Music / 02 academy
Review: Hold Steady, 02 Academy
Whilst currently touring their recent sixth album ‘Teeth dreams’ the Hold Steady came back to the Bristol’s Academy venue to prove that they are still one of the world’s best live bands.
The band took to the stage with the aptly titled ‘A Positive jam’, kickstarting a twenty song set made up of tracks from all stages of their ten year career.
Frontman Craig Finn may look like an office nerd, but onstage he controls the crowd as a rock and Roll star. Finn gets the audience on his side straight from the off as he clearly shows his passion and humility. He makes it clear that he is one of us with his lyrics about bands, booze and relationships. The band take the best bits of US stadium rock with guitarists Tad Kubler and Steve Selvidge each taking turns to solo.
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The biggest cheers of the night were for the tracks from 2006 breakthrough classic ‘Boys and Girls in America’. ‘Stuck Between Stations’ and a roaring ‘Chips Ahoy’ were received rapturously, as you would expect from any Hold Steady set. The tracks from the first two albums were also greeted with excitement from hardcore fans down the front who sang along to every word.
Another anthemic crowd-pleaser was the title track from 2008’s ‘Stay Positive’ with it’s woo-oohs and uplifting message, which segued into ‘How a Resurrection Really feels’ which brought the main set to a close. Of course they returned minutes later for a three song encore including ending on a cover of the Violent Femmes’ ‘American music’ joined by the night’s support band: Brooklyn’s So So Glos.
With the Hold Steady, you get a pretty varied setlist every night which satisfies the casual fans and the hardcore ‘Unified Scene’ alike. The one constant is that despite the band’s varying repertoire, the band always put their all into the live shows making them a must see act.
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