The Hold Steady at Weesner Amphitheater, Apple Valley (05 July 2014)
Setlist
courtesy of setlist.fm
Tour Dates
07/14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
07/15 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory 07/17 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom 07/18 – Seattle, WA @ The Neptune 07/19 – Vancouver, BC @ River Rock Casino 07/21 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American 07/23 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's 07/25 – 26 – Camden NJ @ WXPN 07/27 – Edmonton, AB @ Interstellar Rodeo 07/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey 07/31 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern 08/01 – Santa Ana, CA @ The Observatory 08/02 – Las Vegas, NV @ Vinyl 08/04 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom 08/05 – El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace 08/06 – Santa Fe, NM @ Sol Santa Fe 08/30 – Highmount, NY/Brooklyn @Belleayre 09/05 – Richmond, VA @ Fall Line Fest 09/06-09/07 – Boston Calling Festival Read More
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Opening for them was Cheap Girls from Lansing, Michigan. For this review I was fortunate enough to sit next to the mother of The Hold Steady guitarist/vocalist Tad Kubler, Kathleen Watson. During the concert, she told me a story about how the band used to travel from gig to gig in an old, white van in the early days. She and the other parents served as rest stops as The Hold Steady would crisscross the Midwest.
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Craig Finn
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I counted 22 songs in their set. While I was discovering their music for the first time, most of the crowd was singing along as if they helped write the tunes. The Hold Steady has a very loyal fan base and it’s no wonder with front man Craig Finn constantly reaching out to the audience with his infectious energy full of positive vibes.
If you haven’t listened to The Hold Steady before, I can only say that their sound is a mixture of their adopted East Coast Rock built on a foundation of tongue-in-cheek, Midwest friendliness. Finn is in constant dialogue with the crowd. Pretty much all their songs are a narrative of some sort and after a funny lyric is sung, Finn would step away from the mic and lip and gesture feelings of bemusement and confusion.
Finn also constantly remarked on his love for Minnesota. Their 5th song was dedicated to their first show they ever did at the Triple Rock over 10 years ago. Later he asked the crowd if they saw the Twins game earlier. Finn commented on the game by saying that the Twins “didn’t just beat them, they outclassed them!†The crowd became more swept up in Finn’s energy and enthusiasm at that point and many other points along the way. At the end of the 9th song Finn also pointed out that his high school math teacher was in the crowd.
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The Hold Steady
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The Hold Steady had songs for Apple Valley and gave sound advice like “heart break hurts but you can dance it off.†After their second to last song Finn said, “It’s come to that part of the evening where I only have 2 things to say. First thing is holy shit we’re going to play with the Replacements. And the 2nd this is more important. Something I say quite often. I say it cause it’s true. Sometimes kind of hard to get out. If it’s cool with you guys I’m just going to come out and say it. There is so much joy in what we do up here!â€
If you want to feel happy and nothing seems to work, I advise going to a The Hold Steady concert. This band is all about the people in the stands.
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The Hold Steady at the Weesner Family Amphitheater at the Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley (05 July 2014) |