Pitchfork

"You have to see them live" is a phrase that's probably hurt more bands than it's helped. For every Bruce Springsteen or Metallica, whose epic performances helped fuel massive record sales, there's been a Phish, whose cult-like concert experiences never quite convinced outsiders to shell out for more than tickets. You don't need to see the Hold Steady live to get what they do, but it helps. In person, at least the collective experience confirms that you're not the only one buoyed by the band's infectious nostalgia, boundless enthusiasm, outsized personalities, and monster riffs.

Fortunately for the Hold Steady, you get the loud, proud, gloriously unironic idea pretty well from their records. Live, the extra volume, stage moves, and banter only enhance the vibe the group's three records have offered and more or less perfected. Unfortunately, that rarely goes for live records as well, which almost never come close to capturing the experience of attending a show. That the Hold Steady nonetheless opted to release a live EP doesn't come as a surprise compared to the decision to release one of their infrequent acoustic sets.

Still, Live at Fingerprints-- recorded at a Long Beach in-store performance-- underscores something that's easily missed in the Hold Steady's recorded output: It's not the performances that make the band so special, it's the songs. Minus the amplification, and plus such un-rock'n'roll accoutrements as accordion and what may be a washboard, this handful of songs (mostly) from last year's Boys and Girls in America is a blast. Banter and all, it adds up to more than a souvenir or quick cash-in by showing the Hold Steady are far more versatile than some might give them credit for.

It certainly helps that Craig Finn's vocals are up-front and clear, easily made out with the din ratcheted down, the racket better suited to the back porch than the arena stage. Unlike many of rock's would-be poets, Finn doesn't take himself too seriously, but at the same time the conviction coursing through "Cattle and the Creeping Things" and the sentiments he's trying to convey come across as honest and heartfelt. And then there's the banter, where Finn and his bandmates (but mostly Finn) mock themselves with the same big-hug love with which they embrace rock history.

Talking about the "Chips Ahoy!" video: "We were playing this song in Costa Mesa, and it occurred to me that "how am I supposed to know that you're high if you won't let me touch you' and 'how am I supposed to know that you're high when you won't let me dance' are two things I've said in real life, and it was to two different people." On "Citrus:" "All the best Led Zeppelin songs are about citrus fruit." It makes you wish there was an indie-rock "Storytellers".

"Citrus", and the gentle take on "You Can Make Him Like You", would make Finn's sensitive hometown hero Paul Westerberg proud, as would the bluesy "You Gotta Dance With Who You Came to the Dance With"-- and not just because it's a drinking reference, either. These songs, stripped to their bare emotions and sharp punchlines, capture the spirit of the left-behind, the guys and girls hanging out in the parking lot because they couldn't get into the sold-out show, kids awkwardly eyeing one another as they split a case of beer and talk about why they love the band they're not watching. Live at Fingerprints is essentially a quick taste of what those kids missed, and if there's a drawback to the disc it's that, at a scant five songs, the tease is over far too soon.