Bethlehem, PA (Musikfest) - Headlining show, August 7, 2017 Options

[dangum]

http://www.musikfest.org/event/4635/live/

+LIVE+
Monday, August 7
Price: $39 / $59 | Steel Terrace: $169
Venue: Sands Steel Stage at PNC Plaza

ArtsQuest Members (gold+): Tuesday, 5/23, 10am
ArtsQuest Members (all): Wednesday, 5/24, 10am
Tickets on-sale: Friday, 5/26, 10am

[Voodoo Lady]

I've loved reading all of your awesome reviews. So exciting!

[dangum]

Review and photos

Live returns as a unified force during Musikfest (PHOTOS)
Updated on August 8, 2017 at 12:32 PM Posted on August 8, 2017 at 6:30 AM

By Matt Smith

For NJ Advance Media

At their peak, Live was playing in front of tens of thousands of fans in venues across the country thanks largely to their 1994 album "Throwing Copper," which sold more than 8 million copies.

But after the rise and subsequent fall that eventually led to the departure of lead singer Ed Kowalczyk, this year marks the first time since 2009 that the original lineup of the band has hit the road together.

The band that took the stage on Monday night at Musikfest seemed grateful for the opportunity to prove that you can go home again.

Hailing from York, Pennsylvania -- a mere 90 miles from Bethlehem -- the show felt like a homecoming of sorts. The crowd was on their feet for every bit of the 1 hour and 15 minute set, and practically welcomed the group with open arms.

"How are you guys feeling?" Kowalczyk asked as he made a point to check in with the fans every once in a while. Their cheers would continue to grow.

There is still a place for Live with them and it's in the music that, while remaining as fresh today as it was 20-plus years ago, instantly transports listeners back to another time.

"We're going to take you back to the days of much larger cellphones." Kowalczyk said heading into "Selling the Drama."

It was a line that got a curious cheer from a nostalgic crowd; many of whom had 6- to 7-inch smartphone screens raised in the air.

All the hits from "All Over You" to "I Alone" thrived on the quality of the song that holds up to this day. Kowalczyk's voice, while compressed a bit from the range it once had, poured over the arena with confidence.

While "Throwing Copper" had the most representation on the set with five songs, the band's 1991 debut album "Mental Jewelry" was well represented with four. The make or break intensity of a band trying to stake their claim 25 years ago was still evident on "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)."

The vitality of the songs was inadvertently enhanced by having two drummers, as Chad Gracey was backed up by Robin Diaz while nursing a serious injury that left him unable to use his right arm while it hung in a cast.

"There was an injury," Kowalczyk said early on. "I'm not going to go into all of the gory details."

Live was at its best with the back-to-back rock crunch of "Lakini's Juice" and "White, Discussion." Complete with interludes of sheer fierceness that left guitarist Chad Taylor and bassist Patrick Dahlheimer stomping across the stage as Kowalczyk literally ran laps around it.

That momentum was halted with the stripped down retort of "Turn My Head" and "Mirror Song" with Kowalczyk solo and then flagged by Taylor and Dahlheimer. It was later followed by a cover of Audioslave's "I Am the Highway."

"This is one of the gifts given to us by the incomparable Chris Cornell," Kowalczyk said of the singer who died earlier this year.

He dared not to emulate Cornell's vocal style, but delivered the touching tribute simply while bathed in purple light.

The set closed with what will be the band's most enduring song in "Lightning Crashes." Concert-goers sang the majority of the choruses as the singer would extend the microphone to them as if saying "we're all in this together right now."

Kowalczyk name-dropped "Bethlehem" numerous times and truly wanted it to be known that the band recognizes where it is and where it came from.

For one moment in the finale, he even had his arms around Taylor and Dahlheimer while looking out over the audience with a big grin as the band kept the music going.

It's unclear if Live intends to build off of its newfound unity or not. But all these fans could hope for is that they continue to check back in with them every once in a while.

Matt Smith is a contributing photographer. Follow him on Twitter @msmith_photo. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainm...ified_forc.html

Setlist

1. All Over You
2. Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)
3. Pain Lies on the Riverside
4. The Dolphin’s Cry
5. Selling the Drama
6. I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash song)
7. The Beauty of Gray
8. I Alone
9. Lakini’s Juice
10. White, Discussion
11. Turn My Head
12. Mirror Song
13. Run to the Water
14. I am the Highway (Audioslave song)
15. Lightning Crashes

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