Tony Fletcher reviews The Hold Steady show

Clearly Woodstock ain't what it used to be:

Given that the usual fare in Woodstock is either jam bands, singer-songwriters, or retro folkies, the Hold Steady’s aggressively contemporary take on bar band blues and seventies rock arrangements was not to be missed by anyone who still cares for a bit of energy in their live fare, though it was equally endemic of the Woodstock demographic that the gig was a long way from sold out, and this from a band that’s just announced a headlining show at New York’s Beacon Theater.

Touche. Still, by Fletcher's account, Thursday's show at the Bearsville Theater had a zealous, if small, audience.

I’m not the only one finds [Craig] Finn’s enthusiasm positively endearing – his following down the front, oddly enough comprised mostly of the tattoo’d, muscled young sorts that you might suspect would kick sand in his face if they encountered him on the beach, clearly felt likewise, one youth in a Subhumans-endorned leather jacket constantly throwing his arm in the air as if trying to replicate the Hold Steady’s logo.

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