If the double bill of the Hold Steady and Wintersleep is any indication of what concerts we can expect on Mondays, we may need to start looking forward to the first workday of the week.
The rockers of the Hold Steady have built a rock-solid international following for their intelligent and spirited music, often compared to that of the Replacements and the Grifters. Add to that Wintersleep, whose pure, crisp rock sound has made it an indie rock favorite, and Mondays don’t seem so bleak anymore.
“We really pride ourselves in mixing it up,” said Craig Finn, lead singer of the Hold Steady. “We play something from every album every night. We have gotten to the point where people are traveling to multiple shows, and we want them to always see a brand-new show.”
Ever since Finn formed the band in 2000 after leaving Lifter Puller, he’s allowed it to move away from the trends and move in its own direction. The band’s 2004 debut album, “Almost Killed Me,” was recorded almost entirely live and set the path for the band. That lack of pretense and technical shaping can still be heard on the band’s latest album, “Heaven is Whenever.”
“I don’t know,” Finn said when asked if he thinks that is what has made his band both a popular and critical success. “In some ways, I think it’s just a [reward] for [the] plugging away that we have done for a while now. We are a little older and making music for people that are not finding a lot of music they want out there. Our goal is to have lyrics that are intelligent and sincere.”
Not to mention a band that isn’t afraid to experiment a bit in the live shows. On this tour, Finn said the lineup was tweaked a bit to replace keyboards with piano and guitar that play off each other.
“It makes the songs into a new thing,” Finn said. “We’re able to stretch out in a way we haven’t before. It’s more of a jam band that that is happening. It’s more robust overall.”
Even though Finn won’t say it, the reason the songs can shine in various arrangements is the solid writing of the songs, which are almost always penned by Finn and guitarist Tad Kubler.
“We jam on it together,” Finn said of the writing process. “We are a pretty solid rock band lyrically and that’s always been sort of our thing. It resonates with a lot of people.”
