It’s been four years since The Hold Steady released a new full-length album but they’ve stayed plenty busy of late releasing a series of very solid new 7″ singles, some of which I believe is some of their strongest work in years. This year is also the 10th anniversary of their album Stay Positive and if there’s any band that knows how to celebrate these sort of things, it’s The Hold Steady (we last caught them in 2016 when they celebrated the 10th anniversary of Boys and Girls In America)
They kicked off the anniversary tour on July 25 with a performance in Jersey City at White Eagle Hall. The sold out show began with a hearty opening performance from Kevin Devine.
From there it was The Hold Steady’s time to shine and they ran through all of Stay Positive in sequential order. As if that wasn’t enough, they followed its performance with both “Two Handed Handshake” and “Cheyenne Sunrise,” bonus tracks/b-sides from the album. Frontman Craig Finn noted how great it was to be playing these songs again, especially with what he called the strongest version of the band ever, with both keyboardist Franz Nicolay and guitarist Steve Selvidge playing some of these songs together for the first time (Selvidge joined the band two years following its release when Nicolay left the band at the time). This powerhouse unit absolutely nailed the songs and brought them back to life in an absolutely winning fashion.
The rest of the setlist was a rock solid blend of greatest hits and some of the new singles that they’ve released since last winter, including the fantastic “Entitlement Crew,” one of the best songs they’ve released this decade. The sold out Jersey crowd was with the band all the way through, reciting the words with equal enthuasiam as Finn and the rest of the band, which made this show feel like one big party, which we all know, fits with the spirit of the band in more ways than one.
Find a full set of photos from both The Hold Steady and Kevin Devine’s performances posted below, as well as their respective setlists.
Kevin Devine:
Kevin Devine setlist:
1. Outstretched & Never-Ending
2. No History
3. Bubblegum
4. Little Bulldozer
5. Time to Burn (Another Bag of Bones)
6. Instigator
7. Daydrunk
8. Longer That I’m Out Here
9. Kuala Lumpur
10. Nobel Prize
11. Brother’s Blood
The Hold Steady:
The Hold Steady setlist:
1. Constructive Summer
2. Sequestered in Memphis
3. One for the Cutters
4. Navy Sheets
5. Lord, I’m Discouraged
6. Yeah Sapphire
7. Both Crosses
8. Stay Positive
9. Magazines
10. Joke About Jamaica
11. Slapped Actress
12. Ask Her for Adderall
13. Two Handed Handshake
14. Cheyenne Sunrise
15. The Stove & The Toaster
16. On With the Business
17. The Weekenders
18. Stuck Between Stations
19. Your Little Hoodrat Friend
20. Southtown Girls
21. How a Resurrection Really Feels
Encore:
22. Hornets! Hornets!
23. Entitlement Crew
24. Chips Ahoy!
25. Killer Parties
Join the conversation