In 2000, Craig Finns tells us at the Beacon last Thursday, he came to new york and worked in office jobs before getting bored with it and deciding he wanted to form a band. So he did form a band and it is the best job he ever had. It is a joy for him and for us. He doesn’t play this last song he is about to play very often any more. He fucking loves us New York City. Then he launches into the killer “Killer Parties” and as he gesticulates, patters, presses, gestures, and jumps he draws us into a melancholic and exuberant early story of another massive night.
“Killer parties almost killed me” he explains and the band sounds more forthright than on Almost Killed Me. The parties have gone bad and Craig is off with a woman and every thing is a blur they partied, and then he repeats, and twists it,”partied with our bodies, i really don’t remember. Yes she says we partied then I’m pretty sure we partied”. Round and round in a circular twirl of memory.
And, as the song reaches its final moment, he says it again: WE WOKE UP IN NEW YORK CITY.
It is a great moment but it isn’t a great set.
Maybe if you’re a bigger fan than I am it is and I would say the audience splits down the middle. After a rousing beginning, a one two “Constructive Summer”- “Massive Nights” that left us breathless and singing and followed with four more killer songs culminating with one of the great rock stars songs “Rock Problems” Craig has us as easily as he had us on the first night of the tour at Bowery ballroom. But then “You Can Make Him Like You” fails to take off and he begins to lose us and you begin to notice stuff like, really, this is Craig Finn and whatever. It doesn’t feel like a rock band -it doesn’t quite connect. The band lacks team chemistry. I once saw Conor Oberst pulled out of a crap performance by a knock out Mystic Valley Band. But Hold Steady can’t do it for their paymaster.
And they need to because… what the fuck? “No “Citrus”, no “Party Pit”, oh no no “All Our Lives”, no “Certain Songs” and no “This Is How A Resurrection Really Feels”, no “Girls Go for Status”. Jesus, man, what the fuck? So he could sing “Southern Girls” and “Chicago Seemed Tired Tonight”? Eh? There is a reason the fan favorites are the fan favorites, you know.
The middle of the set was deadly for half the audience and a blast for the other half, where the weak melodies you tend to forgive for the riches Finn can provide, left anything less than the big fans with their arms folded.
In 2000 I went to the closing night of Springsteen’s tour at MSG. He played a lot of deep tracks as well and you know how he pleased everybody?HE PLAYED FOR FOUR FUCKING HOURS. That way he could fit it all in. This is the odd case where a boring set would have improved greatly by being longer.
Heaven is whenever you can give yourself up to a gifted rock songwriter like Craig Finn. It is also whenever a media pro like Craig Finn remembers knows how to manage his set list.