Last night a few of us screamed out of the office around 6pm to head down to Castle Clinton to show love to our co-worker Craig while living and loving all things Hold Steady. It was with heaps of intrigue and mild concern that I entered the historic downtown venue. The stage was set with chairs, various mic setups and a large black grand piano. The other problem was the venue is seated, (Kerry told me it's because it's considered a National Park). Matt, Nathan, Greg and I strolled into the VIP section where we found a catering table (sweet!), but no free beer, (boo! - can't American Express hook it up). After a chat with Mr. DTL we settled in for a unique performance.

Tad was the first to climb to his chair (!!!). Yes, this is correct - the entire band took to chairs except for Craig who stood behind the mic the entire show bouncing around and having mild freak-out's and bursts of clapping like a retarded toddler, (I mean that in the most endearing way possible). The show was the complete opposite of the beer soaked Hold Steady late night parties I'd grown accustomed to, but you know what - don't fear the change. The big treat was the ability to truly understand the musing of Craig while the band held it down in a different fashion. My only complaint was that the mix was way to low, but it probably had something to do with the laws outlined by Ranger Jim, (he does exist). Personal highlights must were definitely "Your Little Hoodrat Friend", "212 Margarita", Craig's rant about the Twins sweeping the White Sox's before blasting out "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night", "Multitude of Casualties" and the slew of new songs.

To sum things up, the acoustic version of the Hold Steady would never be my first choice of style, but having seen them a million times over, it provided me with a new take on some of the songs I've grown to love - even more than Coffee Patron.