The Hold Steady: We Can Get Together
The Hold Steady Tour Preview
By Kevin Nelson
Do you remember those times / Those times before there was a pandemic / And you could see Hold Steady’s Craig Finn at some guy’s house / located in the middle of Ballard?
While this might not have been a Hold Steady song, it definitely was for me, back in the pre-pandemic times of 2017.
It was at that time that me and about 29 other people huddled together in some guy’s Ballard home.
And, it was awesome.
But, 2017 was several pandemics ago, and now that we’re coming through the other side of it, the entire Hold Steady (inclusive of keyboardist Franz Nicolay!) will be blasting out mid-sized music venues across the U.S.. And, somehow, tickets are still available for most of the shows.
The band has now been a band for over 20 years, which, if we were putting it into human years would qualify the band as surpassing quarterlife. But, fore indie bands, 20 years represents roughly 8.3 liftimes (I did the math). And, with their latest album, The Price of Progress, released in late March, it’s obvious the band is gonna last at least 8.3 lifetimes more. And, I’m totally okay with an octogenarian band sing speaking about applesauce and pills and Gideon.
Even with their advancing age (… and my similarly advancing age) the band still knows how to turn out heaters. Just listen to the back-to-back heaters of “Carlos is Crying” and “Understudies” on Price of Progress. These songs represent vintage Hold Steady while simultaneously noting the bands now mid-40s-to-50s ages.
The coolest aspect about the band’s latest album is that they are older, but they don’t age.
So, as they noted with their show title, “We Can Get Together” with the band again as they finish up a tour of the U.S. I’ll be catching their show in Minneapolis in September.
JUN 3, 2023 – Austin, TX
Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
with the Mountain Goats
JUN 28, 2023 – Louisville, KY
Louisville Waterfront Park
with Turbo Nut
JUN 30, 2023 – Chicago, IL
The Salt Shed
with special guests the Mountain Goats and Dillinger Four
JUL 1, 2023 – Chicago, IL
The Salt Shed
with special guests the Mountain Goats and Dillinger Four
JUL 2, 2023 – Chicago, IL
The Empty Bottle
JUL 29, 2023 – Newport, RI
Newport Folk Festival
SEP 2, 2023 – St Paul, MN
Minnesota State Fair
The Current’s Music On-A-Stick with special guests Bob Mould Band and Dillinger Four
SEP 22, 2023 – Jersey City, NJ
White Eagle Hall
SEP 23, 2023 – Camden, NJ
XPoNential Music Festival
OCT 7, 2023 – Las Vegas, NV
Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
OCT 8, 2023 – Las Vegas, NV
Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
bowling/football watch party/brunch only – not a show