Preview: The Hold Steady – Stay Positive (July 2008)

Craig Finn of the Hold Steady, who are set to release Stay PositiveThe Hold Steady are a religion, or maybe a cult: once you get in, you never get out. It took the badgering of breathless online devotees and my girlfriend’s record collection to get me into the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Minneapolis band’s camp, but now I’m there, dripping PBR tall boys firmly in hand. Judging by this live recording of the album’s title track, Stay Positive – the band’s fourth album, currently slated for a June release – is only going to further their status as the best bar band in indie rock. The guitars pummel, Craig Finn sing-speaks about “life’s most valuable lesson,” and an unexpected but welcome keyboard hovers just underneath. Finish your beers, kids, there are sober kids in India.

The Hold Steady – “Stay Positive” (live): mp3

(Photo by forklift)

Related: Bootlegs Archive

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