Chipped teeth and The Hold Steady
Last week I sat down to talk to rockers The Hold Steady about their new album Stay Positive.
In passing, lead singer and guitarist Craig Finn said he always puts foam wind guards over his microphone.
I asked why and shuddered at his answer. ...
(Photo by Getty Images)
Turns out, Finn has chipped three teeth from accidentally biting into mikes at gigs. Three. Yeesh.
When I saw them live later that night, it made sense. They were the most animated band I saw all weekend.
Finn hopped around the stage and sang until his face turned red. Guitarist Tad Kubler swigged from a bottle of Jim Beam and unloaded some sizzling riffs on the audience.
And the keyboardist Franz Nicolay (with his mustache, beret driver's cap and necktie) looked like a mashup video game character Mario and a Frenchman. He bit off the cork from a bottle of red wine and took big pulls between songs.
We couldn't have asked for a more high-energy show.
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
GET OUT. That is so awesome. I swear listening to a Hold Steady cd all the way through, is like hearing 12 or so, very carefully crafted stories that'll you'll tell to your kids for years to come.
If for some reason they ever got a tour together with Drive By Truckers, Lucero, and Cory Brannan, I could die a happy man.
Posted by: Allan | June 3, 2008 2:53 PM
I saw their black cat show during the boys and girls in america tour. It is the most authentic rock experience going these days-- people were making out, high five-ing and smiling all night long. This is a great live band....
Posted by: adam | June 3, 2008 3:49 PM
That post was worth the wait. Thanks Sam!
Craig was quite animated when they played The Ottobar touring behind "Boys and Girls in America". I don't remember him biting the mike, though.
Posted by: Courtney B. | June 3, 2008 3:58 PM
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Hi Sam / Midnight Sun,
On behalf of Rough Trade, Beggars Digital and The Hold Steady, many thanks for plugging "Stay Positive" (street date 15th July) ... .. thanks, also, on behalf of the label and the band for not posting any pirate links to unreleased (studio) material and, if you / your readers want good quality, non-pirated, preview tracks, “Sequestered in Memphis” is available for fans and bloggers to stream / link to on the band’s MySpace ... .. check-out http://www.myspace.com/theholdsteady and http://www.theholdsteady.com for details on “Stay Positive” and the band’s 2008 shows and keep an eye out for details of further, preview material and exclusive content.
Thanks again for your plug.
Regards,
WEB SHERIFF
Posted by: WEB SHERIFF | June 3, 2008 4:26 PM
Web Sheriff,
As an open thank you, it's rather working at cross purposes mentioning something you don't want people to seek out.
As far as the interested are concern, they have already started their search engines to discover those missing links.
Happy Hunting!
GDA
Posted by: GDA | June 4, 2008 10:42 AM