Las Vegas Weekly

April 13, 2009 · 11:49 AM

6 reasons to see The Hold Steady tonight at Beauty Bar

By Sarah Feldberg

The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn is known for his rich lyrics and enthusiastic dancing.

Photo: ZOMG Anna LOLZ / Flickr

If musicians are ultimately storytellers setting their tales to music, Brooklyn-based, Minnesota-bred quintet The Hold Steady deserve a Pulitzer. The band has roots in classic rock, blues and punk and is known for accessible rock tunes filled with dense lyrics that reference everything from Star Wars to retail shopping to aging rock stars.

The Hold Steady will play an intimate show at Beauty Bar tonight at 9 p.m., and with tickets going for only $10 there’s really no excuse to miss what’s sure to be a memorable show. But if you’re still hesitant about heading downtown on a Monday night, here are a few reasons to fork over the cash, down a PBR tall boy and jam.

1. They’re America’s best bar band. Strong praise, I know, but don’t take my word for it. The Hold Steady have long been referred to as the #1 bar band in the country by everyone from NPR to Entertainment Weekly, and for good reason. The classic riffs and wandering lyrics are perfectly at home in the darkened, beer-soaked interior of many a dive bar, and Beauty Bar should offer a fitting venue for The Hold Steady’s wide-ranging sets and frontman Craig Finn’s on-stage antics.

2. Songs names like “Chips Ahoy!,” “Sequestered in Memphis” and “Charlemagne in Sweatpants.” Any band that names a tune after the King of the Franks deserves serious props. In case you couldn’t tell, these guys are smart. Like, wicked smart.

Photo: ZOMG Anna LOLZ

Craig Finn sings about everything from Circuit City, to historical figures, to pop culture all while wearing plaid. That's talent.

3. Next stop Coachella. While the Indio, Calif. music marathon isn’t technically The Hold Steady’s immediate post-Vegas show, the band will be playing Coachella this weekend. You can see them first, in a smaller venue and for way less money.

4. Musical influences that range from Brother Ali and Sage Francis to Hüsker Dü and Bruce Springsteen.

5. Harry Potter likes them. Apparently Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who plays wand-wielding magic prodigy Harry Potter, has pretty good taste in music. In a 2007 interview with NME magazine he named Bloc Party, The Strokes and The Libertines as a few of his musical pleasures, but at the top of his list was none other than The Hold Steady.

6. The Washington Post assembled an A-Z Hold Steady glossary. Yes, The Hold Steady is clever enough, complex enough and enticing enough to warrant a major newspaper creating an A-Z glossary of terms related to the band and their songwriting. That should tell you something.

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