Stu saw The Hold Steady and Drive By Truckers on Saturday; we saw the Sunday show. Together, we make beautiful music with the last post of the day. Picture: blurry camera phone last night. Stu? Up first.

Stu:

• After my baptism in the First Church of the Hold Steady in August, a letdown was a real possibility. You just never know if you or they are going to be feeling it that night. Then the curtain came up, the band came on, and the first two things I saw were Craig Finn’s ear-to-ear grin and the Twins logo on his guitar. So, yeah, it was a night. Also, they played The Swish this time. Rawk.
• Watching your wife sing “There’s always other boys, there’s always other boyfriends” straddles that fine line between disturbing and completely great.
• Personal favorite moment: their cover of the Minutemen’s “History Lesson – Part II,” with lyrics adapted to Finn’s Minnesota upbringing. Shaky video of the song can be found here. (Do the kids still listen to the Minutemen? They should.)
• The Drive-By Truckers are a superior live band. Three guitars, great lyrics, a 2-CD concept album about Lynyrd Skynyrd and growing up in the South…what’s not to love? The Comely Missus Stu and I saw them on consecutive days in September, and we were blown away. They did not disappoint on Saturday, even though they had to follow the hometown team.
• My wife’s evening was complete when they opened with Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife, which is based on a true, horrible story. Gets her teary-eyed every time.
• Their encore, with various Hold Steady members onstage, defies conventional adjectives. I will say that, without a guitar in his hands, Craig Finn tends to dance like a spastic Elaine Benes.
• Video evidence: Let There Be Rock (warning: swears). At the 4:40 mark, when Franz is rocking the accordion and there are 18 people playing guitar and Finn is leading the crowd in the “Bon Scott singing…” chorus? That, kids, is how it’s [redacted] done. Glorious.
• Final song: “Rockin’ in the Free World.” As good as Airwolf. No small praise, indeed.

Notable Quotables

• Brandon, World of B: “Don’t get shot, hayseed.” (Text message sent to me upon finding out I was in Minneapolis.)
• Chris Riemenschneider, Strib: “…suffice it to say… amazing! Both bands were on top of their game, and together they really amounted to a 1 + 1 = 3 kind of deal.”
• The Comely Missus Stu: “(Craig Finn) looks like an accountant!”
• Me: “LET THERE BE ROCK! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

——————–

RandBall:

Pop culture time capsule: How last night’s Hold Steady show reminded us of a “needed it” sporting event.
They took the stage to a strange Spanish version of David Lee Roth’s “Yankee Rose.” The Hold Steady then proceeded to produce a one-hour stream of rock and roll music that, in our experience, could only be rivaled by a Fugazi show we saw seven years ago. They calmed it down a little for the final 45 minutes, then ramped it back up to finish things off at about 10 minutes to 1. Yes, it was late Sunday/early Monday. By our estimation, about 1,500 people were either tired (us), hung over (not us) or both (plenty) today. And all 1,500 hopefully will not forget what we can say with authority was the best Hold Steady show, by far, we have ever seen. From start to finish, it was like being at a sporting event with everyone in a good mood and expecting great things – and having everything turn out not only as planned but better. From our personal experience, it was like:
1. Game 7 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals, Wolves vs. Kings, when KG was so amped up and he delivered the best clutch game of his Wolves career.
2. Game 6 of the 2003 Western Conference semifinals, Wild vs. Canucks, when a Wild victory seemed inevitable to send things back to Vancouver.
3. The time about 20 years ago when UND finally beat NDSU in football and goalposts were dislodged from the venerable old stadium in Grand Forks.
4. Watching the MNF game against the Packers in 1998 on TV.
5. The final game of the regular season, 2006, Minnesota Twins.

Sports and music are two arenas in which collective expectations can be met in a beautiful way. Last night was one of those experiences, and everyone there seemed to know it.

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