May 6, 2010
Dennis and I and my music buddy Tom went to the Hold Steady show last night at the Fillmore.
I picked Tom up at his office on the way to get Dennis at school and we made our way into San Francisco. Our first stop was at Tommy's Joynt on the corner of Geary and Van Ness.
Tommy's Joynt is an Old School Hofbrau type of place that has been a San Francisco mainstay for many years. You walk in and stand in line and when it's your turn you tell the guy behind the counter what meat you want. They slap it on the plate and it's on. The guys look like they learned their trade in the Marine Corps cafeteria (or galley).
The food and the portions are something your Grandmother might prepare, if your Grandmother was Wilma Flintsone. Lots of meat and bones.
Once you have your food you find your own table and chow down. Tom had seen a piece about Tommy's Joynt on a TV show called “Drive-ins, Diners and Dives”. Tommy's is not a drive-in and it's not a diner.
The food, however is excellent and the atmosphere is really cool. If Tony survived the finale of the Soprano's, he'll turn up here.
The Fillmore is just a couple of blocks up Geary. Tom is the biggest music aficionado I know, but for whatever reason, he had never been to the Fillmore. He's only lived in the Bay Area for a few years, but still, that had to change.
The Fillmore is without a doubt the most iconic live music venue in the world. You could make an argument for the Troubadour in LA or CBGB's in New York, but the title has to go to the Fillmore simply because they're still at it, putting on shows like it's 1969.
Anybody who is anybody, and a lot of nobodies, has played there. Bands will play there on their way up to arena-level popularity. And then again on their way back down. The whole history is displayed in a massive collection of show posters from the early days in the mid-sixties to present day. After most shows they give you a commemorative poster on the way out.
I'm not too familiar with The Hold Steady. I have their album “Stay Positive” featuring the “hit” “Sequestered in Memphis”, a great tune on a solid album.
The leader of the band, Craig Finn, has quite a disarming stage presence. I would describe it as a cross between Elvis Costello and Pee Wee Herman. He's a surprisingly effective and entertaining frontman. He has a unique way of phrasing his singing, sort of repetitive in the verses, with a couple of bars of instrumentation following each line. But what do I know.
Like a lot of bands, they came off heavier in concert, which is OK with me. I particularly liked the encore – they came out for an additional thirty minutes or so and really seemed to come alive. The tunes in the encore seemed more dynamic, too.
The bump could have been due to the fact that I moved closer to the stage. Bands are always better closer.
We all had a great time last night, I like to go to shows with Dennis and Tom is always cool to hang out with.
Great post. It was a good time. T
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