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Official Music
Publication on The Web
Representing The Bay Area for over
Thirty-Five Years
  
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Live ...Rocks The
Bay *
10/19/San Francisco
Edward Joel Kowalczyk- Lead Vocals, Guitar--- Chad David Taylor- Guitar, Vocals-
Patrick Michael Dahlheimer- Bass Guitar--- Chad Allen Gracey- Drums and
Percussion
......Live's music
can still surprise us. My mistake was coming in and expecting something on the
level of Throwing Copper (their best and a highly underrated album).And the big
surprise at Live's performance at the Fillmore in San Francisco was there new
songs from "The Distance to Here" "The
Dolphin's Cry" is classic Live, simple and kicks you in the ***.
But more of the subtler songs like "Face and Ghost",
and "Dance with You" are what make this album great.
"They Stood Up for Love", "Run to the
Water ", "The Distance and basically every other song on this
album are great and it gels so well, they have come back down to earth; finding
inspiration again in melody and leaving overkill behind. For all the talk of
spiritual quests in the Pennsylvania band's lyrics, Live has rediscovered the
simple joys of connecting emotionally with an audience. In recent years, even a
surprise show at a small club left live looking and sounding distant, making
music that failed to connect on a human level. The band's 1997 "Secret
Samadhi" album focused hard on issues of spirituality and existentialism,
but the themes were buried beneath overblown guitars and pointless howling.
Live's new "The Distance to Here" explores similar subjects,
but this time pomposity has given way to real emotion. Standing shirtless and
with a shaved head, singer Edward Kowalczyk still showed a weakness for
high-volume melodrama on Thursday, but this time it was buffered by a new
commitment to crisp song structure. The band's performance of the new
"Sparkle" was built on explosive vocals, grinding guitars and no
sludge. Live also performed a straight-ahead rendition of John Lennon's
"Imagine," prompting fans to sing along and sway in the
aisles. With some distance now from their early-'90s popularity peak, the
members of Live sound more relaxed and less labored. That's a sign of creative
growth, and maybe a first step toward transcendence. By Randy Cohen
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