Regular Guys' Rock: The Hold Steady

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NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU READ IT, and no matter how many times the group claims it, the Hold Steady isn't a bar band. That's because bar bands suck. Hard. And despite its Cheap Trick-friendly sound, you won't find the Hold Steady holding court in some dive as middle-aged patrons deal with their crises by getting their beer on to .38 Special covers.

But the Hold Steady might sing about the "My Name Is Earl" crowd, and with empathy, perfectly capturing the desperation that comes from low-paying jobs and low-lying romances that affect middle and Midwestern America. It helps the band's cred that its primaries, vocalist-guitarist Craig Finn and guitarist Tad Kubler, are Minnesota guys, and the North Star State often guest-stars in Hold Steady lyrics.

The Hold Steady is also mighty self-referential, which is why on the quartet's three CDs —"The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me," "Separation Sunday" and the new "Boys and Girls in America" — there are numerous songs about the romance of rock and the politics of the indie scene.

Finn has a voice like The Fall's Mark E. Smith has a voice — that is, he doesn't. But, like Smith, Finn makes the most of what he has by barking clever lyrics in a passionate sing-speak, which helps underline his everyman persona.

Like Bruce Springsteen or the Replacements, the Hold Steady makes rock 'n' roll for smart people who don't necessarily have the means to capitalize on their smarts, because of geography, money or just plain bad luck. Consider the Hold Steady the soundtrack of their lives.

» Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW; Sat., 9 p.m., $13 advance, $15 day of show; 202-667-7960. (U St.-Cardozo)

Photo by Marina Chavez