The Hold Steady at the Middle East (Downstairs) on October 30

When most people call The Hold Steady a bar band they mean that they write songs in a certain classic rock style about subjects like drinking, drugs, relationships, and rock ‘n roll. After seeing them at the Middle East, when I call them a bar band I mean something a little bit different: damn, can they drink.

The band struggled valiantly against a malfunctioning rhythm guitar, a broken bass, a problematic keyboard, and lots of Budweiser and Jagermeister, delivering a solid performance to end the first leg of their tour in support of Boys and Girls in America.

Guitar playing frontman Craig Finn, a Boston College alum, was all over the place as he spoke and shouted his tales of Hallelujah, Charlemagne, Gideon, and other characters, often differing his rhythmic delivery from the recorded versions and thus making it difficult for the crowd to latch on. This made the anthemic songs off the new album much more powerful, and the crowd roared the backing vocals on “Chips Ahoy!” and “Massive Nights” along with keyboardist Franz Nicolay and lead guitarist Tad Kubler.

Equipment malfunctions caused the band to play “Certain Songs” with only a piano and vocals, robbing it of its powerful drum and guitar build as Finn explained, “This isn’t the right time for this song, but we don’t have a bass. We picked an opening band that didn’t stick around to see our show.” Opening act Sean-Na-Na did return from Albert Hammond Jr’s show (at nearby TT the Bear’s Place) mid-set, joining the Hold Steady onstage to dance around, sing backup, and buy lots of shots. The show at times devolved into an end of tour party for those in the bands, annoying some concertgoers, but for the most part the camaraderie was a positive sight.

There were some massive highs, and there were some crushing lows. After overcoming pre-show guitar and monitor problems the band began with standout opener “Stuck Between Stations,” followed by bass issues and the mistimed “Certain Songs.” They quickly fixed the problem and redeemed themselves, launching into “The Swish.”

The Hold Steady demonstrated their potential commercial appeal with why-isn’t-this-on-the-radio-yet lead single “Chips Ahoy!” and later Separation Sunday’s “Your Little Hoodrat Friend.” Guitarist Kubler was on fire, and songs featuring his solos (“Party Pit,” “Hot Soft Light”) were on a different level. When he launched into the opening riffs of “Stevie Nix” the crowd erupted, but keyboard problems delayed the piano interlude, interrupting the flow of the song just enough to make it annoying.

A more than visibly drunk Finn and company returned for an encore of “First Night” and “Killer Parties.” The show ended with a killer party onstage, with the crowd and band dancing around drummer Bobby Drake amidst a shower of beer and water singing the closing lines “And if she said we partied, I’m pretty sure we partied. I really don’t remember, I remember we departed from our bodies.” The show was definitely a party. As for departing from our bodies, it didn’t quite reach that level. To paraphrase Finn, even if you didn’t get converted tonight, you’ve gotta admit, this band’s pretty tight.