Send "The Hold Steady " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Theskinny |
 “A lot of people don’t believe that rock and roll can save your soul…I don’t think any one of these people have ever seen The Hold Steady.” - Concert-goer interviewed on A Positive Rage OK, so that’s a bit grandiose of a statement – perhaps best reserved for spectators of 70s Led Zep, Elvis’ ’68 Comeback Special, or At Folsom Prison – but that doesn’t take away from the fact THS are one of the most compelling live forces of recent times. Curiously, Rage brings listeners to the band’s burgeoning Boys and Girls in America tour, the live set being recorded at the second of two nights at the Chicago Metro. Playing a cross-section of their back catalogue – but including early versions of Stay Positive staples – the boys from Brooklyn know where to pick their spots: Craig Finn’s literary lyrics come through clearly – with his often manic, emotive inflection – as does Tad “Koob” Kubler’s improvisational riffage. Though the backing vocals sometimes seem to be tuned too high, with its otherwise consistent musicianship, Rage is a surrogate hits package, conveying a bit of personality with the cinematic lyrics and beer-drinkin’ rock and roll....full text |
| Pitchfork |
| At every Hold Steady show, singer Craig Finn has a line he slips in somewhere: "There is so much joy in what we do here." He's been saying this for years, but it took the band a while before that joy was being communicated to large audience and being reciprocated. Despite two wordy and whip-smart records, the band didn't fully hit its stride as performers until recent years. Around the time Finn started writing more choruses and singing more often than speaking his way through his songs, the rest of the Hold Steady became a live force as well, and the boozy, redemptive joy Finn was always going on about became not only believable but downright infectious. Weirdly, however, that infectiousness is a hard thing to document-- recorded on Halloween night 2007 at Chicago's Metro, live album A Positive Rage feels like a blurry Polaroid, a flat reminder of what was probably a pretty good time. Granted, very few live records even get that far. The record captures the band on both a victory lap for 2006's Boys and Girls in America and as it takes an opportunity to road-test material from an album that wouldn't be out until the following summer-- an exciting night for hardcore fans, who'd managed to fill the place two nights in a row. But the linchpins of a typical Hold Steady set, the fist-pumpers and drink-lifters, won't be converting anyone on this recording. Guitar-heavy highlights like "Stuck Between Stations", "The Swish", or "Chips Ahoy" rush past the ears in a Doppler-like whoosh....full text |
| Snobsmusic |
| There's little question that The Hold Steady are one of the biggest bands in indie rock today. That reputation's built on great songs, and maybe more importantly, a killer live show. Now we get a taste of that live show with the DVD/CD package A Positive Rage. The documentary and accompanying live record come out April 7th. Recorded in October 2007, the set draws heavily from the band's breakthrough 2006 record Boys and Girls In America. The set does contain most of your Hold Steady favorites: "Your Little Hoodrat Friend", "Chips Ahoy!", "Stuck Between Stations", "Girls Like Status", "You Can Make Him Like You". However, with the date the concert was recorded we do miss out on material from the band's latest album Stay Positive. The exceptions being early versions of the wrenching "Lord, I'm Discouraged" and Stay Positive bonus track "Ask Her For Adderall". Much like the live-in-venue show, Franz Nicolay's keyboards are more prominent than they are on the albums. That's a good thing as they add a dimension to the songs that help separate The Hold Steady from so many other indie rock bands....full text |
The Hold Steady lyrics
