Ed at TLA in Philly - 9-16-10 Options

[chazeye]

Some thoughts on Ed's show in Philly on Thursday nite. First, I want to say I'm trying not to take sides in the Ed versus CT, CG, PD drama, and that my opinions and this 'review' is simply how I feel.

I didn't enjoy the show at all. In fact, watching / listening to his band play Live songs didn't work for me and I couldn't wait for the show to end! Given that the TLA was more than half empty (which surprised me), I guess I'm not alone in not wanting to watch a new band dip into Live's catalog.

Frankly, I didn't expect to enjoy the show going in, but I tried and wanted to see 'this' for myself and make my own judgements (e.g, gauge the crowd; gauge the band; gauge the energy in the room; etc.). It just sucked. I'll estimate there were 350-400 people there (capacity is a bit over 1,000). Far cry from the soldout house at the TLA in June of 1994, which was my first Live show ever (over 50 since) circa Throwing Copper. That show back in '94 blew my mind, and stamped me as a Live fanatic for life. Maybe I'm over-thinking this, but I had so many great memories and flashbacks racing through my mind while watching Ed's set the other nite........it just made me sad and bummed out to watch the 'new reality' performing on stage before my eyes. Sorry, but this is how I feel, and from where I stand Ed's solo aspirations are doomed to fail. I would love to know what he was thinking staring out into an empty room all nite, too.

I will give Ed some credit for trying and bringing alot of energy and passion to the stage on this nite. He certainly didn't phone it in because of the small crowd, and the people there seemed to enjoy the show (except me!). But I thought the band didn't sound good either (maybe the players; maybe the guy working sound is a moron; maybe a combination), especially on the Live tunes.

Seeing Ed play solo acoustic on the "Broken Wings" tour was and is a cool idea and enjoyable, but watching him play Live songs with a new band is simply bordering on ridiculous. Just doesn't work. As for the Alive album, Drive and Zion are solid songs, but the album overall is terrible with the over the top christian rock themes on every damn song.

I'll stop rambling and end this post. I will say I think Ed's heart is in the right place and I wish him luck, but his new album and this tour are a joke in my eyes. Harsh words, but that's my take and how I feel.

[LivesMeltdown]

Sorry you didn't like the show. I liked the concert a lot and had a great time. Hopefully, you like TGF better if you see them on tour. That may be more of your thing.

This post has been edited by LivesMeltdown: Sep 19 2010, 9:54 am

[livefan1999]

Here's another take on the Philly show. Found it online and it is by someone who isn't associated with this site at all. One very long paragraph (I'm going to break it into several paragraphs for ease of reading), but she did a pretty good job of explaining that she had a good time and enjoyed Ed's show.

Ed Kowalczyk : We All Wanna Dance with You
posted by Nicole C

Thursday, September 16th on a dark, dreary and rain ridden night I stood beneath the awning of the Theater of the Living Arts (TLA), in Philadelphia. People rushed by with umbrellas some make shift, others the real deal, while others preferred trying to run between the rain drops. All of them were oblivious to the fact that I was waiting to see a concert.

Ed Kowalczyk formerly of the band Live was on his first stop of his U.S. tour, and I was going to be first in line to see the show. Standing beside me, unbothered by the rain, the busy street, or the cracks of lightning was my brother. This event, his birthday gift to me, and it turned out to be a memorable one.In the course of just waiting for the doors of the TLA to open, we met "Evil," Pierre, a man who acquired his name by looking rather similar to Philly radio station WMMR's Pierre Robert. I did an interview with a man who won a contest run by Sears about clothes, which hopefully will end up being cut, and never shown to the world.

Finally, the doors opened, we were right up against the barricade and the first opener bounded onto the stage. This band was Miggs, and they entertained for a bit before abandoning the stage for Thriving Ivory. Thriving Ivory was promoting their recently released album, "Through Yourself and Back Again," and not only did they do new tracks, and a few old ones, they included the crowd by having a young girl come up on stage and bang a drum during one of their songs.

However, the real wave of enthusiasm began when the members of Ed Kowalczyk's band took over the stage. The screams, hoots and hollers only got louder once the man himself walked into view. Not only did he show up, he showed up in a jacket, very debonair, though short lived seeing how he eventually sweated himself out of it. There was good reason for his wardrobe change; Kowalczyk is so full of energy that not even the crowd seemed to be able to get enough. He was jumping, dancing, yelling, grabbing hands, interacting with this band, and even taking the time to slow it down and talk.

Kowalczyk explained about his recent team up with World Vision, an organization that makes it possible for children to have clean water. Kowalczyk urged his fans to stop by the World Vision booth at the end of the concert to sponsor a child. At the end of the show there were people at the World Vision booth getting information, not only because it was a good cause, but because Kowalczyk didn't preach about it, so much as talk to us about it.

Kowalczyk's new album, "Alive," came out in July, this is his first release as a solo artist. He performed his first single from the album, "Grace," and of course the crowd already seemed to know all the words. He did not disappoint his long time fans, he played plenty of songs from his former Live albums, but also took the time to introduce and promote his solo work.

The best thing about Kowalczyk was his demeanor, not to say he isn't an amazing singer, but it was his attitude toward the audience, and his band that made all of the performances so memorable. He made himself available to his fans, he was human, and he ended the night making all of us believe we all could dance with him.

There are a several photos there she took as well: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5...e=1290464&cat=8

This post has been edited by livefan1999: Sep 19 2010, 3:08 pm

[livefan1999]

Sorry. somehow I ended up with a double posting of the same thing.....

This post has been edited by livefan1999: Sep 19 2010, 3:09 pm