Again, all credit to Carlie!

The Hold Steady
Republic
New Orleans
9/24/2010

In the second part of a terrific double-bill, The Hold Steady tore the roof off Republic with this mammoth set.  It was admittedly a little weird to see them without keyboardist/mustache-aficionado Franz Nicolay, but they still sound great.  Points of note:

  • The gong behind the drum kit was intriguing, even hidden under cloth before the show started; seems like a ridiculous piece of equipment to drag around on tour unless you’re really going to use it.  But in the end, I only saw Bobby Drake hit it once, during “Sequestered in Memphis.”
  • Craig Finn‘s vocals were mixed low all night, which was a real bummer given how important they are to the songs.  Did my best to EQ them up, but you can’t put something in a recording that’s not there in the first place.
  • 24 songs! They were on stage for almost 2 hours and played songs off every record, plus an unreleased song, “Separate Vacations.”

Track listing:
1. The Sweet Part of the City
2. Magazines
3. Rock Problems
4. Hurricane J
5. Sequestered in Memphis
6. Separate Vacations
7. Chips Ahoy!
8. Stuck Between Stations
9. Stevie Nix
10. Constructive Summer/Hot Soft Light
11. Lord I’m Discouraged
12. Barely Breathing
13. The Weekenders
14. You Can Make Him Like You
15. You Gotta Dance with Who You Came to the Dance With
16. Most People Are DJ’s
17. Massive Nights
18. Southtown Girls
19. Slapped Actress
20. Hornets! Hornets!
21. Your Little Hoodrat Friend
22. Stay Positive
23. How a Resurrection Really Feels

Download: The Hold Steady – New Orleans – 9/24/10 – 509 MB

Sample: “The Weekenders
[jwplayer config=”CustomPlayerAudio” file=”http://www.thesoundofindie.com/archive/2010/20101011/The-Hold-Steady-The-Weekenders-Live-At-Republic.mp3″]

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