The Hold Steady, Art Brut and the 1990s — 11.20.07, The 9:30 Club, Washington DC and 11.21.07, Terminal Five, NYC

The 1990s have just completed their set and thrown their set list (written on a paper plate) into the crowd of Washington DC’s The 9:30 Club. A group of three girls directly in front of me have caught the plate and are currently giggling over their newly acquired treasure.

I’m given cause to wonder if the girls are even there to see the 1990s but rather to see the better known acts Art Brut and/or The Hold Steady instead. It is certain that for most of the audience the latter is the case.

It is no matter because the 1990s are rock solid. Singer/guitarist Jackie McKeown even manages to recover from having his fly down for the entire first song. Where many of the 1990s songs on their debut album, Cookies, sounded poppy, in their live incarnations, the songs take on a grittier, garage-rock sound. Even weaker songs like “Weed” prove to be compelling when played live. McKeown’s solo style, the centerpiece in the live rendition of “Weed”, is organic and dirty, perfectly suited to the band’s music. Drummer Michael McGaughrin’s strained backing vocals add additional richness to the songs. Frequently running out of breath, McGaughrin jokes with the audience after most every song. At one point McKeown remarks that the band must truly be a mesmerizing live act to a man directly in front of him who is talking on his cell phone. McKeown asks the man who he is talking to, and he replies “Taylor”. McKeown is sure not to forget Taylor, and when the band plays “You’re Supposed To Be My Friend”, he cleverly makes allusion to the cell-phone conversation in the lyrics. The standout song of the night, though, is “Situation”, which the band introduces as their last number. Before starting the song, they modify the statement by adding that the crowd needn’t worry because the song is a long one. Played live, “Situation” evokes an underlying darkness only hinted at on the album.

(If the three girls in front of me with the plate don’t know who the 1990s are, I hope that they will go out after the show and pick up the album.) Briefly, I look away to Tim who is socializing with The Hold Steady message board fans (the Unified Scene¹). When I look back to the stage, two different girls, not part of the original girl trio, now have the 1990s set list paper plate. One of them, herein referred to as the Blond Girl, explains to her cohort the significance of the plate. It strikes me odd that the original owners of the plate so quickly disposed of it. However, it soon becomes apparent this isn’t the case when the three girls start questioning everyone around them about the whereabouts of the MIA plate. I look at the thieving Blond Girl who has now hidden the plate and adopted a stone face. I contemplate alerting the group of girls to what has really occurred, but I’m too caught up in the drama of the whole situation. If the three girls who were in front of me are reading this edition of Comixxx Review, the Blonde Girl stole the plate.

When Art Brut finally comes on, their Powerpoint seminar-styled performance is the highlight of the night. Later, David Malitz of the Washington Post’s Post Rock column will criticize Art Brut by writing, “…the fact remains that you need to own exactly one of their albums (last year’s “Bang Bang Rock and Roll”) and you need to see them live exactly once. After that it’s just overkill.” Of course, at Comixxx Review we’ll beg to differ and write that, if anything, modern rock needs more musicians like Art Brut who not only thumb their noses at elitist rock-posturing, but put on one hell of a live show. Argos’s witty banter, ridiculous footwear (mismatched socks, a staple of his performance) and rallying of the rest of Art Brut, is so good we’ll go back for a second night to see them at New York City’s Terminal Five². The best Art Brut song is “Modern Art”, where Argos leaps unannounced into the audience and pogos about.

When The Hold Steady finally takes the stage, the band is a little slap happy. Craig Finn dances like a maniac as usual, Galen Polivka is now handing out money instead of cigarettes, Franz Nicolay’s waxed mustache seems to have grown, Bobby Drake drums (is he back there?), and even Tad Kubler feels impelled to seize the day by climbing the amp stacks at the apex of the gig. It is not just the band who is a little tipsy, but the audience too, in particular one offensive and memorable six and half foot oaf. He shows up shortly before the band goes on and sticks multiple cigarettes in his mouth. When the show starts, The 9:30 Club’s security is nowhere to be seen, and the inebriated clod proceeds to fall on small girls. When he deliberately knocks a fan’s glasses off, Tim becomes enraged, bear-hugs the guy and removes him from the dance floor. I send a text message to a friend: “Tim just forcibly ejected someone from the show.”

