On a rainy Wednesday night in Jersey City, New Jersey, The Hold Steady celebrated the tenth anniversary of their album Stay Positive. The picturesque White Eagle Hall played host to the jubilant sold-out crowd as the band opened their mini summer tour.
Supporting the group on this night was the acoustic troubadour Kevin Devine who rolled out his singer-songwriter style with confidence around the filing in audience. Devine commented multiple times on the gorgeous venue and closed his short set with a powerful rendition of “Brothers Blood” moving away from the microphone to scream lyrics.
The screaming transferred into the crowd as The Hold Steady took the stage and wasted zero seconds blasting into “Constructive Summer”, kicking off their run through the band’s fourth album in front of a banner which displayed double-whiskey-coke-no-ice, water towers and ladders. The energy continued for “Sequestered in Memphis” before Craig Finn stopped the show and discussed how they had never played “One For The Cutters” with their best lineup (Franz Nicolay on piano and Steve Selvidge on guitar). It also may just be that they haven’t played that tune in a while because it is the worst Hold Steady song, however things picked up with Tad Kubler’s muscular riffs and solo on “Navy Sheets”.
The contemplative middle of the album “Lord, I’m Discouraged” (with Kubler on twelve/six string double neck guitar and Nicolay on accordion) , “Yeah Sapphire” and especially the eerie “Both Crosses” shined a light on Finn’s lyrics while “Stay Positive” was a hardcore blast as Moshpit Josh provided throaty vocals; the most energetic song on the album was aggressive and satisfying.
Finn told a story about breaking up with his girlfriend, writing “Magazines”, then getting back with her 24 hours later (whoops) before the cinematic “Slapped Actresses” closed out the album. Surprisingly the band slammed directly into the outtakes of the record which are on par or better than most album cuts. “Ask Her For Some Adderall” always finds the band in rollicking form while “Cheyenne Sunrise” was preceded by a tale about Stay Positive leaking which ended with the line “You guys were happy, we were broke.” The piano substituted for the horns on “Two Handed Handshake” but it was the rhythm section of Galen Polivka and Bobby Drake who drove the song forward with force.
While the band was clearly excited to celebrate Stay Positive, the crowds biggest reaction came during “Your Little Hoodrat Friend” which had the clubs floor bouncing. The encore contained the newer track “Entitlement Crew” and the horse racing tale of “Chips Ahoy” before closing the night with “Killer Parties” injecting Jersey City into the lyrics, perfectly wrapping up a celebratory night of music by proclaiming how much love the band has playing for the fans as glitter flew and beer spilled.
