Lancaster, PA (Chameleon Club), June 5th, 1994 Options

[AgentK7]

June 5th is the 25th anniversary of Live's "All Ages" show at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the closest stop they made to their hometown in 1994. This is definitely my favorite Live show. They toured steadily from April through the end of the year supporting Throwing Copper. The first major leg of that tour they were supported by Vic Chesnutt and Angelfish (Shirley Manson's pre-Garbage band).

The Chameleon was filled to capacity with all the hometown fans looking forward to their first performance locally after the release of Throwing Copper. (Actually, they played the Chameleon the night before, but that was a 21 and over show and I wasn't old enough to attend...I'm sure the "All Ages" show had a much more enthusiastic crowd).

Ed came out and performed Supernatural with Vic Chesnutt. I believe Vic Chesnutt made jokes about how hot Shirley Manson was before Angelfish came out. They were pretty decent. Wikipedia informed me that Manson had already met with the other members in Garbage but Kurt Cobain's suicide delayed any concrete plans and Manson went on to tour with Angelfish. They disbanded right after their leg of the tour with Live and she moved on with Garbage shortly thereafter.

Regarding Live's performance at the show, after 25 years I don't remember their setlist but the show started off with The Dam At Otter Creek. Just like how it sets up the atmosphere of the album it was a perfect lead song for their show. I do remember the setlist was strictly songs from Throwing Copper and Mental Jewelry. I think they had completely phased out Public Affection songs once they started mixing Throwing Copper songs into their set in 1993.

I do remember Ed mentioning Kurt Cobain and there was a tease that they'd play a Nirvana song but it didn't happen.

Another memory of this show is that it's the first time I recalling seeing Ed's "new" bald look. According to the internet the I Alone video was released in May of 1994 so it seems like I would have already seen the video. (MTV was still playing mostly videos at that point and Live were their darlings at the time)' Maybe it was just the shock of seeing him whip his little rat tail around. It's crazy how that quickly became an iconic part of his identity (the bald look that is, glad he eventually snipped the rat tail).

Live had a Throwing Copper signing session before the show at BBC Records, around the corner from the Chameleon. I think I might have taken a peak from down the block but it may have been too crowded to bother with. I know I wanted to get in line early for the show so we could stand directly in front of the stage more then attending that.

I searched through a lot of old stuff I had to try to find the set list for the show. I thought I had it written down somewhere but I'm sure it was very similar to what you'll find on boots of that leg of the tour.

I did find the Chameleon club flyers from May in June which advertised the show. Karl Heitmueller, the manager of BBC Records, created the artwork for the Chameleon's monthly schedule through out the mid 90s. Each month was definitely a work of art and when he moved on it was never the same. His website that showcases a lot of his stuff can be found here. I'll also be posting an interview I found that he conducted with Ed on the eve of Throwing Copper's release. I don't think it's already available on the website.

Chameleon May 1994 Schedule

Chameleon June 1994 Schedule