Nothing was going to keep Lush Life from JellyNYC's first Pool Party this weekend.  Rain. Deadlines. Medical Issues. None of that factored in as we trekked from Southside Williamsburg up to McCarren Park during one serious storm.  

Click on the pictures after the jump.

Typically, we wouldn't be so amped to stand out in the elements in crowds teeming with hipsters and sweaty NYU film students, but the promise of The Hold Steady starting off our constructive summer was just too much to resist. 

The show was slated to start at 2 p.m., but because of weather related delays, J. Roddy Walston and the Business didn't hit the stage until 4 o'clock.  In the two hours spent waiting out the rain, the crowd partook in copious amounts of beer and dodgeball while the rest fought over who got the next ride on the slip and slide. 

Now, we've never left a Hold Steady show dry, but, usually, we're drenched in The Hold Steady's patented baptismal waters- beer and sweat- not soaked to the bone from torrential sheets of rain.  So, when the sun finally emerged just before J. Roddy's set, we were all happy to dry out just a little before our rebirth under the gospel of Craig Finn.

Very ready for the delayed show to begin, the crowd seemed restless as the first band began to set up for their set until they caught a glimpse of the long, luxurious locks and creative creative facial hair sported by J. Roddy and the Business.  If you could tear your gaze from the incessant headbanging (made even more epic by the sheer energy necessary to propel hair that long), you would have certainly noticed the bass player's striking resemblance to the singer from Three Dog Night.  This coupled with their infectious enthusiasm induced laughter, at first, from the annoyed (and sniveling) crowd.  But, the laughs turned quickly to shaking and clapping, as the band tore into a set complete with loud guitar rock and big, catchy choruses. 

These guys are the real deal, and to date, they put on one of the best performances we've seen all summer.

Before The Loved Ones started, the crowd endured the hardest bout of rain they'd seen all day, which continued through most of their set. Still, they received an enthusiastic response from the crowd, many of whom knew the words to their Bouncing Souls-style punk rock. Tad and Franz from The Hold Steady joined the band for their last song and the rain stopped almost in time with the last guitar chord. 

The sky began to clear for The Hold Steady, and the drunken fans, who had been hanging in the back for most of the show, stumbled their way to the front to get as close as they could to Pastor Finn. The crowd exploded when the band took the stage and started in with "Constructive Summer," the leadoff track of the new album, Stay Positive, which, according to Finn "is half-released." You wouldn't know it from most of the crowd, who knew all the words to an album which won't be released until July 15th.

The set was heavy on tracks from Stay Positive, with most of the remaining songs coming from 2006's Boys and Girls in America.  We were disappointed to hear so little from Separation Sunday and the near absence of songs from Almost Killed Me left something to be desired.  Although, the highlight of the set might have been "The Swish" from their debut, which seemed to make birthday boy Tad Kubler (guitar) just a little more excited than singing "There are always other boys. You can make them like you."

For the encore, the band ended with "Slapped Actress" with the crowd continuing to sing the "whoa oh's!" long after the band left the stage.  Unfortunately, the show ran well over the allotted time, and the crowd left was left with just one encore- despite clearly wanting more.