The Hold Steady

Dealing With the Devil: Making the Conversion From Christian Rock to Heathenistic Indie Rock

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you ... More >>

Between the Rock of Snark and the Hard Place of Crap: Two Meditations On Negativity In Music

Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship. 1. I saw The Wall this weekend for the first time, at the Wildey Theater in Edwardsville. I've always bee ... More >>

Music Music vs. Words Music

Art and life co-habitate, informing, imitating, and enriching each other constantly. Each week in Better Living Through Music, RFT Music writer Ryan Wasoba explores this symbiotic relationship. Earlier this week, I wrote a piece for RFT Music poking fun of the modern concept of genre that spawns ph ... More >>

Six Most Cringe-Inducing Genres

Genres can be handy organizational tools. Without them, we would have to resort to long-winded explanations of every artists or unwarranted comparisons to similar acts. But as genres become more specific, they often become more ridiculous. Here are the six most cringe-inducing genres. Feel free to l ... More >>

Google Glass Project: Five Uses At Your Next Show

Ever since Android and Google were released people seem to have opened up to the idea that every free service the search giant provides them is in fact paid for with a steady stream of personal information they don't realize Google has. With that in mind: The Google Glass Project is an enormous per ... More >>

Craig Finn and Mount Moriah at Off Broadway, 2/10/12: Review and Setlist

Kholood EidCraig Finn puts smiles on faces.​Craig Finn | Mount Moriah Off Broadway February 10, 2012 People still talk -- and most of them were doing so through all but the quietest numbers last night, but I digress and we're only three words in -- of the one-and-only show by the Hold Steady ... More >>

Craig Finn Talks About His Solo Tour and Why Most Christian Bands Suck

Most listeners know Craig Finn as the poetic frontman of The Hold Steady. His show Friday at Off Broadway (3509 Lemp Avenue, 314-773-3363) puts him in a quieter context as he plays songs from his solo debut Clear Heart Full Eyes. From a parking lot in Oklahoma City, Finn spoke to RFT Music about the ... More >>

White Denim is Coming to the Firebird

Probably time to start looking into a permanent camping spot in the parking lot of the Firebird (2706 Olive Street, 314-535-0353). Today the venue announced, among other things, an April 7 show featuring White Denim. Tickets are $10 and on sale now. The Austin band is incredibly difficult to defin ... More >>

LouFest 2012 Lineup: Who Would You Like to See?

LouFest 2012 has a few announcements coming down the pike, and $50 presale passes are already sold out. The festival, entering its third year, will be looking to once again expand slightly, and hopefully the lineup will continue its trend of evolution. We'll be bringing you our 2012 LouFest lineup ... More >>

LouFest 2012 Dates Announced; Presale Tickets Available Now

LouFest 2012 is officially off the ground: Presale tickets for the two-day festival in Forest Park are now available. It's $50 for a two-day pass or $70 if you wait until the regular sale. Last year's presale sold out in two weeks. The third LouFest will be on August 25 and 26 on Forest Park's Cen ... More >>

Craig Finn is Coming to Off Broadway

Craig Finn with the Hold Steady at LouFest this year. Photo by Todd Owyoung.​The Hold Steady's Craig Finn is working on a solo album to be released this January. And the attendent tour will take him to St. Louis on February 10, when he will play at Off Broadway. Tickets are $12 and go on sale ... More >>

Six Indie Rock Songs That Sound Like Christian Rock Songs

Image via.​A plethora of compelling music has come from indie rock's complicated relationship with Christianity: Sufjan Stevens' folk hymns, David Bazan's tormented crises, the Thermals' blasphemous pop punk. These are the polar opposite of today's contemporary Christian rock, with its overt p ... More >>

Announcing The Official Before LouFest Party

​LouFest is just over two weeks, and our excitement is reaching unhealthy levels. You already know the headliners: The Roots, TV On The Radio, The Hold Steady, Deerhunter, !!!, Cat Power, etc. The local lineup is impressive as well: Jon Hardy & the Public, Old Lights and Troubadour Dali lead t ... More >>

LouFest 2011 Schedule Announced, Tickets On Sale Now

​LouFest is back. We already told you about this year's steller lineup, which features TV on the Radio, the Roots, Cat Power, Deerhunter, the Hold Steady, and plenty more, including a solid batch of locals. Today, LouFest released its 2011 schedule; you can take a look at that below. You can a ... More >>

William Shatner Gets All Outer-Space: Five Songs for His Next Album

Wikimedia Commons​Last week, William Shatner unveiled the tracklist to his third studio album, Searching For Major Tom. Regardless of how you feel about the actor or his musical career, it's imperative you look at it right now. The album comprises nineteen covers of mostly space-themed songs l ... More >>

The Ten Best Things To Do This Weekend in St. Louis: April 8 to 10

​It's FRIDAY, FRIDAY! Gotta get down on FRIDAY! Here's where you can find this weekend's FUN, FUN, FUN and partyin', partyin' (yeah), starting with locals Bikini Acid at Floating Laboratories and ending with Lil' Wayne and a few of his famous friends.

