You're pretty good with words, but words won't save your life.
The Hold Steady do not command the people. If that were the case, then this show never would've been moved from the Electric Factory due to poor ticket sales. If you ask me, the Hold Steady are one of the best things going and yet I was quite prepared to skip this visit to Philly precisely because there's no way that airplane hangar was gonna do this band justice. The moment the show got moved, however, it became top priority. And if the TLA wasn't sold out, then it was damn close and that, I will insist, is the people commanding the Hold Steady: Rock for us in a place where you can be seen and heard. And they did rock, sweating and spazzing through highlights from their three LPs and a trio of new songs. You know, the smart riffs and smart lyrics actually keep their power in the live setting. How often can you say that? Still, it's energy, not words, that carry the night. Like Art Brut, who played before them, the Hold Steady enthusiastically and confidently do what they do under orders from we the people. So the people did what we do best, storming the stage to dance with the band for the final notes. And, knowing their place, the band helped us up.
The Hold Steady perform a new one.
Art Brut name-checks Spinto Band during "Good Weekend"
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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.
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