"Certain songs, they get scratched into your souls," sang Craig Finn at the end of the Hold Steady's set at the Black Cat last Wednesday. His voice shook, his eyes were fixed at the back of the club and as he said the words, from the song "Certain Songs," he clawed the air with his hand.
Campy? Maybe, but the crowd was sold. The Hold Steady plays a kind of bar band rock 'n' roll, music with chunky guitars, fat organs and Finn, who plays guitar only half the time and half-speaks, half-sings all the time. He shakes frenetically around the stage, like Jello Biafra, were he the nicest bald guy ever.
Preceding the Hold Steady were the two-man Swearing at Motorists and quartet, The Plastic Constellations. The Constellations played most of their songs from their newly released album, "Crusades." The drums, which are pushed to the fore on the album, were more subdued live, which was disappointing. Other than that, the band pulled off their tight, compact pop-influenced punk songs very well. Few people bothered to get to the show early enough to see them, which is a pity for such a tight and relatively interesting band.
Swearing at Motorists - led by Frank Zappa look-alike Dave Doughman, who jumped around like a coked-out Angus Young impressionist - failed to leave such a hopeful taste in the mouth. His smarmy, faux lounge singer drawl, close to unbearable on record, almost worked live, but overall, Doughman came off as a self-gratifying loser trying to live the life of a rock star. Harsh, yes, but there were times when he was almost seemed honest, as at the end of a particularly cathartic number. In the end however, it became apparent that Doughman was only an actor, making it all the more frustrating. If he just sucked, it would have been alright, but since he was so close to having it, it was only worse.
But the Hold Steady handily blew both bands out of the water. Seeing Finn, who is easily one of the most entertaining front men around, and Franz Nicolay, the keyboardist, who was a dead ringer for Mario (of Bros. fame), and the rest of the band rock out was completely worth the wait. The band played most of the songs from their new album, "Separation Sunday," including hits like "Stevie Nix," a truly touching song about a girl and getting old, "Chicago Looked Tired Last Night" and "Hornets! Hornets!"
The Hold Steady is the kind of band that dudes hold their pints of beer up to, the kind of band that hard-drinking guys can watch play a sentimental ballad and maybe even tear up to. The band visited both sides of the musical spectrum - sneering rock with heinous solos, as well as solo piano interludes, like that in "Certain Songs," which incidentally did not leave dry eye in the house.
Finn, also a hip-hop aficionado who has done guest work with hip-hopper P.O.S., sings as if he's going through a miniature nervous breakdown. And if many of his songs are true to life, between all the drugs and booze and messed up relationships he's been in, he just might be.
