Ed Kowalczyk's Australian Tour, Oct/Nov 2010 (Dates inside) Options

[dangum]

I found this review:

****



Ed Kowalczyk @ The Enmore Theatre,
Sydney (31/10/10)

Darkness descends upon the Enmore theatre and a blue haze engulfs a capacity crowd whose gaze is fixated upon the the stage eagerly awaiting the emergence of one of modern rock’s most influential singer songwriters.

As Ave Maria crescendos to an ear piercing climax, the tension is shattered by deep thumping toms and heavy bass that is complemented by atmospheric layers of guitar.

Finally, a surprisingly well dressed Ed Kowalczyk bursts out on to the stage like a fireball of energy that explodes from the first pitch perfect note of All Over You_. The crowd is instantly drawn in, singing every line in harmonious unison to an almost surprised Kowalczyk, who at times, decides to aim the mic at the audience and drink in every musician’s dream of hearing a capacity crowd chant back lyrics that you penned years ago on a napkin in a crowded bar.

Straying some years ago from Live, the heavily influential and successful rock group that he founded in late 80s Pennsylvania, Kowalczyk released his debut solo album Alive earlier this year to mixed reviews, but not from tonight’s crowd, who hang on every word.

Promising to play some new stuff as well as old songs, Kowalczyk declares: “This one is from the vault,” as he carelessly bends the A string of his vintage sunburst Takamine acoustic at the second fret and rips in to Selling the Drama.

Taking a drink break and a chance to engage with the audience, he notes that over the years if you had paid any attention to his lyrics, you would have noticed his seeming obsessive relationship with water. “I think I realised all these years I’ve just been thirsty,” he jokes before breaking in to this reviewer’s absolute personal favourite Dolphin’s Cry.

Pitch-wise, Kowalczyk sounds as those he could be lip synching as he hits every note with perfect precision but more importantly, every word sounds like it has inherent significance to the singer-songwriter.

It has never been a secret that Kowalczyk is a highly spritual performer, injecting hits from classics like Heaven to recent single Grace with powerful religious imagery and sensitive family orientated values.

This side of Kowalczyk shines through during a beautifully intimate rendition of I Am Overcome, backed only by a piano that lets his vocal ability and lyrical passion take centre stage. It is clear at this very moment to every single person in the audience that Kowalczyk truly loves his music and means every lyric, an ideal too often overlooked in modern music.

After belting out Heaven, an ode to his two little girls, Kowalczyk shares an intimate thought that he had recently as he was pouring a glass of water for his daughter: “I realised that there are father’s out there that don’t have the simple luxury of providing their kids with clean water”.

This realisation has seemingly lead to Kowalczyk’s participation in World VIsion’s artist affiliate program, allowing the charity to tour with him and promote their message of a better world for the poorest of earth’s children.

The somber yet hopeful mood is perfectly topped off with a passionate rendition of Lightning Crashes, clearly one of Kowalczyk’s most prized works. The band round off the evening perfectly with Dance With You, clapping along while the audience eagerly chants “I want to dance with you…”

Check out the photos from the gig
http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/gallery/19604/Ed-Kowalczyk

Source: http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/eve...e-Sydney-311010

[dangum]

[Dutchie]

The opening song wasn't All Over You, it was Just In Time.

Also Overcome wasn't just played with the Piano, it started out with just the piano, for perhaps 5/8 of the song and then the drums came in, and then the guitars.

And its, "We all wanna dance with you".

Pardon my nitpicking

This post has been edited by Dutchie: Nov 5 2010, 12:18 am

[Pokey]

Haha guess this reviewer was totally paying attention the the show at hand.

[Wambangalang]

im so torn about going on monday or not...i really cant afford it, got a mate's wedding in a couple of weeks and other bills, and am not that excited about edward these days, then i read reviews like that and remember how awesome a time ive had listening to that music at concerts.....most of me doesnt want to go, but i know if i did i'd get so drunk and sing along to even just in time at the top of my lungs and probably take my shirt off

This post has been edited by Wambangalang: Nov 5 2010, 2:35 am

[Dutchie]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE CONCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERT!!!!! u will regret it if you dont

there has that made it easier?

[michael39]

im so torn about going on monday or not...i really cant afford it, got a mate's wedding in a couple of weeks and other bills, and am not that excited about edward these days, then i read reviews like that and remember how awesome a time ive had listening to that music at concerts.....most of me doesnt want to go, but i know if i did i'd get so drunk and sing along to even just in time at the top of my lungs and probably take my shirt off

Gooooooo.......

