The Hold Steady, The Steers - Shepherds Bush Empire, London - Monday 2nd July 2007

After seeing, and loving, The Hold Steady - in the middle of lots of other bands at Glastonbury - it was great to get a chance to see them again properly, and so soon. This was something of a last-minute decision, with a pair of tickets bought on eBay the day before the gig - for less than the face value for one ticket. It was also a solo gig, as I seem to be the only person I know that is into The Hold Steady. Never mind, it allowed for some quality time spent with the Evening Standard, and my BlackBerry.

Support band for the evening were a band called The Steers, a band I had never heard of before entering the venue, and judging by their MySpace page, neither have many others - only around 1,200 friends, less even than the Belgrave Scandal. How they got the opportunity to support the Hold Steady I don't know, but they were pretty good as it turned out. They had a very brisk but clean indie sound, not dissimilar to The View, but at times they got a bit heavier and shoutier than that. Given this, the fact that the singer was a tall balding bloke, who looked a bit like Ben Folds, meant that it was a bit strange to watch such a sensible-looking band throwing out such a rocky sound. Very enjoyable though, and definitely one to keep an eye on.

The Hold Steady appeared about 15 minutes later than expected (probably because they had been playing elsewhere), and played Stuck Between Stations immediately. As at Glastonbury, the band seemed to be having lots of fun from the word go - which I think always transmits itself to the audience, and instantly makes the gig seem better. As the set progressed, the banter between frontman Craig Finn and the crowd got even better - he is a pretty funny frontman anyway (not quite in the league of We Are Scientists, but then who is?), but he was joking with the crowd and getting good applause back.

One thing about The Hold Steady is that they have some of the best lyrics around at the moment, and current album Boys And Girls In America is the most creative and incisive of the lot. The music is classic rock Americana, reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements, and even Bruce Hornsby, given the keyboard player. But the lyrics and their delivery live are what really make these songs special. The songs are about going out, getting drunk, and having a good time - so when you are at a gig, getting drunk, and looking to have a good time, this band are just what you need. People with tickets for Latitude, Reading or Leeds Festivals are lucky indeed - just get into the album a bit before you see them, and it'll be amazing.

The set here was obviously broader than the set from Glastonbury - the band played virtually every song from Boys And Girls In America, as well as the pick of the songs from their other 2 albums. The huge highlight for me was Party Pit, with its grinding guitars which sounded incredible, and its drunk lyrics. When the final refrain came along - "Gonna walk around, Gonna walk around, Gonna walk around and drink. Gonna walk around and drink some more" - the venue went absolutely crazy, and the band deserved it, they were that good. As well as this, new single Chips Ahoy, as well as the rarely-played Chillout Tent, were big highlights of an excellent set.

This was The Hold Steady's biggest headline gig ever (or so they said), even including those they have played in the US. I am glad that the UK seems to be liking them, although they are still not getting much music press coverage, and this gig was not hyped, and not beseiged by touts and dodgy merchandise sellers. The band don't necessarily have a huge "buzz" around them, but they definitely seem to be gradually building a fanbase here - which is utterly deserved, as their lyrics and live performances show. Hopefully they will be back to see us again soon, after all the festivals are over.