The Hold Steady, A Positive Rage

It's a crime that, until now, America's Greatest Living Bar Band had never recorded in a bar. These New York hoodrats play the kind of working-class riffs you find on the best classic-rock jukeboxes in dives across the country, and lead ranter Craig Finn always has something moving to say about what it's like to end up at some neighborhood joint where you can drink beer from somebody's purse. So hearing the Hold Steady's first-ever official live album, taken from a 2007 gig at the Metro in Chicago, is like watching 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in a sub the bottom of the ocean. You know, kind of perfect.

"There is so much joy in what we do up here!" Finn shouts on "Killer Parties," and it's easy to believe him: Franz Nicolay's proggy organ solo amps up the fun on "Chips Ahoy," Finn hilariously mimics a girl's voice on the rollicking "Barfruit Blues," and with barreling drums and chugging guitars, "Massive Nights" is just, well, massive. "Most people don't believe that rock 'n 'roll can save your soul, but those people haven't seen the Hold Steady," insists one earnest young believer on the accompanying DVD. May that love never get beaten out of him.