Concert Review: The Hold Steady @ McCarren Park Pool, Brooklyn (6/29/08)

Before heading over to McCarren Park Pool today, I had read many internet/magazine articles featuring confident claims of The Hold Steady as being the best live act in the US right now. The fact that these are songs aimed to please the sing-along, fist-pumping fan is pretty apparent just from listening to their anthem-filled rock library (that has quickly accumulated into four albums over the past five years). So when The Hold Steady started playing their first song "Constructive Summer" off their upcoming album "Stay Positive", all of my doubts of the band fulfilling these claims were immediately extinguished.

The Hold Steady pack a punch harder than almost any other band I've seen in concert. Their lead singer and songwriter Craig Finn is largely responsible for this, with his hard-hitting, slacker vocals reminding us of so many other fearless rockers of the past. His lack of vocal talent is ultimately endearing, making us realize that it's personality and individuality rather than talent that has made some of the most technically unqualified vocalists some of rock's most beloved (Dylan, Jagger, Westerberg, etc.) There's also a tremendous band there to back him up, led primarily by the fantastically confident Tad Kubler on lead guitar. Keyboardist Franz Nicolay also lends a key melodic element to the songs. Finn comically spends more time waving his arms to and fro rather than actually playing his guitar (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

And of course, what better to complete a the rock concert experience than the energy of the fans themselves. And man oh man does this band have some insanely loyal fans. It amazes me how the majority of people surrounding me knew every single word of every Kerouac-ian verse flying out of Finn's mouth. There was an incredible level of connection between the fans and the song's content. It really shows that the spirit of rock and roll can still permeate from every pore and every breath of a fan just as it has in decades past, and The Hold Steady are a key act in lighting the way for numerous boys and girls in America today.

The Hold Steady - Same Kooks