One of the great things happening in music now is the return of real, honest-to-God happy-good-time rock and roll music. Oh sure, there’s still the same, dour, the-world-sucks-and-everyone-hates-me rock everywhere – as evidenced by Nickelback’s 900-week run on the charts and the oh-so-long-awaited return of Creed – but there are still artists out there who listened to Bruce Springsteen and the Replacements when they were growing up and learned that rock can be - dare I say it - FUN.

Having seen Bruce Springsteen play at the Scottrade Center on Sunday night amid rumors that this will be the E Street Band’s last tour, the time has never been more right for the return of rollicking, rowdy, raucous rock and roll music. That music, Craig Finn and The Hold Steady provide.

I discovered The Hold Steady with their 2006 album Boys and Girls in America, a blistering and rollicking romp through the partying underbelly of the Midwest. I discovered Holly, the heroine of their songs, the backsliding Catholic twenty-something with all the wrong friends and all the wrong habits, and Charlemagne, the pimp and drug dealer who Holly mistakes for her savior. I discovered Mr. Finn’s quirky delivery (somewhere between Springsteen and Fred Schneider), his fantastic lyricism ("She was a really great kisser and she wasn’t that strict of a Christian"), and his absolutely infectious love for the craft.

As I got more and more into their work, I found a depth of thought that I didn’t expect. Mr. Finn has an ability to craft songs that get closer to the mind of the modern teenager than ten seasons worth of "Gossip Girl" episodes. He understands the feeling of being trapped by addiction ("it started recreational/and ended kinda medical") and the disposability of young love ("if you get tired of your boyfriend’s scene/there’s always other boys and you can make them like you").

All of this is on display on this year's CD/DVD set A Positive Rage, a document of their US tour in support of Boys and Girls. In an interview on the DVD, he talks about a woman who came up to him after a show and said, "There were only two shows I saw this year where everyone on stage was smiling as they were playing. One was [Georgia band] Drive-By Truckers, and the other was The Hold Steady." That joy can be felt in every power chord and bouncing beat. This is a band who knows how to have fun, and knows how much fun rock music has the potential to be.

Unfortunately, even though the set was released in 2009, it only has one song from 2008's magnificent Stay Positive; fortunately, that song is the best song on the album, "Lord I’m Discouraged", a touching and beautiful song about a friend of an addict who knows she’s in trouble and knows even more that there’s nothing he can do to save her. Even though it’s the rare ballad from a band usually known for bluster and shouted vocals, "Lord I’m Discouraged" allows Finn’s lyrics to really hit home ("the sutures and bruises are none of my business/she says that she’s sick but she won’t get specific"). All that is capped off with a powerful and moving guitar solo that pushes the song into rarified territory.

The Hold Steady may not be for everyone. They’re rough around the edges and play fast and loose, in a world where everything seems to be moving towards drum machines and AutoTuned vocals. But if you allow them to, The Hold Steady will move you in ways that you never expected from a band that seems so playful. And in the end, that’s what makes their music work so well – the mix of lyrics that will break your heart and music that will make you jump for joy.


Joshua Hamer is guitarist and multi-instrumentalist for Vote For Pedro. You can follow him on Twitter at @schwastl.