Camden, NJ (MMRBQ BB&T Pavilion), May 20, 2017 Options

[dangum]

Lineup includes: Godsmack, Live, Bush, The Pretty Reckless, The Struts, Zakk Sabbath, Rival Sons, Dinosaur Pileup

http://wmmr.com/event/mmrbq-2017/

Tickets:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/02005189F830990F

15 minute Interview with Ed Kowalczyk
https://www.mediafire.com/?rjcd7d451ma2kv1

Edit: fixed lineup and date. Thanks EvilOne!

This post has been edited by dangum: Jan 3 2017, 10:56 am

[chazeye]

I was at the MMRBQ show on Saturday and will weigh in. I've been a huge fan from the beginning and tried to keep an open mind during the ongoing saga/hiatus and Shinn versus Ed debate. I will admit I fully accepted the new version of Live with Shinn and the return to a pure rock vibe again. The Turn is a damn good album and I still question whether or not the boys can muster up something comparable with Ed given the history of the last 10-15 years. I would love nothing better, and I will reserve true judgement until I hear a full new album late 2017 or in 2018.

With all that said and emotions of the night aside, I think it's damn near impossible to pass much of a judgement on a 50 minute hit laden festival set. I'll wait until they get their legs back and eventually play longer shows with deeper cuts and hopefully great new music proving they are still relevant. But I will make these points on the show (and in general) because these festivals are all we have at the moment:

* The atmosphere was festive and I enjoyed the hell out of the show. Much more than I thought I would actually.
* As much as I respect Shinn, it felt right seeing the 4 boys share the stage again. I was at Westbury in 2009 at their last show on Long Island and never thought I'd see the day after all that went down.
* They sounded damn good and seemed to play with joy/ease. Not having Gracey encased in plexiglass a nice touch too. Ed's vocals weren't vintage but I thought were very good.
* For festival sets, this set is all you can ask for over the next few months as they keep playing fests. Perfect array of songs really, though I would swap out opening with All Over You and drop in Otter Creek.
* it was extremely cool seeing them play in front of 20,000 people again. Let's be honest, they wouldn't be getting these good gigs without Ed at the helm. With Shinn I saw some shows played before sparse crowds. Damn good shows but the masses beyond the diehards didn't care. If monetary reasons are what brought these guys back together (and I say that's at the top of the list) so be it. We all like/need money and Live without Ed and Eddie K solo wasn't making anyone any money.
* I'm rambling and will wrap it up soon. I admit I was emotional during this show. The crowd was into it and the beer was flowing and it simply was joyous. It hit me as they were on stage and how the crowd was reacting to their set. "IT" was working at a level I didn't expect to see this early on after reforming. I guess they still have a loyal fan base in Philly which is cool, and I also guess 95% of them don't know or care about the details of the disputes etc. They just wanted to see the original line-up of Live. I get that. I'm in the 5% and can't forget all that went down, but I get it and also appreciate they still exist and that I was there to see/hear it. I've seen this band easily 60-70 times and the music means a lot to me and I don't want it to end. I'm rooting hard that this works in the long range. For now, I'll try not to overthink it and take it for what it's worth and be thankful my favorite band is still standing and back together. If you happen to read this Ed, Chad, Chad and Pat I simply say thank you for everything over the years and good luck making this work.