“With an album on the Billboard Charts, the Hold Steady abandon their day jobs and light out for the territories. But roaming that ribbon of highway isn’t all autographs and beer nuts. Here’s a rock and roll group grappling with their success, always on the brink of collapse – in love with the road, but praying to make it home in one piece.”
(February 3, 2009) – Vagrant Records and The Hold Steady announce an April 7 release date for A Positive Rage, a double disc package featuring a documentary on DVD and their first-ever live album. The set will be released on April 6 on Rough Trade Records in the UK and Europe.
A Positive Rage captures the excitement and high spirits of both the band and their fans in the days surrounding the release of their third full-length, Boys and Girls in America, (Vagrant) and ensuing world tour in 2006.
The 53-minute documentary begins with The Hold Steady’s first ever London performances with never-before-seen live footage, back stage interviews with the band members, fan commentary and the original, raw audio. Cameras follow the band as they return to the US for a 24-date tour that culminates on screen with an especially poignant performance at First Avenue in Minneapolis.
The live album was recorded on October 31, 2007 and includes seventeen songs that Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Galen Polivka, Franz Nicolay, and Bobby Drake performed on the second of their two-night sold-out stand at the Metro in Chicago. The enhanced album will also feature five bonus studio tracks: “Ask Her For Adderall,” “Cheyenne Sunrise,” “Two Handed Handshake,” and the previously unreleased tracks “Spectres” and “40 Bucks.”
The booklet features personal photos and the band’s memories of the tour, including this excerpt from Craig Finn… “It ended up being a fantastic suburban blow out with band and audience on the floor, Frisbee and tailgating in the adjoining parking lot, and everyone singing along to every song…. It reminded me of the hardcore shows I loved as a kid, everyone sweating and screaming together in a rented hall. And drinking in the parking lot, of course. The next night worlds converged…. “
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A Positive Rage track listing:
Intro
Stuck Between Stations
The Swish
Chips Ahoy!
Massive Nights
Ask Her For Adderall
Barfruit Blues
Same Kooks
You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came With)
Lord, I’m Discouraged
You Can Make Him Like You
Your Little Hoodrat Friend
Southtown Girls
Citrus
First Night
Girls Like Status
Killer Parties