The Hold Steady!

Last night, I got to see The Hold Steady live. There was a ten-year-lull in my once-active concertgoing after getting married and having kids, but recently I've started going to live shows again (thanks, JLK!). I had forgotten how invigorating it is to see live music, and how the chemistry in the air can change in an instant when a group of musicians all of a sudden meshes together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. The communal experience of a live show fills me with what can only be described as joy. My ears are still ringing, though. The venue had an upper balcony with comfy seating and tables, perfect for an oldster like me for whom the mosh pit is no longer a viable or dignified option, but as it turned out the acoustics were radically different upstairs - muddy sound, vocals much lower in the mix. I dragged my recalcitrant husband down to the floor for the encore and discovered that the sound downstairs was MUCH better. Good to know for future shows at this particular venue. I don't have a whole lot of profundity on the subject of the show except that the unlikely frontman gave an EXTREMELY animated performance dressed in what looked like Dockers and a polo shirt. He looked less like the lead singer of a hipster band than the IT guy who has arrived to stop your computer from freezing up.