Brooklyn-by-way-of-Minneapolis rockers The Hold Steady are one of --if not THE -- greatest live bands on PLANET EARTH. Last night at the El Rey in Los Angeles, they absolutely KILLED it and left the sold-out audience literally screaming for more, more, more.
For the uninitiated, the Hold Steady have been (accuratley) described as "Bruce Springsteen meets the Replacements," "Elvis Costello fronting the E Street Band" and "The best bar band in America." The key to their cult-like devotion from fans is lead singer Craig Finn's infectious tourette's-like stage presence and his eerily prescient lyrical output. He doesn't sing, he lectures. Lectures about drugs, drinking, partying, growing up, living in America (most often Minneapolis and Ybor City, Fla.). Finn is so huggable up there on stage, smiling broadly, quivering and scratching like a junkie and telling the crowd how much fun the band's having.
The setlist included only one song from their debut Almost Killed Me and one B-side ("Modesto is Not That Sweet" -- to which I say, "Yes it is! George Lucas is from there!"), the rest coming from 2005's Seperation Sunday (cop that shit NOW!) and their critically acclaimed Boys and Girls in America.
On the musical side, axeman Tad Kubler has fully made the transition to Guitar God (he even plays a double-necker for a few tracks; "You know those guitars that are like TWO guitars?!"). They're steadily improving as a live unit, which makes their personal sloppiness even more interesting. Sweet Christ, I love the Hold Steady. One last thing, where were all you ladies? Swear to God, the crowd was like 80% males in their thirties.
Openers Illinois (from, um, Pennsylvania) spent as much time praising the Hold Steady as they did playing. The lead singer offered a countdown of sorts to the headlining act: "30 minutes to the Hold Seteady," "Hold Steady in less than 20 minutes!," etc. But we were in no hurry, as Illinois proved to be a damn catchy garage rock act.
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