The end.

• Click here for pictures of the 1990s.

• Click here for pictures of Art Brut.

• Click here for pictures of The Hold Steady.

The Black Lips — 9.19.07, New York, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg

For all the legends and myths in circulation about the wild debauchery of The Black Lips’ performances, when the band played New York’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on September 19th, they were far more professional than their reputation would have you think. When, for instance, bassist/singer Jared Swilley’s bass broke, rather than letting the set lose momentum, the band continued to play while Swilley frantically corrected the problem. Once Swilley was back on the horse, he apologized for the technical hiccup. Granted, one might question if puking on stage is “professional”, but when guitarist/singer Cole Alexander vomited, it was ever-so-casual, the way most of us nonchalantly glance at our watches. Alexander’s mannerly barf aside, it was the crowd that was foaming and rabid.

Not only was the house teeming with girls in feathered headdresses and grown men dropping from the rafters (one almost hit Tim), but the show was covered by everyone from small time bloggers to CMJ. This is no doubt credit to the Vice media-conglomerate and hype machine. With VBS TV’s recent broadcast of the band’s misadventures in Israel, The Black Lips have the feel of the company’s house band. But the hype from Vice is warranted. The album Good Bad, Not Evil is not only The Black Lips shining moment thus far, but its Gonzo attitude, totally weird, nastily comic and politically charged nature, make it one of the best albums of the year, hands down.

And as for the live show, while the days of urinating in each other’s mouths may be behind the band in their new-found spotlight, The Black Lips put on one hell of show. As their albums have always hinted, the performance is a different beast than the record. The most mesmerizing part of the show was drummer and wild-arm, Joe Bradley. In a zone of his own, Bradley was a war-path-drum-freak, full of frantic screams, crazed “Ah-ha-ha-ha-has!” that were terrifying as hypnotic. A man possessed, Bradley alone made the concert.

Click here to see photos from the show.

The Hold Steady — 8.9.07 Brooklyn, NY, Prospect Park

In a recent interview Iggy Pop talked about the difference between playing music in 1965, as opposed to 2007.

“In 1965, when great young white artists in the English-speaking world were successfully re-channeling hillbilly and black music– you know Bob Dylan, Ray Davies, Pete Townsend, Keith Richards– they didn’t get any money at first. They were all broke. All those giant people had to stay around quite a while to cash in because the industry ripped them off more efficiently. The information wasn’t as widely available as it is now. Now, like I’m sure the Killers have a great record deal, and a lawyer to track their publishing and a guy to renegotiate their European cash flow streams and all that. It’s just different. I don’t know why.” — Iggy Pop

Certainly, the statement must hold true for some bands. However, contrary to Iggy’s statement, in the era of internet boom, surely just as many artists (if not more) are getting ripped off by charlatans, bandits and thieves in that ephemeral dream of making it, cashing in and getting paid to do what you love. And of the bands who are out there, you get the feeling that The Hold Steady have paid their dues.

When singer Craig Finn thanked the audience for the opportunity to play for them at the free show in Prospect Park, NY, on August 9, 2007, one was left with the profound sense that the man was truly humble. And what a show. Not only was the band incredibly tight, but there was that wild-alive electricity between the band and the audience you get 1 in every 10 shows. So if, like me, you came 3 years late to The Hold Steady, my advice is go out, buy all their albums now and catch them live.

Click here to see photos from the show.

Iggy Pop quote taken from Pitchforkmedia interview by Bret Gladstone. Click here to read the full article.