The Hold Steady "The Swish" (20.4 MB) from The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me Majestic Theater Madison, WI July 21, 2008

I just can't seem to get the first Hold Steady album into my head. Earlier in the evening I stopped recording in the middle of "Barfruit Blues," thinking it was this song, which I recorded at their Orpheum show. It wasn't, obviously, and by the time I figured out that I was re-recording it in the encore I kind of didn't care anymore.

So, about the Majestic. After we went there for the Dethklok live show, I decided I hated it, despite all the praise the rest of the locals seem to have for it. Since I felt like I couldn't pass this show up, this was the opportunity for the place to prove me wrong. It didn't. The first thing happened before the show -- when I went to one of the "local outlets" to buy tickets, I wound up paying $6 in convenience charges to have some undergrad go to a computer and buy tickets off the web site for me. I'm sure I don't have to point out that that's never been the case with any other venue's outlets, and it's of a piece with the biggest concern I had with the Majestic from the day it reopened -- it seems desperate to be Madison's mini-Rave, complete with frequent Cowboy Mouth and Glen Phillips shows. Meanwhile, inside, the acoustics (or the mix, it was hard to tell) were not good. The balcony lines of sight were OK, except for the constant waitstaff interference. It was an all-around unpleasant place to see a show, except for the show itself. We probably won't be going back anytime soon, and I hope they don't take up more bands that would otherwise play High Noon or Stage Door.