The Hold Steady
Koko
27th February 2008
This band were for me the highlight of my musical year in 2007. I quickly digested the Hold Steady’s UK release of Boys and Girls in America, and like the writers of Uncut, fell in love with their simple, rocking songs and the lyrics which recalled a lost youth full of drugs, drink, parties, sex and even religion. I quickly absorbed their two previous albums, which went largely unnoticed at the time, but were re-released to yet more critical acclaim.
Meanwhile, their live shows were quickly reaching legendary status. They played the Borderline in what will probably end up as their last small gig, played other dates in London, most notably at Shepherds Bush Empire (which as it happens was the worst time I’ve seen the band), as well as playing nearly every single festival in the UK going.
The US has still to warm to these guys (comparatively speaking) and the band went back home for a winter tour and spent time in the studio recording their fourth album, which as we revealed on Rockbeatstone (well… read elsewhere and repeated here...), would be called Stay Positive.
But the UK is not completely conquered yet. This may be why they were touring as part of the NME Award shows – playing to kids who haven’t realised that you can find good bands outside the pages of said rag. However, the NME Award show did their typical thing of playing a completely different type of support act. I mean, who in their right mind thought that the, quite frankly, poor indie musings of Bombay Bicycle Club would be a good support?
The piss-poor offering from these teenagers out of the way, my friends and I descended onto the floor to get the best possible vantage point for this gig. Three to four people from the front is where I ended up. There was plenty of room at first, which quickly disappeared as those in the "Unified Scene" (a rag-bag collection of old rockers and younger fans following the Hold Steady around who only have one thing in common – the desire to rock out) swarmed to the front of Camden’s best venue, the Koko. There was also a certain British comic by the name of Phil Jupitus in the front of the mosh-pit with his kids too. Perhaps he’s also been bitten by the Hold Steady bug.
The band came on and I immediately felt at home. I also felt pride, like a mother does on their child’s first day at school. My band were back. And I was going to rock-out like Springsteen and the Replacements had never happened. This was my time to shine and I was going to damn well enjoy it! Unlike their first few outings in London and their festival sets, tonight’s was a more mixed affair, which served the fans well. Mixing up songs from B&GIA, Separation Sunday and Almost Killed Me, the setlist worked well and presented a rounded view of the Hold Steady’s now substantial back-catalogue of work. Starting with two from B&GIA, the mosh-pit at the front went wild, but a bigger cheer was reserved for Almost Killed Me stalwart, 'The Swish'. In this one Craig Finn is like a manic preacher, drawing the crowd closer in, snarling the lyrics like a crazed madman, and never once failing in his job as an entertainer.
New songs were also on display tonight. 'Stay Positive' and especially 'Constructive Summer' were great songs, rollocking, rocking, and pretty much following the Hold Steady template – which is by no means a bad thing. It will be great to hear these properly on record, no doubt they will become new live favourites. The songs kept coming, and the mosh pit kept getting more and more rowdy. The tunes were hitting us in quick succession, like a prize fighter the Hold Steady were attempting to wear us into the ground. Fortunately, the Hold Steady crowd was not giving in.
‘Some Kooks’ and ‘Multitude of Casulties’ presented the best that the Hold Steady have to offer. Big, brash rock songs that one can never tire of in a live context. By the time, 'How a Resurrection Really Feels', I was bloody and bruised and I took the somewhat slower pace of the song to stand back a little and take it all in. The lyrics got inside of my head and when the whole crowd chanted back, “How a resurrection really feels!”, one could tell that they were speaking of that fabulous moment that you sometimes get at a gig, where the act on stage has so completely won you over that, yes, you do actually feel born again. What a great song.
The encore was a little more contemplative, 'First Night' was a great epic rock song, 'Southtown Girls' has lost none of it’s charm, and I challenge anyone to find a better closing song for a Hold Steady gig than 'Killer Parties'.
All in all, this was a great Hold Steady gig. They’ve given me enough to wait for their fourth album which I shall be buying as soon as it hits the shops. In the meantime, the next question must be – shall I spend stupid amounts of money seeing them again at any of the festivals they are doing? I already know the answer to that. Like the drugs and partying mentioned in their songs, a quick-fix is never enough. I know in my bones that I will see this band whenever and wherever I can. There is no other live act like it around.
Setlist:
'Hot Soft Light'
'Stuck Between Stations'
'The Swish'
'Chips Ahoy!'
'Stay Positive'
'Party Pit'
'Massive Nights'
'Barfruit Blues'
'Constructive Summer'
'Same Kooks'
'Multitude of Casualties'
'Stevie Nix'
'You Can Make Him Like You'
'Your Little Hoodrat Friend'
'How A Resurrection Really Feels'
- encore -
'First Night'
'Southtown Girls'
'Killer Parties'
by James Ketchell
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Reply #1 on : Wed April 16, 2008, 22:06:42