This Live video completely shook me yesterday... Options

[edstipe]

Yesterday I swung over to bootlegheaven.com and downloaded a video of Live performing "Operation Spirit" on the Dennis Miller Show way back in 1992. As I watched it, a wave of emotion and realization swept over me. I came to realize why certain people on here continue to pine for the days of the old Live, the Live that existed in the early 1990's, a Live that was a totally different band than the Live of today. I have been one to be critical of those who can't let go of the old stuff and accept the fact that the band has grown and matured, but watching this video let me in to WHY it is so hard to let go of what used to be.

If you watch the video, there is an obvious passion and desperation to the band that simply isn't present today. Today, we rejoice over a Live performance if Ed's vocals hit the right pitch and sound pretty. Back then, it was all about the power and emotion of the whole of the music -- the way it hit you in the gut like a bowling bowl and refused to let you breathe. Back then Ed seemed to be concerned about nothing more than baring his mind and soul for his listeners, and strained with all his might to do so; now, he seems to be more of the typical "sexy" rock and roll star who struts on to the stage knowing that simply opening his mouth is adequate.

I'm not saying that I don't like and respect the new Live, because I do. I thoroughly enjoy SFBM and count their live performances as among the top in the entire music business. However, I have to wonder what the band thinks when they see an old performance like this one. Do they think that the old passion was silly? Or do they simply give in to the fact that they can’t summon that level of spirituality these days? Or, perhaps, do they look back fondly and recognize the old style as simply a stepping stone to their current selves?

I suppose that after you’ve sold millions of records, played hundreds of shows in front of hundreds of thousands of people, and made millions of dollars, it is inevitable that a certain amount of any band’s youthful energy and rawness is going to fade. However, I can’t help but wishing sometimes that there was a band still out there who could reach me in the same style as circa 1992 Live. I love the guys and their music now, but there’s something about the shock to the soul that I felt when watching the Dennis Miller video that would do me a world of good in my life right now.

For those of you who have felt what I feel, I invite your thoughts on this. For those who have not, I encourage you to check out the video I am referring to and share what you think. The video can be found on bootleg heaven.com for download, or you can view it on youtube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj-X6EO3GZk

[mfitz804]

You simply cannot compare the spirited, emotional exuberance of an 18 year old kid to that of a thirtysomething year old man. You have to recall, they were just kids in 1992. They have grown older, matured, and probably lost some of that excitement that they used to have when they first started. Its not just Live, its a lot of bands.

Compare an early live Pearl Jam performace to their current offerings. Vedder was a madman in 1992-3, and by the time I saw them in 1998, he was just standing there in front of a microphone, arms crossed. He literally gave half the performance he used to.

That said, I agree with you totally. I recently watched the video of Operation Spirit from the Awake DVD, and to be honest, you wouldn't even know it was the same band if you were only a casual observer. I like Live now, but damn they were cool then.

[edstipe]

You simply cannot compare the spirited, emotional exuberance of an 18 year old kid to that of a thirtysomething year old man. You have to recall, they were just kids in 1992. They have grown older, matured, and probably lost some of that excitement that they used to have when they first started. Its not just Live, its a lot of bands.

I completely agree, and that's the realization I have succumbed to. I don't expect Live to ever be that way again -- but I hope another young, vibrant band comes along soon who makes me feel the same way. Man, Live was something special back then!

[LiveRiverside]

Agree 100%, Stipe. I also miss the gravely voice from Ed. I love how he seemed to growl out some of the songs back then. Combined with the passion, they were a sight to behold. I've been looking around for bands that exhibit that same passion today and have been pleasantly surprised by Chris Daughtry's band Absent Element. They are heavier than early LIVE, but Daughtry has the grinding vocals and the music has the raw edge I miss. Oh, and the lyrics are pretty good too.

I just got SFBM today, and I'm only four songs into it so far. Not bad, but I still miss that passion.

[mfitz804]

Man, Live was something special back then!

Damn right. That's what hooked me. In fact, today is the first Live album release date that I missed getting the CD since I started listening, from the TC release through Awake. But only because I couldn't get to the store. I shall get it tomorrow.

[sandkind]

i agree with you, but it has always been that way for me. it all started with zeppelin, replaced for me with early van halen, replaced by extreme, replaced by both live and collective soul. it is difficult to come across a band that moves me the way these did. i still have semi-hopes for smile empty soul, as their cd really gets me, but they have appeared to fade away. their new cd was supposed to have come out last fall, but it has yet to appear. plus, even if it does come out, i really doubt it will meet my expectations. few bands can deliver disc after disc that move me the way live's does. but i agree, the older stuff is just phenomenal.

[Elise]

I totally agree. Music is so powerful, I can shut my eyes and be back in another place in time when I hear that song. It is like seeing and hearing a different band. I know many of the people on here became fans after TC. I was hooked immediatly after one viewing of Pain Lies on the Riverside on MTV. Went out, bought the CD and it is still in my car CD player today. I will take what I can get, it is better than never seeing or hearing them again, but it is like listening to a different band.

[Elise]

By the way, what do you think they think when they look at that old footage and then listen to SFBM. Do they really believe it is just as good?

[mfitz804]

I totally agree. Music is so powerful, I can shut my eyes and be back in another place in time when I hear that song. It is like seeing and hearing a different band. I know many of the people on here became fans after TC. I was hooked immediatly after one viewing of Pain Lies on the Riverside on MTV. Went out, bought the CD and it is still in my car CD player today. I will take what I can get, it is better than never seeing or hearing them again, but it is like listening to a different band.

Its been in your CD player all this time? Wow!

What I REALLY miss is Pat's totally funked out bass playing. He could really thump it back then he is way more mellow now.

[WaiterAtCliftons]

By the way, what do you think they think when they look at that old footage and then listen to SFBM. Do they really believe it is just as good?

I highly doubt it.

[mfitz804]

By the way, what do you think they think when they look at that old footage and then listen to SFBM. Do they really believe it is just as good?

I don't believe they sit around comparing their old material to their new material as us fans do. One can only assume that they have continued making the music they want to make, and they are probably satisfied with that. And all the money they have made and their hot wives/girlfriends.

[WaiterAtCliftons]

And all the money they have made and their hot wives/girlfriends.

That's all that would matter to me

[Elise]

Its been in your CD player all this time? Wow!

MJ, TC and the TDTH, do you think I am having a hard time letting go????

This post has been edited by Elise: Jun 6 2006, 9:00 pm

[Heather]

the way it hit you in the gut like a bowling bowl and refused to let you breathe.

That's exactly it. That's EXACTLY the thing that I miss. When I sat down and watched the Awake dvd it actually made me cry. Not good tears but sad ones. To see the videos broken down that way from how they were back then to the last video, Run Away. That was it for me. I realized at that moment that Live would never move me the way that they used to. I'm not saying it's their fault, of course bands change over time but it really does bother me when people tell me to stop living in the past and longing for another Throwing Copper. I don't want another Throwing Copper I just want the band that I have loved for the past 12 years to give me what I know they are, or once were, capable of. It just makes me sad to know that I will never be hit in the gut by their music again. I think that anyone should be able to understand that. I miss everything that they used to be. To me they are a totally different band now. If SFBM was their first cd I never even would have noticed it much less bought it.

[valleygirl]

I hear what your saying Edstripe. I agree.