Holding Steady in Homestead

Hold SteadyIn the review of the Hold Steady show, there's much complaining about the chosen venue - the Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead, where alcohol is only permitted outside (it was raining) and the sound bounces all over the place. But with no viable 1,000-capacity over-21 club, we were lucky to even get the show. Props to Brian Drusky for bringing tours like this to town.

-- I had a seat in row J right in the middle (behind two people who were 8 feet tall) and it was hard to even make out what the Hold Steady's Craig Finn was singing, a shame considering how great the lyrics are. When I moved back under the balcony, closer to the soundboard, it was much better, probably because the sound was getting trapped in a smaller space.

-- Kenny Steinberg, prominent lawyer and avid concert-goer, writes, "Sound was terrible through most of the balcony, but at the back center it was merely awful, slightly better than terrible. Vocals were completely washed out, and it was a strain to hear guitar solos. And I wouldn't have known that there was an organ or a pedal steel for the Drive-By Truckers unless I actually saw it. I thought it was my old ears but my seat mates agreed. If one knows all of the words to all of the songs it isn't as much of an issue - our brains fill in the parts we don't hear, kind of like going to a Dylan show and figuring out in the middle of the song just what song it is!"

-- There was one funny moment in an otherwise serious Truckers' set when Mike Cooley started doing the midtempo country tune "Bob," and then stopped, saying, "Let's do another song. Ya'll are sitting down and that's just bummin' me out."

-- The Hold Steady's Craig Finn said at the end of the show something along the line of "We've never played with anyone who shares the love and joy of rock 'n' roll like the Drive-By Truckers." True. What a great pairing.

- The Hold Steady set list:

Constructive Summer

Hot Soft Light

Chips Ahoy

Yeah Sapphire
Sequestered in Memphis
Cattle and Creeping Things
Navy Sheets
Massive Nights
Party Pit
Joke About Jamaica
Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night
One of the Cutters
Cheyenne Surprise
Stuck Between Stations
The Swish
Lord, I'm Discouraged

Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Shattered Cross

How a Resurrection Really Feels

Encore (with various Drive-By Truckers)
Ride On (AC/DC)
Chill Out Tent
Look Out Cleveland (The Band)
Killer Parties

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Posted Nov 13 2008, 01:40 PM by Scott Mervis
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Comments

scottauth wrote re: Holding Steady in Homestead
on Thu, Nov 13 2008 2:41 PM

Solid review, amazing show.

I was "seated" directly in front of the sound board, so I didn't have too much to complain about sound wise, but it was really difficult to hear the lyrics. I know all of The Hold Steady songs by heart, but I had no clue what kick started the encore until I read this review.

I was not familiar w/ the Drive By Truckers and perhaps it was because of the venue, but I left not a fan of theirs. I'd much rather see someone like Lucero opening up for THS.

Brian K. wrote re: Holding Steady in Homestead
on Thu, Nov 13 2008 3:55 PM

Dude, I was in Row I, and it was the land of the giants in our section. Unshowered giants, at that. Yeah, the downsides aside (come on ... this is a show tailor made for alcohol, and yeah the sound was pretty awful), it was so great to get this bill. We never end up landing these strong package tours, and to get this, it felt like Pittsburgh mattered for once. Plus, I live 5 minutes from the venue, way better than my typical 30-, 45-minute journeys.

havoc engr wrote re: Holding Steady in Homestead
on Fri, Nov 14 2008 9:00 PM

I came to the show as a fan of the Drive By Truckers and pretty unfamiliar with The Hold Steady.  I was impressed by how much energy THS brought to the show even though I couldn't understand a word of their set. I don't know if it  the acoustics in the theater or the guy doing running the sound board, but the sound quality in the theater was beyond terrible, and put a damper on what should've been a really enjoyable show.  If I wasn't already familar with a song, it was impossible to understand what was being sung. The bands and audience deserved better.