Why Don’t You Try Singing the Second Verse?
The Hold Steady will be played a 4 night run in Toronto’s Legendary Horseshoe Tavern last week. I attended their exclusive Soundcheck/Happy Hour event that ran from roughly 4-6PM on Friday. There were maybe 30 fans in attendance.
The band played a few songs interspersed with fan questions. Legendary record collector Dave Hodge served up the questions to the band. Then the band posed for photos and people mingled. Craig Finn maintains an amazing connection with his fans and it is a real treat to hear him talk about music.
Happy hour sadly ended so I grabbed a quick dinner at the Gdous Juicy Chicken House. While eating my yummy chicken, I saw Craig Finn walking north on Spadina a little incognito.
Then I reconnected with family and saw the TIFF showing of A Private War which was a powerful film with a statue worthy performance by Rosamund Pike.
My timing was fortuitous as the concert proper started at 10:45PM. I didn’t miss a thing. The band delivered a fantastic high energy show to a sold out crowd. Their energy level was not hampered by the hot, humid conditions. The crowd singing the ending of Slapped Actress at the end of their set was a personal highlight.