Thursday, March 22, 2007

Lost in Fog and Love and Faithless Fear


Last night, The Hold Steady burned a hole in the stage with their ROCK at Syracuse University. From the opening ("Stuck Between Stations") to the phenomenal encore ("Citrus," "Killer Parties"), the entire room was electrified. Craig Finn-sporting a new beard-twitched, spazzed, spit, shouted, and testified his lyrics to the sold out room. Franz Nicolay, my true hero, dressed in a vintage tux and combat boots, had just as much character, shouting and dancing around-doing jumping jacks, even-while playing everything note and cue without missing a beat. The band was extremely personable, making eye contact with all of us often and going as far as blowing kisses (at Meredith) and throwing dollar bills ("I don't really need these..."). There's chemistry between the Hold Steady and their audience that is unmatchable. Despite the tomfoolery of the security staff before and after the show, it was a truly explosive experience from beginning to end.

"Rock and Roll means well, but it can’t help tellin’ young boys lies." Craig Finn's lyrics don't do anything but capture this vivid, exciting, and sometimes crushing teenage/twentysomething life. Sounds pretty true to me.

On Wednesday, the Hold Steady released the music video for their next single, "Stuck Between Stations." They also announced the limited release of a live, acoustic EP on April 17th on Vagrant Records. The recording is from an in-store appearance at L.A.'s Fingerprints record store. The EP will only be carried by independent distributors listed here. I've embedded the new video below. Enjoy!

STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS - The Hold Steady

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