Franz Nicolay

9 p.m. Saturday, April 9. Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

LouFest 2011 Lineup: The Roots, TV On the Radio, Cat Power and the Hold Steady Are Highlights

​Surprise! Happy Tuesday! LouFest just announced the lineup for the 2011 edition of the festival, which takes place in Forest Park on August 27 and 28. Hip-hop hotshots The Roots, indie darlings TV On the Radio, folkie chanteuse Cat Power, neo-shoegazer Deerhunter, bar-band bros the Hold Stead ... More >>

Ten Things To Do in St. Louis This Weekend: January 7-9

It's cold. But there are plenty of reasons to leave your warm house this weekend. Seriously. Some ideas are here; other ideas are below. Friday:Egan O'Keefe​Designer Drugs @ 2720 Cherokee Kick the year off right with these NYC DJs, who have entertained at London Calling in the past. With Cor( ... More >>

Two Cow Garage

8 p.m. Monday, November 22. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

AM Taxi

8 p.m. Wednesday, September 22. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Top Sellers at Area Record Stores: Week of May 10

​* = a band coming to town, = signifies a local act Vintage Vinyl 1. NATIONAL---High Violet 2. DEAD WEATHER---Sea Of Cowards 3. NEW PORNOGRAPHERS---Together* 4. OZOMATLI---Fire Away 5. GOGOL BORDELLO---Trans-Continental Hustle* 6. USHER---Raymond V. Raymond 7. CARIBOU---Swim* 8. FLYING LOTU ... More >>

The Forecast

7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 11. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Titus Andronicus

4 p.m. Sunday, March 14. Vintage Vinyl, 6610 Delmar Boulevard, University City.

Show Review: Ghostland Observatory and DJ Lord at the Pageant (SoCo underCOVER show), October 15

marqueemag.com/tag/ghostland-observatory/​Few indie bands are as divisive as Ghostland Observatory. For every fan and critic who fawns over its catchy dance punk grooves, there are others who decry tthe band as "robot rock for the flyover states" or, as Pitchfork infamously panned "Daft Punk for f ... More >>

Homespun: B&E, Chords to Live By

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews B&E's new CD, Chords to Live By. He has this to say:Chords to Live By is a clever title for B&E's first full-length, but it's a bit misleading: There's only one type of chord this quintet knows, and it's the power chord. The album delivers tw ... More >>

Homespun: B & E

Chords to Live By
(self-released)

Twangfest Auction Rolls On, Fest Starts Tonight With Alejandro Escovedo at the Pageant

Twangfest 13 starts tonight at the Pageant with Amy Lavere, Hot Club of Cowtown and Alejandro Escovedo, but the Twangfest eBay Auction, an annual charity event for KDHX Community Media, has been rolling for a week, with many items ending this afternoon. Lots of cool and rare music stuff. Check it ou ... More >>

Teenage Prayers

9 p.m. Wednesday, May 13. The Wedge, 442 Bates Street.

St. Louis Weekend Concert Calendar: April 3 to 5

Friday, April 3 *The Ting-Tings/DJ Superconductor, Pageant *Rosebuds/Megafaun, Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center *Beach House/Raglani, Billiken Club *Goldcure, Way Out Club *Glass Waves, The Gramophone *Tionol, Schlafly Tap Room *Off With Their Heads/Humanoids, Firebird *The Spares, Music Folk *Fresh He ... More >>

Top 10 Places to Drink in St. Louis Before the Hold Steady Show

(poster by Logan Alexander; original here) The Hold Steady are playing Monday night at the Gargoyle on the campus of Washington University. It's a dry venue, meaning the only drinking patrons ever do there during a show there is in a bathroom stall or out of a water bottle filled with booze.No ... More >>

Dave Matthews Band The Hold Steady = BFFs at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, June 17?

So, odder bedfellows have existed, but this alleged show is on par with mods vs. rockers and metalheads vs. punks. According to Pollstar and an email I got from Dave Matthews Band's publicist, hipster barflies the Hold Steady are opening for the massively popular frat-rockers at the Verizon Wireless ... More >>

2008: The Year in Song, A to Z Style

So this is a wee bit late -- sorry, I've been battling a cold since New Year's Day, bah -- but hopefully still relevant: three "discs" worth of 2008 quality music. This is meant to be a companion list to the Top 10 Top 40 songs piece I penned, a way for people to perhaps discover some new bands and/ ... More >>

We made you a mixtape! 2008: The year in music.

The Hold Steady at the Gargoyle, April 6. Why Yes, the Alcohol-Free St. Louis Venue.

The Hold Steady is known for its songs about drinking in bars, among other things. So of course the Brooklyn band is playing the Gargoyle on April 6, according to Blurt. Why yes, the NO-BOOZE venue in town. Metrotix link live, buy tickets now.So, who's trekking to Bloomington or Urbana instead? I do ... More >>

Indie-An Summer: Two RFT staffers attend the hipster mecca that is the Pitchfork Music Festival

Pitchfork: Q & A with Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady

Pitchfork: The Hold Steady Review, Photos

Pitchfork: Jarvis Cocker Review, Photos

Review: Hold Steady, Stay Positive First Listen and Track-by-Track Analysis

Listen/Stream an MP3 of a new Hold Steady song, "Sequestered in Memphis"

John Doe in a Clayton Kitchen: X Marks the Spot

Lollapalooza, Day Two: A Review

Top o’ the Morning!

Take B-Sides’ annual St. Patrick’s day lyrics quiz, just before exploring religion with unlikely bedfellows the Thermals and the Hold Steady.

This Just In: Tuesday, 2/6

2006: The Year in Music

Week of December 28, 2006

The Hold Steady

Boys and Girls in America (Vagrant)

My Favorite Things

2005's best and brightest albums

Thunderbirds Are Now! and Rahim

Sunday, August 21; the Hi-Pointe (1001 McCausland Avenue)

Rock Steady

The Hold Steady bring bombast back to rock & roll