The Hold Steady @ Castle Clinton, Battery Park

I had been looking forward to this show for a while...Pretty much since I had heard of it the day after I saw them in Brooklyn.

The venue was also a bit surreal, but it absolutely worked for the acoustic set.

by mir83nj2

I must admit though, the whole acoustic thing was reallllllly strange. They sounded good though, it was just quite different to see everyone sitting down at a Hold Steady show.

by mir83nj2

But Craig rocked, as always...I guess it's impossible for him to "tone it down." He sounds exactly like does on record, and he's just as animated as he is at a full-electric rock-out-with-your-cock out show...

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They played a few new songs, one of which sounded OK, the rest of which sounded AWESOME. One thing is for sure, the lyrics are funny as hell. Craig may not be a crooner, but he sure can tell a drugged-up, strung-out road trip party binge story as well as anyone. Actually, I'm pretty sure no one does it as good as they do. But it's kind of impossible to guage how it would sound on record, since everything was played acoustically.

by mir83nj2

I probably should have zoomed in on the videos a bit, but I still think they came out pretty good...although not as good as the Bloc Party videos I'm about to post.

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Enjoy the fruits of my labor. Bitches.