The Hold Steady

Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms

14.12.08

This charismatic rock cluster filled the stage with excitable and youthful movement and the air with their up beat, excellently crafted music, leaving a room laced with smiles. The audience came in all their shapes and sizes, and danced along to most of the recent album venture "Stay Positive", setting the night off with the title track and with highlights being the emotive 'Constructive Summer' and the awesome 'Sequestered in Memphis" which just asks for a sing along. But I like their old stuff I hear you cry?!! Well, there was definitely a few appearances from 'Seperation Sunday', and 'Boys and Girls in America'. With an alluring encore acoustic rendition from 'Almost Killed Me' not to be forgotten.

The Hold Steady offer so much to their audience in every show, and have a distinctively warm, fresh and electrifying animation which is lost on so many bands these days. I tagged along with my Dad after thinking the album wasn't really my bottle of bud, but now I think the Hold Steady are one of the best live bands I've shared space with.  

Go and see this band!