Craig Finn- House Show, Wauwatosa, WI

photo by Will Piper

Back in high school and early college, I was hooked onVH1-Storytellers, a show where prominent artists performed songs and told the stories behind them.  I vividly remember being sucked into episodes where R.E.M., the Black Crowes, and even Paul Simon shared the impetus behind some of their most famous numbers. As someone who has always been drawn to the lyrical aspect of songwriting, I found that the stories behind the songs were often times as interesting and compelling, if not more so, than the songs themselves.

Enter Craig Finn, most notably the lead singer and lyricist of the Minneapolis via Brooklyn band, The Hold Steady.  For nearly the past decade, I've been a Hold Steady fan and have attended several of their shows, ranging from an intimately rowdy affair at the Mirmar Theater in 2007, to a seeing the band perform a couple of shows at the Majestic Theater in Madison, to enjoying Hold Steady gigs as the band grew to the level of a regular Summerfest side stage headliner.  While the vibrant, bright rock 'n roll timbres resonate with the music of The Hold Steady, it is truly Finn's lyrics and ability to suck his audience into the world of the characters in his songs which makes both Craig Finn and The Hold Steady exceptional performers in my book.

As a 44 year old singer, in the rock 'n roll business for most of his life, Finn has more than a few tales to tell.  And tell stories he did.  The biggest chunk of the evening was not the hour and fifteen minute solo acoustic set that Finn performed, but rather soaking in tales from a songwriter who sucks in as much life as he can observe.  For playing as many shows as Finn and The Hold Steady do, not to mention the fact that The Hold Steady were quite the party band in their earlier days, Finn has somewhat of a photographic memory of being able to recall details from the Mirmar show where I first saw him, as well as his performances at the Majestic in Madison.  Finn  comes across a "one of the guys," someone who wants to learn more about you as much as you might want to learn about him.  He's a sports guy and knows his baseball as well as anyone I know, and a lot of banter was simply that- dudes talking about baseball, the Twins, the upcoming MLB playoffs, the Packers, the Vikings.

Finn's "one of the guys" persona and down-to-earth approachability help you glean a small window of insight to where Finn gets his muse for his songs... he's a people watcher first and foremost and a constant listener and observer.

For his set, Finn performed outdoors on a crisp, blistery fall night on a porch with an acoustic guitar, stripped down mic set up, and a lone garage light for effects.  The smell of softly wafting smoke from a warm glowing outdoor fireplace set the mood for what was probably the most intimate performance I've seen from any artist, let alone one of Finn's caliber.  As expected, Finn drew heavily on his solo material, taking requests from the party hosts and drawing from his most recent release, the acclaimed Faith in the Future, which features some of Finn's best lyrics and songs in recent years.  Each tune was accompanied by a story behind it along with the banter of an old familiar friend telling tales with a guitar.  Only Finn, however, can engage a crowd, even a small intimate one, into singing along in an anthemic closing number, "No Future," a song about people you'd find at the late night Perkins restaurant on Riverside Avenue, ironically located across the street from where the host's daughter currently lives.

The show highlight for me, however, was a tune that Finn chose himself to include, "Certain Songs," off of The Hold Steady's 2004 debut, Almost Killed Me record.  In it, Finn sings about how "certain songs get scratched into your souls."  Thank you, Craig.  Your songs certainly will be remembered fondly by this fan.

Setlist:
Maggie I've Been Searching For Our Son
Modesto is Not That Sweet
Western Pier
Extras
Christine

New Friend Jesus

Certain Songs
Jackson
Sarah, Calling from a Hotel
Newmyer's Roof
Dennis and Billy
No Future