Connecticut Review, 8/6/08 Options

[SJN1279]

Notes:

-Probably the best crowd that I've seen so far this tour. The crowd was amazingly into the show.

-Band opened with Simple Creed and played Operation Spirit in the encore. Run to the Water, The Distance were also played, otherwise it was a standard set ending with Lightning Crashes.

-Live was in great spirits and seemed to appreciate the awesome crowd. I never would have believed that the band would have such a strong following in Wallingford, Connecticut. Who knew?!

[brianblank]

Another article: Hartford Courant: Musical Time-Travel Worth The Trip by Bill Clifford

[SJN1279]

Another article: Hartford Courant: Musical Time-Travel Worth The Trip by Bill Clifford

Musical Time-Travel Worth The Trip
By BILL CLIFFORD | Special To The Courant
August 8, 2008
The triple bill of Live and Collective Soul with Blues Traveler had the makings of a VH1 "Behind The Music" episode. Three bands which all met with considerable success in the '90s, but have yet to repeat that success.

Disappointingly, when Blues Traveler walked on stage at the Chevrolet Theater in Wallingford, much of the audience was either on the patio smoking or in the lobby admiring the showroom vehicles. The band nonetheless, put on a dazzling performance. Front man Jon Popper was in fine form, showing off his harmonica prowess, blowing fast up and down the scales on the driving rock of "NY Prophesie" and bellowing his smoky vocals on the new "How You Remember it."

The middle-age crowd came to its feet and sang along when the band busted out hits such as "Runaround." Noting they had time for one more, Popper led the band into one of its oldest songs, "Sweet Talking Hippie," which built faster and faster till it segued into a thumping "Crash Burn" and, finally, into the band's biggest hit, "Four," which got the female contingency shaking their hips.

For Collective Soul, the theater did fill, and the crowd remained, on its feet. Performing a collection of hits such as "December," "World I Know," and "Hollywood," Collective Soul enticed the ladies in the house to scream and coo.



Front man Ed Roland played the part to a tee, running his hand through his buttery blond mane every chance he could. Hana Pestle, who opened the night with an acoustic performance, accompanied Roland on "Shine," with a fine gospel falsetto voice.

Live's last CD, released in 2006, met with moderate success. On Wednesday night, the band's driving rock anthems with spiritual inclinations lifted the spirits of the audience. They performed 16 songs, most a radio staple at one time, such as "All Over You," the first to have the audience singing along, "The Distance," "The River," and "Wings" the latter two from the most recent CD.

To the delight of the full house, Live's three-song encore closed with its biggest hit, "Lightning Crashes," beginning on a slow tempo, with Ed Kowalczk singing and guitarist Chad Taylor playing acoustic, and built to a striking arena rocker.

This concert was every bit the nostalgia fest it was lined up to be. That said, three bands separated by genre; bar band blues rock, cheesy hair band metal and driving grunge respectively, but connected by a decade, brought a nearly full house of adults to its feet and made the audience feel good, dance and sing along.

[Hoodstock]

cheesy hair band metal

"Cheesy" - Nailed CS right on the head!