The Hold Steady And Art Brut Want You To Call Them Sunny D....: Live At The Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, 11/7/2007
...Because they've got the good stuff kids go for!
After the first song in Art Brut's set, Eddie Argos announced "Ok, that's all the singing I'm going to do tonight!" Not only was he not kidding, it was last singing by anyone on the stage of the Henry Fonda theater last night. And it was a fantastically good time. Argos and The Hold Steady's Craig Finn are idiosyncratic lead vocalists- there is not a single thing pretty going on here, but the two of them are so dedicated to having fun and sharing that with the audience that I found myself smiling throughout the whole night.
There is so much good humor in Art Brut, they make an ideal opening band for The Hold Steady. Argos has a wonderful lunatic quality about him. He's like the guy at a party telling you funny stories that are so pointless and off the wall that you'd grab him, shake him and yell "WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?!?" if you weren't laughing so hard. As likable as their set was, I had the same reaction I have listening to their CDs- really enjoy the first few songs, then the joke starts to get a little old. But that's makes them such a good opening band- they're gone before it becomes truly stale. I don't mean to damn them with faint praise; they play smart, fun, slightly punky guitar rock, and I'll be really curious to see where they take their act from here.
The Hold Steady was everything you'd hope; big, anthemic rock songs with crunchy guitars, brilliant lyrics performed with great joy and positivity. Like Bruce Springsteen at the Sports Arena last week, they play with such infectious enthusiasm that whatever mood you showed up in, you WILL pump your fist, you WILL shout those big choruses. What Craig Finn does can't exactly be called singing; in fact, most of the singing came from the crowd, fueled up on Newcastles and extremely receptive to bellowing out the chorus to "Massive Nights", play air guitar on "Stuck Between Stations" and sway precariously to "Your Little Hoodrat Friend". This was my first time seeing them, and I couldn't believe how likable and joyous they are. I don't know exactly how long they played for; maybe an hour and a half, but they could've kept going for a lot longer as far as I'm concerned. They made you feel glad to be alive.
I've been so lucky to go to some great shows over the last several weeks: Springsteen, Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem, The National and now The Hold Steady and Art Brut. What a great time to be a music fan.
THE HOLD STEADY LIVE AT LOLLAPALOOZA 2006 (available at emusic)
ART BRUT LIVE AT SCHUBAS, 11/15/2005 (available on emusic)
I totally agree about the Hold Steady. I saw them at Lollapalooza and was totally amazed at how much I enjoyed their show.
Posted by: scott | November 17, 2007 at 01:01 PM