Published at 11:16 AM on July 1, 2008

By Josh Jackson

My 12 Favorite Concerts - #10 The Hold Steady

High Gravity

High Gravity is Paste editor-in-chief Josh Jackson's daily round-up of music, film and culture - and even great (high gravity) beer.

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#10
The Hold Steady
Oct. 25, 2007, The 40 Watt (Athens, Ga.)
Craig Finn really isn't even a singer in the proper sense. He kind of half-drunkenly shouts out stories, and the effect live is like he's talking to the audience all night. There's a shallowness to much of the subject matter—ingesting chemicals and hooking up—but he's still so damn insightful and interesting. He's a little goofy and infectiously happy. And so is the music, sloppy bar rock with big '70s muscular hooks. If you look around the room, everybody has big ol' grins on their faces, including guitarist Tad Kubler and the wonderfully mustachioed keyboardist Franz Nicolay. This was my second time seeing them, but it was part of a road trip to Athens with friends, which makes any show a little better. Plus they played almost every song off Boys and Girls in America, including my favorite, "Stuck Between Stations":

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The Countdown:
#12 Radiohead - Oct. 6, 2003, HiFi Buys Amphitheater
#11 Guadalcanal Diary - Sept. 15, 1989, Center Stage
#10 The Hold Steady - Oct. 25, 2007, The 40 Watt
#9 Uncle Tupelo - Feb. 11, 1994, The 40 Watt
#8 The Ramones - Nov. 22, 1988, Center Stage
#7 U2 - Nov. 19, 2005, Philips Arena
#6 INXS - March 3, 1988, The Omni
#5 Midnight Oil - Aug. 28, 1993, Lakewood Amphitheater
#4 Sufjan Stevens - April 1, 2005, Calvin College
#3 Beck - Oct. 28, 2006, The Knitting Factory
#2 Pixies - Oct. 15, 1989, The Roxy
#1 Arcade Fire - May 1, 2007, Atlanta Civic Center

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