I saw the Federale/Art Brut/Hold Steady show at Metro last night. My ears are still ringing, but it was worth it.
First, Art Brut. They had a PowerPoint slide show running behind them, which lead singer Eddie Argos admitted destroyed "any illusion of spontaneity." Speaking with him at Smart Bar after the show (aren't I cool?) he said that his show is the same every night, whereas The Hold Steady play completely different sets. One note about the slides: the white-on-blue text looked exactly like a Jeopardy category. "What is... Art Brut?"
Nearly everyone comes out of a Hold Steady show raving about what an experience it is, and this show was no different. Perhaps the most striking thing about the band is how they look nothing like you'd think they do, given the subject matter they cover. The entire band is middle-aged and a little nerdy. Lead singer Craig Finn looks like an awkward, out-of-shape D&D enthusiast. He flails around like an excited child, prancing up and down the stage while he sings his sweeping Springsteen-esque opuses about the Twin Cities' nowehere-fast teens. One wonders if he was ever one of them, or if he watched them smoke pot behind the school as he set up projectors for the AV club.
Yet somehow it works beautifully. Finn is almost childlike in his enthusiasm, which rubs off on the audience, nearly all of whom knew most of the lyrics, even to songs off 2004's Almost Killed Me, including "The Swish" and "Positive Jam." Most of the audience jumped up and down in a fevered burst of energy during "Massive Nights."
Even though The Hold Steady does it every night, I still felt as if I walked out of there having witnessed something special. I guess I did.
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