Present Joys

Monday night (3 feb 2014), I saw the Hold Steady play a show at A&R Music Bar. It was a very wild, loud, energetic show—just exactly what I expected. Craig Finn went guitar-less most of the evening (“I made a new year’s resolution to stop fake-playing-guitar so much”) and repeatedly attempted to imitate Paul Stanley’s stage banter. There were many good songs. I was particularly happy to hear Rock Problems and Stuck Between Stations. Besides the great music, I had a chance to meet up with Blair, the dude who ridiculed me online a few years ago and since then has become a good internet friend, as well as a bunch of other random Columbus music-scene folks. Tons of fun.

I’ve already spoken about my knitting experience at last thursday night’s Craig Finn show, but I figure I should write about the actual show itself, because, boy howdy, it was a good one. Ian and I carpooled downtown at about 6:30pm, and because of awful hockey traffic, we ended up having to pay $10 to park in a garage across from the Ice Haus. Despite this, we managed to be the first people to the Basement. Coincidentally, some of my friends from school showed up soon after. At this point, it was nearly 8pm and we went inside.

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The pre-show wait was pretty chill. The venue took a long time to fill up, and the people who came were generally pretty calm and nice. It seemed like a lot of men in their early-to-mid 30s, but there were other sorts of people too. By the time Mount Moriah went on around 8:30, the place had completely filled up. It was good to be in the front row.

The opening band, Mount Moriah, was great in every way. Though I’d listened to their debut album before the show, seeing them live prompted me to re-listen! and to go get this nyctaper bootleg. Good stuff!

Craig and his band were, of course, really cool. There were no Hold Steady songs and definitely no Lifter Puller songs played. Craig played stuff from his new solo album, plus a few unreleased songs. The tenor of the show, like his new album, was slightly sad. But it was a beautiful kind of sad. My favorite part of the show was when they played No Future, which hit me really hard. I also enjoyed Terrified Eyes, Apollo Bay, and everything Craig did on solo guitar. The last song of the night, if I recall correctly, was Not Much Left of Us, and no encore followed. That kinda sums up the vibe: cathartic and a little sad but totally beautiful.

By the time I got back to my car, with Ian and my three friends from school who I’d offered to drop off at campus, that far-away parking garage was pretty much empty. It was badly designed, and we had a ton of trouble figuring out how to leave. There must have been five different exits, and it took us a good ten minutes to find the only exit that was attended. It’s kinda spooky to think you’re locked in an empty parking garage at midnight. Nevertheless, we had a really fantastic time. I’m so thankful for the chance to be at this show, the fond memories of which I’ll keep with me for a long time!

1. Craig Finn is adorable.
2. This song has never sounded better or been more rocking.
3. I just realized that nyctaper made a recording of this whole show.