Things I learned when I kicked off my summer concert series Monday night at the Beachland Ballroom's sold-out Hold Steady show ...
1) My iPhone doesn't really work as a concert camera. The iPhone's great and all, but as a camera in darker places it might as well be a flying car, better in concept than reality. The beauty of the iPhone is that I can download a Facebook application and instantly upload pictures from the show to my page. But what good is that if you upload crummy pictures? I could send instant messages, tweets, update Facebook, vomit when getting Indians updates, and even look up Hold Steady lyrics on the Internet thanks to my iPhone. But I couldn't get a quality picture.
2) It's a lot tougher to work security at a Metro Station concert attended by hundreds of teenage girls than it is a black-metal concert attended by a bunch of dudes. This according to Nate, the guy we met who works security at House of Blues. Now, if you've never been to the HOB, picture this: there's a large pit area between the stage and the sound system, probably at least 1,500 square feet, where those who want to get closer jam themselves in. Normally about 500-600 people try to get in there. Well, when Miley Cyrus's brother brought his band to town, about a thousand screaming teenyboppers tries to squeeze in. And they didn't like being kicked out and routed back behind the sound system by security. The death-metal guys usually just take in the show and don't get kicked out unless they start causing problems for those around them. Nate wouldn't have had much to do as security at he Beachland. There were about 15 guys right in the middle of the front slamming around, but everyone else was just having a good time.
3) The Hold Steady can hold a 600-person crowd's attention for almost two hours straight without playing any cover songs. The band sure can't hold the crowd steady, though. It's the opposite -- although you can't consider it dancing unless clapping, pointing, slamming into others, and jumping up and down are considered dancing. I don't know all their songs, but I recognized "Magazines," "Sequestered in Memphis," and "Stay Positive." Most shows I go to last close to an hour, then the band will play a three- or four-song encore after a short break. The Hold Steady played more than an hour, then took the short break, then played another 20 minutes. I got my fill of a good show on a school night and made it home in time for seven hours of sleep.
Here's a few more shows I'm hoping to put on my summer concert t-shirt this year:
Wednesday, June 17: Oliver Buck and the New Madrids with Quinn Sands at The Barking Spider
Monday, June 22: The Lemonheads at The Grog Shop
Sunday, June 28: Jay Reatard at The Grog Shop
Wednesday, July 1: Conor Oberst at The Grog Shop
Wednesday, July 15: Tim Brantley/Josh Hoge at House of Blues
Friday, July 17: Colin Hay at Beachland Ballroom
Saturday, Aug. 1: John Legend at Nautica
Tuesday, Aug. 4: Airborne Toxic Event at House of Blues
Monday, Aug. 17: Jason Mraz at Time Warner Cable Amphitheater
Friday, Aug. 21: Tonic/Gin Blossoms at Cain Park
Thursday, Sept. 17: Ari Hest at Beachland Ballroom