A jam packed Courtyard Cafe hosts a worthy set from rockers The Hold Steady

On Friday April 3, the Hold Steady and opener the War on Drugs made their stop at the Illini Union’s Courtyard Café. Crowds gathered, some 300 people in all, to see and hear the rough, cinematic indie rock of Finn and company.
The room was humid with packed bodies (smelling of farts and cologne), as a little after 10 p.m. the War on Drugs began their set. Though typically a five piece, the Philadelphia group was composed this evening of guitarist and vocalist Adam Granduciel along with bassist Dave Hartley and drummer Kyle Lloyd.
If Bob Dylan and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs bought a pile of electronics and started an art rock band, it would sound something like the War on Drugs. Llloyd’s powerhouse drumming and Granduciel’s folk-reminiscent vocals were an interesting combination, and their spot on the American leg of this tour made sense given the Hold Steady’s fascination with The Band.
The lyrical melodies and twanging guitar of “Arms Like Boulders” echos Dylan and folk influence aplenty, but the War on Drug’s opening song “Taking the Farm” displayed the act’s versatility, incorporating a drum machine, excellent bass wah from Hartley, and ending on a looping, powerful crescendo.
Audience reactions were mixed, as most of the kids were there for the Hold Steady, and it showed.
“They were the worst thing I’ve ever heard,” was a hyperbole a student near me told his friend. I disagree.
The War on Drugs put on a great show, and Hartley’s frequent bass flourishes were a standout. Lloyd beat the toms with all the intensity of Keith Moon, but none of the slop. They ended their set and the audience began impatiently waiting for the reason they came out.
Some were baffled that the Hold Steady’s international tour would come by a farm town state school in Central Illinois, but it was a pleasant surprise. The moment the quintet took the stage, the Courtyard exploded with applause. You’d think they were the hometown heroes, but the Hold Steady was far from Brooklyn.
The band wasted no time in launching their set; Tad Kubler’s quick riffs and Franz Nicolay’s pounding keys announced “Constructive Summer” well before Craig Finn took the mic. The first track of their newest album Stay Positive epitomizes its feel. “Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer,” Finn sang near the song’s end, “I think he might’ve been our only decent teacher / Getting older makes it harder to remember: we are our only saviors.”
The Hold Steady’s mix of classic rock and punk ethic did not fail to disappoint. Old rock riffs a la The Band and Bruce Springsteen abound, and were complimented by the cinematic, often hopefully rebellious lyrics of frontman Finn. The Hold Steady’s set was mostly taken from Stay Positive and the previous album, Boys and Girls in America.
The sleazy bass intro with Thin Lizzy-esque riffage of “Massive Nights” and wailing organ of “Stay Positive” were standouts, and those who weren’t in love with the Hold Steady coming in definitely were on the way out. The charming thing about the group is their realness; their ability to be international rock stars and down to earth at the same time.
“Most kids give me credit for being down with it,” Finn yelled in “Stay Positive,” but “the youth of today and the early seven seconds / taught me some of life’s most valuable lessons.”

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