NYE Party At Think Loud Entertainment, "mingle with [CCP] and ask them all of these important q..." Options

[LiveForNow]

Posted in the Freaks4LIVE FB group. I think the hint here is that there's going to be some kind of announcement about the future of Live. They know there's only one really important question on everyone's mind, and if they say they'll answer then there you go.

Anyone planning on going? I would if I lived near York. I'd be PISSED though if Ed is going to be there and they're going to play a surprise, short set and they didn't announce it in advance. I'd fly from across the country for that.



This post has been edited by LiveForNow: Dec 2 2016, 4:10 pm

[vivapokey]

I seriously do not get where most of this Ed-bashing is coming from re: the NYE concert. Ed shattered my wildest expectations for the night and performed the songs with more intensity and seriousness than I've seen in a long time.

This was evident from the first fucking "Aaahhh" from PLOTRS

Don't believe be? Watch this.

This is how Ed has been doing the "Aaaah" at his solo shows and later Live days for years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMax4xqS0wg
https://youtu.be/00YBaNzTKlI?t=10s

Big fucking hokey smile. A little dance at the waist. It's a joyus "Aaaahh" that welcomes sweet baby Jesus right into his heart.

Now this was the "Aaahhh" on NYE:

https://sendvid.com/l23gc1ze

It is a NIGHT AND DAY difference. This "Aaahhh" was serious. Sure it's no "Aaahhh" from the early 90s, but this "Aaahhh" was a major step in the right direction, and light years ahead of what it's been.

If this was not the first fucking thing that you noticed, then you have not been paying attention to Ed. You aren't analyzing him and looking at him objectively. You simply are pre-determined to hate him. Any objective Ed observer would have seen the difference. That moment alone should have been a huge moment of excitement, or at the minimum, a moment of relief.

I am no Ed apologist. I've been frustrated with him too. I didn't even know Live existed until 2008. In 2008, Live headlined the DC101 Chili Cookoff in Washington, DC, which triggered an uptick in airplay. I heard "All Over You" on the radio and I was hooked. I sought it out online and listened to the studio version over and over again. I then listened to the Paradiso version and my immediate reaction was "Did they replace the singer?" I was that anti-new Ed I didn't even think it was the same guy.

Ed's voice has changed. I don't think it's that bad, but what kills me is the joyous, hokey Ed. Ed kept the hokiness to a minimum the other night. Sure we saw it in bits and pieces, but guys, it's not nearly as bad as it's been. Ed made a very solid effort and took a huge turn in the right direction on NYE. 90s Ed is gone. The most we can hope for is current Ed taking the songs seriously. He did that for the most part. He brought back the crazy eyes. By the time they hit the end of the set list WD brought down the house.

There are still things that bug me about Ed that were prevalent on NYE. I CANNOT STAND the falsetto on "More Wine!" in LJ. The angry growl is what makes that line work and the falsetto kills it. We also heard a few "sweet lords" in there. But seriously, it was so minimized compared to what it has been.

If you want another piece of evidence things are headed in the right direction, get this. They didn't play Heaven. Seriously, that's a HUGE indicator of what's to come. Heaven was their last hit. A song Ed wrote about the birth of his daughter and his faith in God. I'd be hard pressed to find the last Ed solo or original Live show that excluded Heaven. It's been a playlist mainstay, even on 10 song sets, since 2003 and it wasn't there. That is Ed honoring the music that's important to his bandmates.

I really hate to say this, but if you aren't going to give Ed a chance it's time to leave. Take your memories of early Live and cherish them, because I don't know what you have to gain by following the band if you won't give Ed a chance. I would have said the same thing about people who didn't give Shinn a chance. The best analogy I can make is this: My favorite TV show is the Simpsons. By far. But it went downhill after season 10 and is now unwatchable. It pains me to see new Simpsons episodes. I really, really wish they ended it when it was good and allowed for its legacy to be what it was. But they didn't, and I don't watch the show anymore. I don't go to the Simpsons Facebook page and complain about the new eps. I simply keep the memories I have, watch the old eps, and do not interact with the new incarnation. If this is how you feel about Live, you owe it to yourself to do the same.

My overall opinion about the people who stick around to bash Ed is this: You really don't hate new Ed as much as you think you do. I think you're disappointed that he isn't who he was. I sure as fuck am. I'm also disappointed that Rolling Stone's biggest band of 1995 (beating out huge acts) never capitalized on their commercial potential and now are falling into oblivion. It sucks. Our band is great and deserves to be remembered. But if you're still here, accept that a part of you likes him. I don't believe that people are here because they love to hate. Nobody loves to hate. Hating sucks. If you have hated Ed since 1999, then you've had 18 years to find another band to gravitate to. Again, I look at the Simpsons analogy. The Simpsons stopped being good right around the time Live fell out of favor with the haters. I watched the Simpsons after it was bad. I then stopped watching and complained that it was bad. Then I walked away. That was over 10 years ago. The only reason I'd be watching the new Simpsons today would be if a part of me still liked it. It doesn't and I moved on. If you're still here 18 years later, a part of you still likes the current version of Live.

I have evidence for this. And Pokey, I'm sorry but I have to call you out. Before I do, I just want you to know you're one of my favorite contributors to the site and your analysis is very strong. I enjoy reading every one of your posts even if I think you're lying to yourself at times. Here's why I'm calling you out. You once called Purifier a damn good song then called it one of Live's worst. We talked about this on the Purifier thread but your explanation that "You hear something for the first time and then you hear it over and over and your opinion changes" can only go so far. I definitely do not like The River now as much as I did the first time, and Space Jam doesn't hold up like it did when I was a kid, but no fucking way a "damn good song" can then be one of their worst. I've never in my 27 years of life heard someone's opinion on a song change so much as that. This is the epitome of convincing yourself you hate something that you like, or are at the very least, are still warm to. Pokey aside, here's more evidence to my theory. There was SO MUCH praise for Night of Nights when SFBM came out. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't there a thread called "How Good is Night of Nights"? Now those same people have nothing but shit to say about every track on SFBM (which I agree is their worst album).

So seriously people, to all the people who bashed Ed for NYE, I think you have three options:

1. Give Ed a chance. Watch the show again and compare each track to his solo shows. He brought it in ways he hasn't brought it for years.
2. Admit you like current Live more than you do. Still be critical, we need healthy criticism of the band. But stop acting like they're worse than Nickelback
3. If you really do hate current Live. If you've hated current Live since TDTH or V and think they have absolutely nothing left to contribute, find another band. It's such a better use of time to find new music that you like than to shit on music that you hate. You owe it to yourself. Start by listening to Lewis Del Mar. They're a great new band that would be a better use of time than bashing Live.

lol

I am giving Ed a chance. First chance was NYE and that was shit. So the other chance is the new music. If that's shit, then I'm out. If its not shit, I'll be surprised and hey, new music to listen to.

This post has been edited by vivapokey: Jan 3 2017, 8:17 am