Staying Positive

It's a widely held, if not universal, belief that a live show doesn't translate all that well as a recording. Sure, it's evocative - the popularity of bootleg tapes, CDs and downloads as well as it being practically compulsory to bring out a live album or concert film at some point in a rock band's career is a clear indicator that to a certain extent it at least works, if only as a way of keeping a band in the consciousness in the dark days between one album leaving the charts and the next leaving the studio. But for the most part, the awesome majesty of rock as experience in person is hard to squeeze out through those little white Apple earbuds.

So what, if anything makes a good live album? If you answered 'turn it up to eleven', thanks for playing, and please accept this lovely parting gift. 'Four Stars: Live In Phoenix' was an exercise in Fall Out Boy shouting to be heard over each other. At the same time, a balance needs to be struck between playing the studio version with audience noise over it, and playing something so dissonant from the original that it's a struggle to sing along - and yes, I'm the annoying guy doing that (badly) next to you at the show. I'm not even a little bit sorry. This balance, by the way is something it took Counting Crows years to learn. It stands to reason that a good live band can produce a good live album, but it takes a great live band to create a great live album. My list, in no particular order, goes like this: Counting Crows 'Across A Wire', The Who 'Live At Leeds', Barenaked Ladies 'Rock Spectacle', Foo Fighters 'Skin and Bone' and Bob Dylan and The Band 'Before the Flood'. Tremendously subjective, but it's a list. And a tough one, I think, to crack.

But since I picked it up on Saturday, I've listened to The Hold Steady's 'A Positive Rage' at least a dozen times.

'A Positive Rage' was recorded at the Metro in Chicago on Halloween Night 2007; at least so far as we can glean from Craig Finn's genial talkback throughout the live show. It's classic Hold Steady; or at least what we've come to expect from them - it kicks off with 'Stuck Between Stations' and finishes, as all Hold Steady shows seem to, with 'Killer Parties'. In between is as close to a Hold Steady show as it's possible to get from a series of ones and zeroes.

Okay, I'm biased. I've seen The Hold Steady live twice - once in a rainy field in County Meath playing to ten out of the ten thousand people who were really there to see the Rolling Stones; once in The Academy, a Dublin city venue about the size of the ground floor of my house. Both times blew me away. There's an adage about performing that goes something like, play to ten thousand as if you're playing for one friend; play for one person like there's a crowd of ten thousand watching. The Hold Steady, so far as I've seen can do both equally well whether they're playing Springsteen-esque rock-and-road ballads or honoring their Minnesota Twins with 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame.' I admit it. I love these guys.

I love them for the same reason I love the Gin Blossoms; though the Gin Blossoms achieved it in a different way. They are a window, for me, to 1996 through 1998; to those nights when we worked close to minimum wage and hurried through closes so we could make last call; probably still smelling of industrial degreaser and french fry oil but convinced we'd masked it with hair gel and Lynx Body Spray. To whichever beer was on special offer that night, to random, chaste-by-today's-standards hookups and the subsequent gossip, to bumming cigarettes off of girls (I don't smoke) just for an excuse to talk to them. I wasn't that cool. I was, and sort of still am, a painfully shy, light-drinking geek. But Lord, I tried.

'A Positive Rage' is all of that condensed into a selection from 'Almost Killed Me', 'Seperation Sunday' and 'Boys And Girls In America', and some b-sides and rarities. The Hold Steady have been bestowed the title of Planet Earth's resident bar band, heirs apparent to E Street and hard drinking, beat-poet obsessed bards of the Midwest, and should by now have bowed under the pressure. But they hold steady, if you will, by seemingly not even trying. They sing songs. They tell stories, Craig Finn recounting personal episodes while the band plays along. They want you to know, know about their experiences, about the experiences of Gideon and Holly and Charlemagne and all the other Twin City misfits that show up in their songs. If you want to listen, awesome. If not; thanks a lot, we're The Hold Steady and we'll be here all week; still playing. There are few bands who put so much effort into having fun playing and hoping people come along for the ride. If you're a fan of the band it's all you can do to not sing along - even the less enthusiastic numbers like 'Lord I'm Discouraged' and 'Citrus' are custom made for waving your Zippo (or Zippo iPhone app) in the air. It doesn't get much more inclusionary - by the end of the record you believe when Craig tells you that you, me, him - we're all The Hold Steady.

The track listing, since you asked:
1. "Intro" - 0:23

2. "Stuck Between Stations" - 4:00

3. "The Swish" - 4:09

4. "Chips Ahoy" - 3:21

5. "Massive Nights" - 2:55

6. "Ask Her for Adderall" - 2:58

7. "Barfruit Blues" - 3:37

8. "Same Kooks" - 3:02

9. "You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came With)" - 2:26

10. "Lord, I'm Discouraged" - 5:30

11. "You Can Make Him Like You" - 3:09

12. "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" - 5:26

13. "Southtown Girls" - 5:53

14. "Citrus" - 2:57

15. "First Night" - 5:25

16. "Girls Like Status" - 4:12

17. "Killer Parties" - 10:41

The enhanced CD also includes a link to download five bonus tracks: "Two Handed Handshake", "Ask Her for Adderall" and "Cheyenne Sunrise", which were released on a limited edition of Stay Positive, as well as "Spectres" and "40 Bucks", both of which are previously unreleased. (For the sake of transparency, I should point out that last paragraph is from Wikipedia.) There's also a DVD with an entertaining tour documentary, including fan and band interviews, live footage, tour anecdotes and a photo gallery (set to 'You Can Make Him Like You.')