They’ve almost accidentally invented a new kind of model for how to keep going as a sustainable rock band, rethinking old ways of releasing music and playing live. It seems like the wave of the future—if a band has the following. Social media means their fans now have ways to congregate that nobody could have imagined in early 2003, back when the most cutting of edges was Craig Finn’s Friendster profile, where he described his interests as “people who think New Wave really sucks.
But they made the anniversary show a celebration of their shared history, along with their harder-than-hardcore community of fans. Their original drummer Judd Counsell was in the house; so was Tim Harrington from Les Savy Fav, who adopted the Hold Steady as openers and put out their first records. As Finn said, “They made us look kinda cool—like a bar band that had art-school friends.
The whole night was an emotional knockout, even by the Hold Steady’s standards. It was a cathartic celebration of long-haul perseverance and fellowship. One of the strange highlights: “Sweet Payne,” a deep cut from their debut that sounds like Joe Walsh nodding off at the bus stop, after his Maserati got towed. It’s a satire of punk idealism that was laugh-out-loud funny at the time. “I always dream about a unified scene,” Finn announces, like a delusional fanzine dude.