Mount Pleasant, MI (Soaring Eagle Entertainment Hall), December 30, 2022 Options

[dangum]

December 30, 2022
Mount Pleasant, MI
Soaring Eagle Entertainment Hall

Band consists of:

Ed Kowalczyk
Zak Loy (guitar)
Robin Diaz (drums)
Chris Heerlein (bass)

Support act: Tonic

For general discussion about lineup/tour: Tour Dates 2022

[dangum]

https://twitter.com/Freaks4Live/status/1585979701364805632


Tickets cost: $56, $66, $78 & $84

[Hoodstock]

Got my tix, should be a good show tonight!

Show is pretty much sold out. No GA left. Only a handful of available single seats scattered throughout the venue. Just two days ago there were quite a few tix still available in the further back sections.

This post has been edited by Hoodstock: Dec 30 2022, 12:53 pm

[SJN1279]

Got my tix, should be a good show tonight!

Show is pretty much sold out. No GA left. Only a handful of available single seats scattered throughout the venue. Just two days ago there were quite a few tix still available in the further back sections.

Enjoy it!

[Voodoo Lady]

I look forward to your review of the show, Hoodstock.

I’m finding it weird that no one from the band posted anything before the show on social media today.

[SJN1279]

I look forward to your review of the show, Hoodstock.

I’m finding it weird that no one from the band posted anything before the show on social media today.

Me too!

Zak is out of this show. I believe his wife is giving birth shortly.

[beautyofgray25]

Same setlist as the other shows this year as suggested by setlist.fm, hoping for a few changes on it for 2023 but its pretty solid as it is.

Hold Me Up
All Over You
Freaks
Selling the Drama
The Dolphins Cry
Pain Lies on the Riverside
Run to the Water
Brothers Unaware
Stage
Shit Towne
Mother Earth is a Vicious Crowd
Turn My Head
They Stood Up for Love
White, Discussion
-
Overcome
Heaven
Lakini’s Juice
I Alone
Lightning Crashes

[Hoodstock]

It's a great setlist. Loy was not on guitar, Ed said he was on baby watch (2nd kid on the way). Some guy named Lenny (I believe) did the show. Ed said he flew in and made the show happen.

[Hoodstock]

I look forward to your review of the show, Hoodstock.

I’m finding it weird that no one from the band posted anything before the show on social media today.

There was some Līve merch at the show. A few different t-shirts with the 5 tour dates for $35, a red long sleeve shirt with dates for $70, and a bandana (didn't catch the price). Will be interested to see if the merch shows up somewhere for less now that the tour us over. If anyone comes across it please let me know.

Had no expectations for Tonic but they sounded good. Knew a few songs, the ones I didn't know were fine, and they ended with a few covers. Lead singer was interactive, the vocals were clear, and the lead guitarist was very skilled. Ripped off a few solos and did a nice job.

Live came on stage and it was immediately noticable that they were exponentially louder in stage. Performing at the volume of Tonic would have made for a better show.

Not sure if it was the volume, mic settings, or the actual mic but it was fairly difficult to understand the lyrics Ed was singing at times. The kickoff, Hold Me Up, sounded like a wall of sound and my wife had no idea what was being played or said. After that there seemed to be a slight adjustment to the mix.
Līve sounded a little less like a wall of sound but it continued to be really loud and difficult to make out lyrics at times. Not an issue for me because I know all the words but for the casual person some of it would be hard to distinguish what Ed was saying at times.

Loy was definitely missed on stage. To the casual viewer the difference wouldn't be anything but to an invested fan it was noticeable. Pretty sure he's never played with the band (outside of maybe a few rehearsals) and he's definitely not a soloist like Zac. That being said, they guy did an admiral job under the circumstances. IMO he's a rockstar for filling in so the show could happen.

All in all, I really enjoyed the show. I'm sure there were people who didn't know some of the songs, hoping to hear more hits, but I loved the setlist. That alone made the show worth it. Hearing Mother Earth, Brothers Unaware, Hold Me Up, Stage, Freaks, Pain Lies On the Riverside, and They Stood Up For Love (plus some hits) all in the same show was amazing. I almost wish they had just ended with I Alone but the audience is loved Lightning Crashes at the end.

If Līve is Ed with Loy and this band going forward that's fine with me. I get that some people won't be able to get past that but for my money it was a fun Līve concert.

[Voodoo Lady]

Thanks for your review, Hoodstock. I enjoyed reading.
Interesting about the sound… My friend went to a NY show and was telling me it was so loud, he could barely stand it, with ear plugs! His wife didn’t have ear plugs and had to leave to another part of casino.

I am cool with Ed and The Replacements going forward, forever, if must be. I want to see/hear this setlist in person so badly. I am disappointed that this tour did not expand past 5 tour dates. I don’t understand why it didn’t get rolled out to a solid fall/winter tour with average of 5 nights a week. I’m hoping a tour like this happens in 2023 and Ed makes it to the southern states. These “fly out” dates and festival dates, aren’t really the way to do it, in my opinion.

Glad you had a fun time at the show.

This post has been edited by Voodoo Lady: Dec 31 2022, 12:03 pm

[Ecstatic Fanatic]

Awesome show. I agree that Zak was missed, but overall this was probably the best concert I have been to in a long time. The fill-in guitarist did more than well given the circumstances, and I am a big fan of Robin on the drums. The keyboardist was a nice addition. I don’t feel he took away from anything on the songs where you don’t need a keyboardist, but he definitely played a good role when needed. I didn’t feel that the lyrics were too hard to pick up, but will admit the volume was higher than I expected. Glad I bought some earplugs for the show so I didn’t lose any hearing.

The crowd seemed pretty full, but I get the impression that a lot of the people probably got comp tickets from the casino. The people next to me left before the show ended, and a lot of people didn’t seem that into the music. Having said that there were more people singing along to Freaks and Brothers Unaware than I would have expected. So maybe there are more diehard fans than just the dozen or so of us on this message board.

I’ll also add the venue wasn’t as bad as I expected for a casino. But the location left a lot to be desired. It was two hours from Detroit, and like an hour from Lansing. So you didn’t have a lot of big people centers drawing people in. That probably accounted for, the lower amount of people into the music.

But if they bring this show to your neighborhood, go! Seriously, just go, and you’ll enjoy it. Forget about the drama with Taylor, Gracey, Pat, and Chris, and anything else. Just go and listen to the music and you will be ecstatic.

[Merica]

Nice one, glad you guys had a good time.

[ccumberw]

The band simply is not LIVE without Chad Taylor and the rest of the original members. Last night's show was a huge disappointment. Especially when Ed forgot the words to some of his own songs. I knew nothing of the happenings over the summer so I was shocked not to see LIVE members on stage. I have been a fan of LIVE since they were called Public Affection. There was little to no enthusiasm by any of the musicians last night. Whether Ed fired the band or they quit I think the problem is with Ed. Years ago he took the lead singer bonus and now he supposedly fired the band. But according to Ed none of the band members are talking to each other and all have lawsuits pending against each other, which I find hard to believe. Personally, I have an inkling that Ed is an egomaniac which is a shame because he talked about peace and loving one another last night. I think he needs to listen to his own advice. LIVE will never ever be the same. RIP - LIVE.

-Chad

[Merica]

Hey Chad, you got a copy of New City? Would make for a banging end to 2022 / start to 2023 (depending on when you read this, ha ha ha, Happy New Year fella.)

[ccumberw]

Hey Chad, you got a copy of New City? Would make for a banging end to 2022 / start to 2023 (depending on when you read this, ha ha ha, Happy New Year fella.)

New City?