Pitchfork

The many faces of Craig Finn: telling stories, cracking jokes, exhorting the crowd's good sense, shouting without any use for a microphone, sneering, falling into sympathy with the boys and girls in America, condemning (on occasion), and when it's all said and done, giving you a damn good time.

At Emo's on Sunday, the Hold Steady delivered their trademark evocative narratives and riff-heavy forgetfulness, each song (mostly culled from Boys and Girls in America) bearing a Finn expression as its emblem. And as much attention as the frontman draws, it's a tall credit to Tad, Franz & co. that the music faithfully framed their leader with such energy and just enough Tecate-fueled sloppiness.

And as fresh as Boys and Girls standouts like "Stuck Between Stations", "First Night", and "Chips Ahoy!" sounded, it came as a welcome treat that the Separation Sunday tracks that peppered the set hit with the force of already classic material. For some reason, it's not so annoying when a Hold Steady fan shouts along to "Stevie Nix" or yells "I love you, Franz!" Even at its most sinister levels, the music and Finn's face urge the crowd to join the surely-doomed party.

More photos and tour dates below.

Hold Steady dates:

10-12 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress *
10-13 San Diego, CA - Brick by Brick *
10-14 Costa Mesa, CA - Detroit Bar *
10-16 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour *
10-17 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
10-19 Portland, OR - Lola's *
10-20 Vancouver, British Columbia - Plaza Club *
10-21 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Café *
10-24 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
10-25 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
10-26 Chicago, IL - Metro *#
10-27 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *
10-28 Toronto, Ontario - Horseshoe Tavern *
10-29 Ottawa, Ontario - Zaphod Beeblebrox *
10-30 Cambridge, MA - Middle East *
11-21 Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar $
11-22 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw $
11-24 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
11-25 Washington, DC - Black Cat
11-26 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
11-27 Columbia, SC - New Brookland Tavern
11-29 Orlando, FL - The Social
11-30 Tampa, FL - Orpheum
12-01 Tallahassee, FL - Beta Bar
12-02 New Orleans, LA - The Parish at House of Blues
12-04 Little Rock, AR - Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack
12-05 Columbia, MO - Mojo's
12-06 Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
12-07 Iowa City, IA - The Picador
12-08 Newport, KY - Southgate House
12-09 Louisville, KY - Headliner's
12-13 Buffalo, NY - Showplace
12-15 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street

* with Sean Na Na
# with Catfish Haven
$ with the Constantines