The Hold Steady

here is a review I wrote of The Hold Steady at Shepherds Bush Empire. This was published in the reader reviews section of The Independent newspaper.

The Hold Steady at Shepherds Bush Empire – 2^nd July 2007

The Hold Steady’s frontman Craig Finn declared from the stage that this was the biggest headlining gig they had ever played but they will certainly have the opportunity to top the billing at larger venues still if they continue to put on shows like this.

The Hold Steady’s third album ‘Boys and Girls in America’ is causing quite a stir on both sides of the Atlantic with its heady mix of literate storytelling and Replacements and E-Street band style anthems and the audience at Shepherds Bush Empire seemed ready for an evening of celebration. Finn set the mood when he arrived on stage and declared “we are the Hold Steady and we are going to have some fun tonight” with a wide grin across his face already.

The anthems arrived immediately. Opener ‘Stuck Between Stations’ sounds like Born to Run era Springsteen, a huge windswept anthem with some humorous lyrics (“she was a really good kisser / and she wasn’t all that strict of a Christian”). It set the tone for the evening and when new single and massive sing-along anthem ‘Chips Ahoy!’ arrived just a few songs later the atmosphere in the Empire was incredible. Finn is a ball of nervous energy, when he isn’t singing he is mouthing the words he has just sung or holding his hands out towards the audience. He is a supremely engaging and energetic front man and it is impossible not to be swept along by his obvious pleasure and excitement at being able to sing these songs to so many people.

The Hold Steady are also extremely accomplished musicians though. Guitarist Tad Kubler put in an extraordinary performance, showing himself to be a highly versatile lead-guitarist and keyboardist Franz Nicolay was as enthusiastic and entertaining as his front man..

It is a testimony to the quality of the band’s music that only three albums into their career they can produce a completely consistent 90 minute set and still leave the audience wanting more. Repeated song requests from the audience were met with a deadpan “yes those are all songs that we wrote” from Finn. They played the whole of ‘Boys and Girls in America’, giving their UK fans what they wanted as their first two records have only recently been released on these shores.

After closing the main set with ‘Southtown Girls’ and the incredible ‘How A Resurrection Really Feels’, the encore started gently with a mellow, acoustic ‘Citrus’ before one of the moments of the night as epic ballad ‘First Night’ filled the room. It would have been an ideal closer but after a lengthy ‘thank you’ speech from Finn they finished on a high with ‘Killer Parties’. Finn circled the stage, seemingly wanted to thank each member of the audience individually. He seemed to want the concert to go on forever and the huge ovation he received showed that all those in attendance felt exactly the same way.

5 stars.