Shinn got worse as it went along. I saw them on Summerland 2013, at the LA House of Blues in 2014, and in Anaheim in 2015. The 2013 show was great, albeit a short set. 2014 was solid too and was the day The Turn came out. The crowd was really decent although there were a ton of comp'd tix for HOB members. The 2015 show was embarrassing. The place was empty, Shinn forgot a ton of lyrics and just gave up on Run to the Water after forgetting what seemed liked an entire verse. After RTTW I yelled "You got this, Chris!" trying to be encouraging. He shrugged and said "sorry guys." He knew he was f--king up.

I think Anaheim was one of the last shows before Australia. Not sure how it went in Australia, but at that Anaheim show it was apparent that things weren't working. I'm really curious to know what went through all of their heads after fumbling through a set in front of an empty crowd.

I don't think Shinn was really in it for the long haul. Really nice guy when I met him and I think he made great contributions to The Turn which is a solid album, but they never toured much in 2015 like they said they would.

2015 was very telling about this lineup. If they wanted to establish themselves with Shinn as the new singer they HAD to tour the world to get everyone excited. They didn't. They said they would and they didn't. The only released on single. They said they'd release Siren's Call but they didn't. I don't know if it was financial or not having the work ethic, but Live 2.0 didn't do the necessary steps to really move on from Ed. Live 2.0 needed to have the work ethic of a band just starting out, eager to reconnect with the old fans and make some new ones. They didn't have that.

At the end of 2015 there wasn't much more for Live 2.0 to do. The promotional period for The Turn was over. They could keep touring to smaller and smaller venues or they could make another album. It wouldn't surprise me if they just didn't have the desire to do either. Especially for Chris, what else did he have to gain from being in Live? He doesn't need money, he made an album, and got to be in Live for three years. It's something he could cross off his bucket list and then move onto the next thing.

I think this message board fails to realize how big Ed's solo following is. Not in terms of numbers, but in terms of enthusiasm. The Ed Kowalczyk Street Team FB page is far more active than the Friends of Live FB page. They LOVE Ed. And more importantly, they side with Ed in the breakup. Someone posted "Why would Ed go back after the way they treated him?" I'm not here to pick sides, just to acknowledge the Live community is split. Both sides will flock to a reunion, but it would be very wise for ECCP to do interviews saying they've buried the hatchet, forgiven, etc. As skeptical as this board is of Ed, his camp is as skeptical, if not more, of CCP.

There were two main reactions to the interview form both sides. One was "Holy cow a reunion!" and the other was "I'm skeptical but am happy to see that they may have buried the hatchet." If ECCP takes time to do interviews to really show they're friends again, then fanbase will reunite very quickly.

I think their stump interview will be "We've been friends since kindergarten. That kind of bond is impossible to break. Anything else that happened between us is water under the bridge."

This post has been edited by LiveForNow: Oct 26 2016, 7:18 pm

I do not think the Turn or Chris will ever be mentioned by name. They're going to act like that period of Live never happened. When it comes up it will be quickly brushed aside, the way CCP never talked about SFBM. They all acknowledge their first four albums were the ones they're all happy with. I'd be surprised if we hear any songs post TDTH, aside from Overcome and Heaven.

This post has been edited by LiveForNow: Oct 26 2016, 7:21 pm

That' sounds like Live's MO - just pretend certain things never happened. I can get that - it's not Ed's material, it was a bad time for the band. I liked the Turn, and I think Ed could do a good job with some of those songs - but it's really not Ed.

I wish they would dip into BOP a bit - Like I Do, She, and a few others are good.

I really want to hear what CCP thought about his constant fuck ups. Yeah, all of the stuff they should've done if they were committed to Live 2.0 they didn't do. And I assumed they were committed, so I kept asking WTF are they doing? I guess the truth is clear now - Live 2.0 wasn't serious.

Maybe some day, ten years from now and a few good albums later (I'm delirious now), we'll look back on Live 2.0 as a funny blip on the radar.

I appreciate your insight on the downward spiral of Shinn. I was always convinced Live 2.0 did not extensively tour for The Turn because of lack of money, but with this information, I now feel it's both money issues and Chris' struggle live. Interesting.

I agree!
"Like I Do" is the jam!!

Well if they are back then that's amazing news. I do love Chris and The Turn but Live was always Live with the 4 original members. If they come back then I hope they make a new LIVE record (not an Ed Kowalczyk record with CCP as a backing band) and that they tour and 'forget' their last 2 records (BOP and SFBM). But I do hope they do some songs from The Turn. Siren's Call and Don't Run To Wait with Ed singing should be interesting.

My guess is that it was never a money issue. I think The Turn came out, CCCP were getting ready to start touring extensively, and then Ed intervened in some manner and reinserted himself into the band. After that, previous plans were scrapped, Ed halted his solo career, Chris disappeared into the ether, and work began on the reunification of the original members of live.

I hear you - and I will admit if you'd asked me off the bat, 12 months ago for example, I definitely would prefer another album with CS. I suppose with all the online silence that has created a mini drama, I am indifferent now and just want to hear something better than SFBM whoever is behind the mic.

If we have to use The Paradiso DVD as a reference for 21st Century Ed - If I am honest - I couldn't handle the way he shrieked through half those songs.

I hope it's better than that.

I wish they'd continued with CS, but it is also nice to have Ed back. If he is back.

Great insight and perspective here. Probably a lot of truth too.

Yep, that's what I think too.

Hopefully it's old Ed...

i find that hard to believe with the ego of ed and the direction his music went. prior to the breakup they played a lot off sfbm ie sofia, wings, mystery etc. id think ed would prefer some songs of that nature in the set list

but if not then im guessing we will get the poppy version of the hits. i dont know if we will get kick over the amp crazy ed again.

maybe they will add some acoustic versions to their sets. ed always good with that.

I bought that last Paradiso album and it grates on my brain. If that's what we're in for, no thanks. I don't need Ed to be kicking and screaming, I just need him to sing the songs with passion and depth. To lose the screeching, and lose the happy-poppy mickey mouse element that creeps into what used to be dramatic songs (e.g. All Over You, Selling The Drama).

In some of his later acoustic performances, I could see improvement there. So I have reason to hope.