Recommendation of the Day #25

Recommendation of the Day: The Hold Steady

Last night was supposed to be one of those nights where I come home after work, cook dinner, and veg the entire night, playing guitar or rotting my brain with TV DVD box-sets and video games. Instead, I got a call from one of my friends at about 9:30, who excitedly says, "dude, The Hold Steady is playing at The Fillmore tonight, and you can get tickets from scalpers for like 10 bucks". Never one to turn down a rock show, I immediately booked it down to Irving Plaza for what ended up being one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

The band was as tight and crisp as any I've seen live, and the fact that none of the band members (except maybe the drummer) used in-ear monitors speaks volumes about their cohesiveness. That, coupled with their positive and friendly attitude - at one point, lead singer Craig Finn went into his "there is so much joy in what we do up here!" routine - made it a great experience.

Check em out.