickets now, and show up to the show on July 30th early, as space is limited.

Get a bigger version of the ticket here.

In other mind-blowing indie-rock news, Wolf Parade, whose second release is still untitled (as of this writing), announced a tour to support said album release. One of the dates on that tour is Minneapolis itself. The Canadian quartet will be stopping by First Ave. on July 9th. Tickets are not on sale to the general public yet, but you can register at this site in order to purchase advance tickets.

On another live show note, The Hold Steady round out the final part of the line-up for the 2008 Pitchfork Festival. Read more about it here.

And, finally, Switchblade Comb announced the lineup for Mill City Live series, in which free outdoor concerts take place at the Mill City Museum. First up on the list is MPLS' own delicate twee-pop quartet The Owls. Read the rest of the line-up here.


Wolf Parade MySpace Page
The Hold Steady MySpace Page
Yeasayer MySpace Page
Mill City Museum Website

(Jonathan Graef)

The Gog Steady

Download: Gogol Bordello - "Wonderlust King"
Download: Gogol Bordello - "Alcohol"

Let me tell you something about mosh pits. I grew up in them. Not only will I hold my own, I'll hold your own, all while twitching arhytmically and singing along to every word.

On a tangentially related note, sorry if I broken anyone's feet, hands or other appendages at last night's Gogol Bordello show. But, you know, you shouldn't have put them beneath my boots in the first place.

I'd heard tell of Gogol's absolutely insane live show, and let me tell you: it's all true. Eugene Hütz came out in a spangled shirt (which vanished shortly thereafter) and started wailing away on an acoustic guitar. You have to be a supreme badass to have the words "wailing away" apply to your acoustic guitar playing. And he did, my friends, he did.

The band blazed through most of Super Taranta, and it made me come the closest I've come in a long time to feeling genuinely happy. "Super Theory of Super Everything" is the closest thing to finding and embracing truth in this world – it rejects everything that's false (oh, yes, Eugene did just tread on your little ghost-fearing toes). It calls for unity between the things that matter – namely, your brothers and sisters. It's a beautiful song, and was played with rollicking passion and shambolic glory.

Sure, some notes got lost (mostly due to First Ave putting the B-Team on the soundboard last night), and the "da-da-da-da-da-dows" on "Wanderlust King" were a little slurred. But whatever, we know how the song goes. The great thing about Gogol Bordello is that even when they're singing Russian or jibberish, you get it. Gogol drips with sincerity. It's a sincerity based on making a connection with as many people as possible.

And I've gotta applaud the enthusiasm with which Gogol comes to their audience. The whole band – even that old dude on violin – exude passion and excitement. I was a little disappointed that the sparkly, flashy dancers in back didn't take a more prominent role, but it's ok. It might have even been a little bit of sensory overload.



Download: The Hold Steady - "Massive Nights"
Download: The Hold Steady - "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window" (Bob Dylan cover from I'm Not There soundtrack)

And then Ian Anderson texted me and told me that Art Brut had just vacated the stage.

Cue my friend and I running through the Minneapolis downtown, barely containing our ebullience, making phone calls and gossiping about high school friends we'd spotted at the show.

Now, I've seen the Hold Steady three times. And seats do not suit them. I just had to get that out of the way in the interest of not dwelling on seats the whole review. My right knee is swollen to hell from dancing to hard and whacking it constantly. Gogol Bordello says to "start wearing purple?" Fuck that, I will turn my flesh purple.

But the band was great. At the Thermals two weeks ago, Kathy did this impression of Craig Finn that involved puckering up her face and clapping really fast while jumping. Spot on, Kathy. That is exactly what Finn was like last night: a clappy, chatty, happy dude who somehow, despite looking so happy, makes my heart shatter.

They played all those songs you want the Hold Steady to play: "Your Little Hoodrat Friend," "Cattle and the Creeping Things," "Barfruit Blues," and "Chips Ahoy." You, know, their expendable songs that feel good to hear. They dug into their catalog of songs that we all love to hear because they not only rock hard, but because they touch nerves that need to get touched. Sometimes you just need to get stuck between stations.

And they played those songs that we love to hear even though they kind of sting. Something about "Killer Parties" hits a little close to home; "Ask Her For Adderoll," if a little too stripped and sped up for my taste rings a little too true. And, on a personal note, "How a Resurrection Really Feels" reminded me that it's probably about time to rejoin the living, though I'm not at all ready to do it.

That being said, I wasn't really feeling "Lord, I'm Discouraged" that much. I was kind of surprised, since "First Night" is my favorite song on Boys and Girls. Maybe it's because of the solo, maybe it's because it discusses on a lot of points that are a little too strongly relevant to me. It's definitely a grower. I liked it a lot more when I checked it out on Jon's post (below) last Friday.

And that's the beauty of a Hold Steady show. As my longtime brother-in-arms Alex and I departed the theater, people were stumbling around, some were laughing, a couple were misty-eyed. Some were hugging, most were putting their cool back on and trying to hide smiles behind impassive masks. I felt more empty than I ever have, but I think that might be due to catharsis rather than an actual void (though I need the weekend before I commit to that).

But hey, as Finn says, we're the Hold Steady.

(April Wright)

The Hold Steady - The State Theatre - Nov. 1

Download: Art Brut - "My Little Brother"

The show started off smashingly with the extremely British Art Brut. Surprisingly entertaining and superbly funny, I was completely caught off guard by Art Brut's charm and unabashed sexual wit. Frontman Eddie Argos stumbled around stage with the swagger of a disenfranchised youth, screaming "Ready Art Brut!" in between songs followed with volleys of "This song is about liking girls, hating girls and then liking them again!" or "This is song is about how much I hate people who hate things!" and so on. The Art Bruters were equally as entertaining as they continued the trend of overgrown teenagers (I mean this in the most complimentary way) goofing around on stage with a strong sense of bratty youthful humor. Art Brut are a must-see if you missed them last night.




Download: The Hold Steady - "Positive Jam"
Download: The Hold Steady - "Southtown Girls"

The Hold Steady returned to their second-home like a pack of road-warrior veterans that missed Minneapolis almost as much as the city missed them. Everything Craig Finn said was met with roars and cheers, and even the one confusing thing Tad said was met with a loud, just as confused bout of laughter from the crowd. Finn's enthusiasm and excitement was utterly contagious as his frantic arm waving, preacher-esque gesturing, and silly fancy-feet dances complimented his near-constant ear-to-ear grin that stayed with him (and the crowd) throughout the set.

The Hold Steady broke out three new songs, the standout of which was "Lord, I'm Discouraged," which you can see below -- thanks Jon for the post. The set worked through most of "Boys and Girls In America," but the show was really taken up a notch when they came on to play "Positive Jam" for the first encore. They closed the show with "Southtown Girls," which featured a long breakdown that allowed Finn to simply talk to the crowd. This speech culminated with Finn yelling -- arms flailing and all -- "There is so much joy up here in what we do, and we thank you for being a part of it!" I'll admit that I got rather emotional.

(Ian Anderson)