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

[Merica]

Ok, so the setlist was the same as always except Ed did Turn My Head instead of Heaven.

Step in the right direction tbf.

[dangum]

A few videos from [Bryan1055].

All Over You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33R9LWgXBrc

Lightning Crashes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_k0LcVrLU

I Alone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV5i-qiN4rk

[Heather]

Loved the encore of Turn My Head, Mirror Song, and Run to the Water.

Run to the Water has never been a favorite of mine bit it sounded good. Mirror Song was one of the highlights of the show for me.

[EvilOne]

Run to the Water has never been a favorite of mine bit it sounded good. Mirror Song was one of the highlights of the show for me.

Mirror song was the best part of the show for me, I haven't heard that song in forever and it's definitely one of my favorites.

Ed being solo taught him something. His voice is strong and he sounded good.

The energy was excellent last night, Ed was back to galloping around the stage. Taylor did solo's, Patrick kept his groove and Gracey slayed, watching him keep time with his bad arm was interesting.

[FishOutaWater]

Ed's voice sounds so damn good. Chad Taylor was on fire. The guitars were turned up loud and he added some great color with all of those riffs on the Les Paul and the Strat. Pat was grooving as always. What more can you say. I think that Gracey always adds so much to the shows because he is always an animal back there. He is still injured and they had the second drummer and Gracey held back. So that was probably the one downside to this show for me. And Gracey on bongos was particularly missed on Mirror Song. It was nice to hear it with just all guitars, and Chad with the Strat added some nice flavor, but there are those breaks that we all know where they are, where the bongos should come in and mark a visceral peak int he song and it was just a sonic vacuum there and I missed Gracey. There was lots of hugging and smiling and gestures. No messing with the songs, just straight up rock-your-face-off stage show. I personally would like to see a more diverse setlist. I like that they are including Beauty of Gray and Mirror Song marking the 25th anniversary of Mental Jewelry (incidentally, I think the release of Mental Jewelry anniversary addition on vinyl has motivated me to finally go out and buy myself a turntable and get into vinyl). But I would love to see a show again someday where they are playing to the hardcore fans and not the festival goers who want to see the hits. I totally get the need to satisfy the promoters and tickets sales and festival goers who may not be there just to see Live. But someday, I want to be pressed against the front rails of a General Admission crowd listening to Pillars of Davidson and Hold Me Up again.

They brought their kids out at the end of the show and they literally filled one side fo the stage to the other. Mostly daughters and they could field a field hockey team with their brood at this point. Ed made a funny joke about how they went forth and multiplied. Overall great show.

One other point - I am SO SO happy that Black Pistol Fire opened for them. They are one of my all time favorite bands and I didn't even realize they were playing until the morning of the show. Those guys are awesomely amazing! That was a HUGE bonus for me.

This post has been edited by FishOutaWater: Aug 8 2017, 10:50 am

[Heather]

Oh my god. Forgot to mention the opening bands! I loved both of them but Black Pistol Fire was amazing!!! Good to see a night of real good old fashioned rock music! Took my ten year old daughter to the show and needless to say her mind was blown. She said it was the best night of her life! Look out there is a new generation of Live fans emerging!

[FishOutaWater]

One other thing I forgot to mention that should be noted for posterity. Ed played the first third of the concert with his fly down. About a third fo the way into the concert, when Ed, Chad and Pat gathered back by the drum riser, it was pointed out to Ed that his fly was down. Some ladies near me actually noticed that although I personally wasn't looking there and didn't notice it. Ed made a funny gesture while pulling it up and the crowd started laughing and there was a distinctly female vocal response to the event at that point. Ed made a joke to the crowd about "why didn't you tell me?!?!" And then he said they weren't going to break and nudity laws in Bethlehem tonight, at least not until later... An example fo the good spirits...

[throwing_cheetahs]

Turn My Head

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga-E475NzaA

Lakini's Juice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EpXYvBhRB0

This post has been edited by throwing_cheetahs: Aug 8 2017, 12:00 pm

[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

link

[throwing_cheetahs]

The full concert, right here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq41xty4m_Y

[SecretInsomnia]

Check out that Erica's setlist from the Musikfest show:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=181...&type=3&theater (one of the comments under LIVE's most recent Facebook updates).
Is it me or does the setlist she holds really lists "(10000?) Cups of Water" ? Must be the new song, right?
Was it planned to play at this show? Did it not happen (again)? Hmm. Anywayone else has a setlist? Was it on any other setlist before?

Questions, questions ...

[Heather]

Check out that Erica's setlist from the Musikfest show:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=181...&type=3&theater (one of the comments under LIVE's most recent Facebook updates).
Is it me or does the setlist she holds really lists "(10000?) Cups of Water" ? Must be the new song, right?
Was it planned to play at this show? Did it not happen (again)? Hmm. Anywayone else has a setlist? Was it on any other setlist before?

Questions, questions ...

That's odd. I saw another pic of the setlist that was taped to the stage and that wasn't on it. That looks like the exact set they did at the rehearsal I went to. They have changed it up quite a bit at this point. I was at that show and they didn't play it.