The Hold Steady bring the heat to the Minnesota State Fair
by Joel Swenson
September 05, 2023
Every city should be so lucky to have a band like the Hold Steady. Depending on who you ask, they either formed here or in New York, where they’re now based, but they’re arguably a Twin Cities band to their core. Since day one, the Hold Steady has served as frontman Craig Finn’s personal love letter to his hometown with deeply specific references to the people, places, and music that made him who he is.
The band has fully embraced the Twin Cities from afar for the past two decades, and at Saturday’s State Fair Grandstand show, Finn’s hometown embraced him right back. Temperatures hovered at a sweltering 90 degrees as the band began their set. But that didn’t stop the crowd of nearly 6,000 from dancing and screaming along to Finn’s every narrative, warbled word.
Joining the Hold Steady for this year’s Music On-A-Stick Grandstand show were local punk rock legends Dillinger Four and even more legendary local punk rocker Bob Mould. Although the latter now primarily resides on the West Coast, his time playing with hardcore punk pioneers Hüsker Dü shaped the entire Twin Cities punk scene we know and love today.
Dillinger Four were on their best behavior at Saturday’s show. For a band known for fast riffs and even faster onstage antics — occasional nudity, punk in drublicness … the usual — the Grandstand’s family-friendly setting felt distinctly different than the dark punk bar stages D4 usually play. That said, they rose to the occasion and put on one hell of a show, even addressing the foul-mouthed elephant in the room. (“Don’t drop f-bombs in front of the children, Billy.”) Having seen D4 many times over the years, I can safely say this was the best they’ve sounded by a mile. And in the true spirit of the fair, bassist and vocalist Paddy Costello dedicated a song to all the hardworking carnies out there.
For his turn on the Grandstand stage, Bob Mould ripped through a 12-song set of solo cuts along with several Hüsker Dü and Sugar classics. Having just watched Dillinger Four’s late-’90s take on Minneapolis punk, it was impossible not to immediately notice Mould’s (and Hüsker Dü’s) massive influence on both D4 and the Hold Steady. His set was fast, loud, and packed with energy. Joined by drummer Jon Wurster and bassist Jason Narducy — both of whom have played extensively with Superchunk — Mould was a fireball of inertia, rarely standing still, even while at the mic. He took every opportunity to run all around the stage, despite the muggy temps and without missing a single chord.
As the Hold Steady’s set time drew near, the Bay City Rollers’ “Saturday Night” blasted out over house speakers. The band filed on stage — guitarists Steve Selvidge and Tad Kubler, bassist Galen Polivka, drummer Bobby Drake, keyboardist Franz Nicolay, and, finally, Finn himself.
“What’s up, Twin Cities? We’re gonna have a good time tonight!”
Finn’s opening remarks weren’t lying. For the next hour and 40 minutes, the Hold Steady played a crowd-pleasing set that spanned their entire 20-year career — and showed why they’ve had so much staying power. From the opening chords of “Stuck Between Stations” to the final horn blasts of the closer “Killer Parties,” the band never let up.
Half of the set’s 22 songs were from just two albums, 2006’s Boys and Girls in America and 2008’s Stay Positive. The former gave Nicolay plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents between some impressive keyboard work on “Chips Ahoy” and a blazing harmonica solo on “South Town Girls.” It’s also worth noting that Nicolay was wearing a very sharp three-piece striped suit and appeared to barely break a sweat despite chaotically jumping around in 90-degree heat.
Finn’s passing references to Twin Cities landmarks continued amping up a passionate crowd. Early on in the set during “Party Pit,” the audience erupted when a massive Grain Belt logo appeared on the screen behind the band. But his references aren’t limited to locations but to many of the people who influenced him most during his time in Minneapolis, including the evening’s opening act, Dillinger Four. “Constructive Summer” includes the line “me and my friends are like double-whiskey coke, no ice," a reference to D4’s “Doublewhiskeycokenoice.”
Joining the Hold Steady onstage for about half the show was the Horn Steady Twin Cities, a local chapter of the band’s occasional horn section. The addition of trumpet and saxophone on songs like “Sequestered in Memphis,” “Heavy Covenant, ”Entitlement Crew,” and “Killer Parties” added an extra layer of dimension to the band’s already stratified sound.
Now, I have to be honest. Personally, I’ve always struggled to get into the Hold Steady despite a.) being from the Twin Cities, b.) liking a lot of bands in a similar vein, and c.) part of me always admiring their unwavering dedication to the Minneapolis music scene.
That all changed after seeing them on Saturday.
I left Saturday’s show with a deep appreciation for not only the Hold Steady, but for Finn himself. The exuberant frontman oozed with the type of authentic charisma that only the Midwest can produce. Of course, the high temps also meant he oozed plenty of sweat as his light-colored chambray shirt — a bold move in that heat — resembled a map of the world by the show's end. His low-slung Fender Telecaster didn’t see much use save for some well-timed big strums. But that’s understandable. It’s hard to focus on playing guitar when you’re arms are spread out as if ready to embrace every awaiting fan.
Finn’s affability made me soften significantly on his meandering and mumbled manner of talk-singing. Dare I say, I even like it now the more I hear it. I may have gone into Saturday’s show with a fairly neutral opinion, but after experiencing their live show, I left as a fan.
Setlist
Stuck Between Stations
The Swish
Hurricane J
Party Pit
Sideways Skull
Family Farm (with The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
Banging Camp (with The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
Sequestered in Memphis(with The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
Heavy Covenant (with The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
Lord, I'm Discouraged
Carlos Is Crying
Chips Ahoy!
Constructive Summer
Hot Soft Light (with The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
Entitlement Crew (with The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
Massive Nights (with The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
Your Little Hoodrat Friend
South Town Girls
Slapped Actress
Encore
Positive Jam
Stay Positive (with Mosh Pit Josh and The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
Killer Parties (with The Horn Steady Twin Cities)
