Wanna Go Steady?
Springsteen-esque in the best sense of the term, The Hold Steady delivers graphic tales of benders, beguiling girls and low-rent freedom over a sanctifying rush of loud guitars and gorgeous keyboards — even the sorriest accounts often prove uplifting via the saving grace of the band's unhyphenated, irony-free rock 'n' roll. This is the thinking man's classic rock, the kind that Kerouac or Bukowski might've appreciated had they stuck around. The Hold Steady played to a fervent crowd in November 2006 at the Orpheum in Ybor City, which singer Craig Finn celebrates in songs like "Killer Parties," the anthemic blowout that closes the band's superb 2004 debut album, Almost Killed Me. This gig finds the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Minneapolis roots-rock outfit back in Ybor, headlining Skatepark of Tampa's 15th Anniversary bash at Czar. The band's been in the studio this month working on its fourth album, so expect new material and maybe a performance of its inspired reworking of Dylan's "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" — a highlight from the recent I'm Not There soundtrack.
The Hold Steady w/This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb/Young Livers, 8 p.m. Sat., Jan. 19, Czar, Ybor City, $10. —Wade Tatangelo
Action Packed
Capillary Action doesn't have much use for a groove. The Philly trio offers a frantic barrage of computer blips, live drums, guitar heroics, manipulated vocals, horns, orchestral strings, jazz piano, found sounds and dialogue snippets combined with a litany of other sonics that fall under the "experimental" banner. The band's mastermind, Jonathan Pfeffer, composes the music and recreates it in concert by singing and performing guitar with backing on this tour by Sam Krulewitch (keyboards) and Noah Hecht (drums). Last year, Capillary Action released its second album, So Embarrassing, on its own Pangaea label.
Capillary Action w/Auto!Automatic!!/Insect Joy, 9 p.m. Thurs., Jan. 17, New World Brewery, Ybor City. $5 —WT
Patty's Day
Not your average folkie, Boston-based singer/songwriter Patty Larkin has a supple, jazz-informed voice and can play mean slide guitar á la Bonnie Raitt. Larkin also knows her way around a pop hook, evidenced by humorous numbers like the bouncy "Might as Well Dance." That ditty's off her 1993 disc, Angels Running, one of many albums she's released over the years that have had all the markings of a commercial breakthrough but never managed to achieve mainstream success. Following a five-year recording hiatus, Larkin returns with the album Watch the Sky on Vanguard. For more info, visit craftsmanhousegallery.com.
Patty Larkin, 7 p.m. Sun., July 20, Craftsman House, St. Petersburg, $32/$34 day of show. —WT
This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2008.