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The Hold Steady / April 17, 2010 / New York (Bowery Ballroom)

by Cortney Harding, N.Y.  |   April 19, 2010 5:02 EDT
Roger Kisby/Getty Images

More than a few people commented on the Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn's relative sobriety at the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday (Apr. 17), but he had a long night ahead of him. Finn and his bandmates, including new guitarist Steve Selvidge and keyboardist Dan Neustadt, played two full sets to celebrate Record Store Day, one in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. And while Finn might have been saving his liver, he certainly didn't care about conserving his voice or energy, ripping through an hour-plus set for a packed house. The crowd skewed a little older (or at least a little balder, given the view from the balcony), but responded with youthful enthusiasm nonetheless.

 

 

Video: The Hold Steady performs "Rock Problems"


The set list was a nice overview of songs from the band's career, ranging from the acidic "You Can Make Him Like You" (from "Boys and Girls in America") and "Navy Sheets" from 2008's "Stay Positive," to "Positive Jam" from 2004's "Almost Killed Me" and the guitar-driven "Rock Problems," from the forthcoming "Heaven Is Whenever." The band kept up a frenetic pace for the entire set, with a minimum of dithering between tracks. It was just straight rock and roll, and the audience liked it.

 

Here is the Hold Steady's setlist:

 

"Positive Jam"

"Same Kooks"

"Hurricane J"

"Cattle and the Creeping Things"

"Magazines"

"You Can Make Him Like You"

"Rock Problems"

"Sequestered in Memphis"

"Navy Sheets"

"Soft In The Center"

"Barfruit Blues"

"The Weekenders"

"Chips Ahoy!"

"Stuck Between Stations"

"A Slight Discomfort"

"Stay Positive"

"Southtown Girls"

"How a Resurrection Really Feels"

 

Encore:

 

"Massive Nights"

"Slapped Actress"

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