Sunday, November 16, 2008

Hold Steady As She Goes

I don't know if you know this about me, but I like music, especially listening to it. To further that interest, I purchased tickets that allowed me to listen to live music played by country rockers Drive-By Truckers and the greatest bar band in the world, The Hold Steady, at The Riviera Theatre. They have joined forces for a shared-bill tour known as the Rock and Roll Means Well Tour. Also joining me were Jesterio the Magnificent, Bohmann (without his monkey), and Chenandler Bong.

We were able to stake out a spot about 10 feet from the stage along the left wall. This position was excellent in that it both allowed us to be very close to the stage and very close to a beer stand. It also allowed us to permanently damage our ear drums. Does anyone else hear those locusts?

I had seen Drive-By Truckers several years ago at Lollapalooza, but to be honest I didn't remember much from their show, other than the fact that the lead singer was bearded. They put on a pretty good show, although admittedly I was there for The Hold Steady. I kid you not when I say that they put on one of the best live shows around. They played a solid mix of songs from all four of their albums. Here are some shots.

The highlight of the show came with the encore when Drive-By Truckers joined The Hold Steady for a good old-fashioned jamboree. In the two hours since Drive-By Truckers had left the stage, it was pretty clear that lead singer Patterson Hood made quick work of the bottle of Jack that they had with them on stage during their set. But no matter. In addition to a couple Hold Steady songs and a Drive-By Truckers song, they collaborated on two solid covers: Blue Öyster Cult's "Burnin' For You" and AC/DC's "Ride On."


All in all, an excellent show. I highly suggest checking them out when they come to a city near you.

Come tomorrow, there will be a recap of what I can piece together of the remainder of the weekend, which may or may not have involved a contest, the purpose of which was to drink 30 beers in 8 hours.

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