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

[jayda]

Nice job Dan. You've got a steady hand. The audio is much better than mine...I got a whole lot of distortion. Parts were really good and then crackle buzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Now, how can anyone make you out in that picture above?!

Looks like the band were a whole lot closer to Ed at the Metropolis than at the Forum. There were really spread out at the Forum...bigger stage?

Also, does anyone know why Ramy is off to the side rather than behind like is usually the case with other drummers. Would this relate to the plexiglass 'cage' Gracey was holed up in?

[dangum]

A review of the concert from XPress Magazine

ED KOWALCYZK

Metropolis Fremantle
Monday, November 8, 2010



Renowned worldwide as the former lead singer and driving force of multi-platinum rock band Live, it’s fair to say that the world (or at least the part of it made up of turn-of-the-century rock aficionados) was clamouring for a solo excursion from iconic bald-headed US singer-songwriter Ed Kowalczyk since the dissolution of his group in early 2007.

On Monday night at Metropolis Fremantle, local punters feeling an unexplainable need to indulge in 1990s nostalgia were treated to an evening with the iconic Ed – and band – drawing on his new solo material as well as a mix of reinterpreted favourites and international chart-topping hits from the Live back catalogue.

Although it’s important not to be too harsh on Kowalczyk – his set was solid and his on-stage banter often entertaining – problems arose when the singer attempted to reaffirm what Live had; that is gravitas. A certain cultural punch.

A one-paced affair enamoured with drawn-out ambient intros, four-note rumbles for basslines, choruses that seemed to go on forever, and occasional half-hearted stabs at ‘groove’, Kowalczyk’s disappointing set was trapped in the bounds of ’90s-era alternative-rock, his live iterations failing to pack the visceral thrill of Live’s fury-fuelled garage rock.

Whilst it might have been unreasonable to expect Kowalczyk to remain pure and ingenuous indefinitely, the performance of his new tunes seemed overblown and oblique by comparison to the old; his overwrought delivery sitting uneasily with his enigmatic stage presence and the unwavering strength of his voice.

For example, the rock ballad In Your Light began with the gently fragile strumming of an acoustic guitar, as Kowalczyk whispered “Sometimes I find myself beholding all the gifts/some magnificent power gave me in the form of my two kids/can’t dream of being good enough to deserve even half of this/so let me thank you one more time and seal it with a kiss,” – however, unsurprisingly, it turned into a booming anthem half-way through, completely drowning out the sweet sentiments in his lyrics.

Urging his audience to “take over for a little bit” during the choruses of nearly every one of his songs (including a few brand new tracks), the audience disseminated many of the main vocal melodies themselves, resigned to watching the singer drape himself over the mic stand, jump from one side of the stage to the other and fist-pump his way through the best-known parts of his songs.

In fact, as the night progressed it seemed that the harder he tried to rock out with wild abandon the less he finished up actually singing, making his live set more like an incredible simulation of a Kowalczyk gig rather than an actual Kowalczyk show.

Blame the break-up of Live, blame the fact that it was a Monday or simply chalk this review up to a matter of taste – if, for Kowlacyzk, Alive truly is the rebirth he says it is, then kudos to him. Tonight’s show proved, if nothing else, that Kowlacyzk seems to have adjusted to the solo spotlight just fine.

_JENNIFER PETERSON-WARD
http://www.xpressmag.com.au/index.php?opti...iews&Itemid=127

[+Ed+]

[SJN1279]

Did Ed sing "In Your Light" Dan?

[dangum]

Did Ed sing "In Your Light" Dan?

Nope. I'm not sure why the reviewer mentioned that track...

[SJN1279]

Nope. I'm not sure why the reviewer mentioned that track...

I wonder how many reviewers actually attend the show and watch an entire set of what they are reviewing.

This post has been edited by SJN1279: Nov 11 2010, 10:43 am

[LivesMeltdown]

http://eastern-courier-messenger.whereiliv...into-the-night/

Ed Kowalczyk: Singing and dancing into the night

WHETHER Ed Kowalczyk was performing to a room of 1000 or 40,000, you get the sense that the energy of his performance would not differ.

In Adelaide, for his Alive world tour, an intimate crowd at Thebarton Theatre on Sunday, November 7, lapped up every second of his powerhouse performance.

The concert featured Ed and a cracking live band including his brother, guitarist Adam Kowalczyk.

It may not have been his former band on stage, but the musical chemistry and musicianship was second to none.

Material from Ed’s new solo album, Alive fared well with the crowd.

The biggest cheers were reserved for radio hit Grace along with current single, The Everlasting Love.

The new material mixed well with classics from Live, with versions of I Alone and Selling the Drama sounding better than ever.

Overcome, written in the wake of 911, saw Ed’s voice shine alongside solo piano, while renditions of Lightening Crashes and Dance With Youleft the crowd unified in the belief that they were seeing a true artist who has been reborn.

Live may be over, but importantly the great songs of Ed Kowlczyk live on.

At one stage fans joined in a unified chorus: ``We all want to dance with you into the night.’‘

We would have happily danced and sang with Ed all night long.

[dangum]

Let's count the number of errors in this article...

The biggest cheers were reserved for radio hit Grace along with current single, The Everlasting Love.

Overcome, written in the wake of 911, saw Ed’s voice shine alongside solo piano,

while renditions of Lightening Crashes

At one stage fans joined in a unified chorus: "We all want to dance with you into the night."

1. The latest single in Australia is 'Stand'
2. Overcome wasn't written anywhere near 9/11
3. Most journalists would run a spell check before submitting an article.
4. While there is a possibility that the crowd added "into the night" to the sing-along during Dance With You, based on this journalist's track record I'm going to assume that they didn't.

[+Ed+]

I "love" the way LC is usually called Lightening.

[dangum]

I've synced up a better audio recording to my video. The result is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9iodykirSg

[LivesMeltdown]

Very nice!! Thanks Dan!

[dangum]

Here's some more footage from the Perth, Australia show
It's the new version of 'Overcome' - overdubbed with a high quality audience recording.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxCzhqQXn2U

[dangum]

A DVD of the Perth (8th November 2010) can be downloaded here:
http://www.fansoflive.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3755

[Hoodstock]

Ed must be huge in Australia. Just saw a video of "Stand" and noticed that the Enmore Theater had his name spelled incorrectly on the marquee.

Check it out at the 3 second mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH1XwFxKUu8

[brett]

old news.