[Pokey]

Don't goooooooooo

[jayda]

I think you should go...I wasn't all that excited about it. Didn't have that adrenalin rush beforehand that I get before seeing my fav artists. It's only been recently that I've let go of the pissed off feelings towards Ed. But, I have to admit, Ed's still got it. I'm 100% glad I went. He's still a show pony and all the rest of it but there was also a hint of sincerity to him last night. He still belts out LIVE songs like no one else will ever be able to and that was the highlight of last night for me.

I also think you will regret it if you don't go....I would have!

[Nobody Knows]

Don't go to Ed. Go see N.E.R.D, they're touring Australia atm.

[dangum]

I found some videos up on YouTube from the Brisbane and Melbourne shows.

Melbourne - 5th November 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SChx1NhmVog - Heaven
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P41lK4zlx4 - Lightning Crashes


Brisbane - 2nd November 2010 (courtesy of gerrycan70)
These are some nice close videos with good sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtvHrzBCuyM - Drive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9MUslK0FC0 - Lightning Crashes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PerxiccKtyM - I Alone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNorXkq_pHk - Selling the Drama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY07D08FO88 - Grace

[michael39]

Going to be good....i'll be there tonight.

[maccaz69]

I think you should go...I wasn't all that excited about it. Didn't have that adrenalin rush beforehand that I get before seeing my fav artists. It's only been recently that I've let go of the pissed off feelings towards Ed. But, I have to admit, Ed's still got it. I'm 100% glad I went. He's still a show pony and all the rest of it but there was also a hint of sincerity to him last night. He still belts out LIVE songs like no one else will ever be able to and that was the highlight of last night for me.

I also think you will regret it if you don't go....I would have!

You would def regret missing it I saw it last nyt in Melbs and it was fantastic!!! The way he absolutely gets into the songs its like he loves them and totally lives every lyric. Stand was brilliant it felt harder and edgier than the album version (reminds me of mystery - was a little lame on the album but at paradiso was great) I don't think it would be possible to inject any more energy into it than he did last night. Soul whispers was also great the way it built up reminded me a lot of lightning crashes. He played about 7 songs of Alive so it really was a good mix of music. Best value for money concert i've been to shits all over U2 when I saw them a few yrs ago and that concert was twice the price and I reckon the organisers spent 10 times the money on the stage etc. Was awesome to see a raw act like last night back to the basics of a simple stage setup without the computer graphics and lighting and to let the music and performers do the entertaining. The extras are only for acts lacking in stage presence and entertainment and Ed & co definately is not lacking anything!

[jayda]

I'm just uploading a vid to YouTube now. Takes so bloody long! I don't have patience for this! Posting some pix as well. I was a bit too far back this time to get good pix and all those fat heads in front of me...gee! Here's the link (I could only keep still enough to film songs from Alive...):

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=aussiejayda#p/a








This post has been edited by jayda: Nov 6 2010, 6:28 am

[LivesMeltdown]

http://www.take40.com/news/20816/review:-e...ve-in-melbourne

REVIEW: Ed Kowalczyk Live In Melbourne

I missed the Live craze. I think I was a little too young, perhaps a little bit too uncool to get into that band... but when the prospect of going to check out the band's lead singer Ed Kowalczyk play a show at my favourite venue in Melbourne was mooted, how could I say no?

Getting ready for Ed's show was ritual-like. For a whole afternoon I mined youtube for Live's extensive back catalogue of hits... hoping, praying, Ed was going to oblige and play the classics in-between his recently released first solo record.

Fortunately, he didn't disappoint. It was a total hit parade. Before I get to that though, I will just point out how fantastic the solo stuff sounded... there's a song called 'Zion' that sounded incredible. It hit a serious groove and got me pelvic thrusting.

My favourite Live song 'Heaven' came up a treat... one thing that should also be pointed out is that Australians go absolutely bat poo crazy for these songs... and Ed was totally playing up to it the whole time.

The lead single from the solo record 'Grace' was very powerful -- it's a total anthem. I actually found myself hands in the air singing along to every word, embarrassing my friends and all those unfortunate enough to be standing near me. I didn't care... this gig was all about the big tunes, and that's what Ed does best.

'The Dolphins's Cry', 'I Alone', 'Run To The Water' all sounded blistering... but there was one song in particular that people wanted to see... and it was a highlight of the encore... 'Lightning Crashes'. The old "lighter in the air" may be a little 5 years ago, but I even spotted a few being wielded from side to side under the gloomy ceiling of Melbourne's Forum Theatre.

I was surprised how much I loved this show... Ed delivered in a big way. Call me a fan.

This post has been edited by LivesMeltdown: Nov 6 2010, 5:20 pm