Review: Kelly Besaw
Photos: Chris Besaw
The multiplatinum band, Live, played a two hour long set to a near sold out crowd at the beautiful Ithaca State Theater on Friday evening. Live’s frontman, Ed Kowalczyk, chose an incredible lineup to fill in for the original members who were not available for the tour dates. He brought along with him Zak Loy who has been part of Live for the past ten years, drummer Robin Diaz is a former member of Hole and has played with Ed for two years and bassist Chris Heerlein who was in Ed’s solo band for six years. They all made it look effortless on the stage and played even the deepest of cuts flawlessly.
Live kicked off their eighteen song setlist with “The Dam at Otter Creek” followed by the ever popular “Selling the Drama.” The acoustic instruments allowed Kowalczyk to showcase his vocals and he proved that he’s still got it. He flaunted his vocal range especially during “The Distance” and They Stood Up for Love.” By the time they played “I Alone” everyone was singing along.
Kowalczyk didn’t talk much other than to preface a few songs with the time period they were from and to comment about how shows are more fun when they are on a Friday night. I was thrilled when I heard the opening chords of “Pillar of Davidson.” I had not heard that one performed live since 2000. There were several times throughout the evening where someone in the crowd yelled for them to play “Shit Towne” Unfortunately, we didn’t get to hear that or “Pain Lies on the Riverside”, but the fans did not leave unsatisfied.
After playing fourteen songs straight, the band ended the regular set with “Lakini’s Juice” before taking a quick break and returned to the stage for a four-song encore that included “Horse,” “Gas Hed Goes West,” “The Dolphin’s Cry” and of course, “Lightning Crashes.”
Since this was a makeup date, the US Tour has come to an end. I hope they plan to hit the road here again soon. They always put on an incredible show.
Setlist:
The Dam at Otter Creek
Selling the Drama
The Distance
All Over You
The Beauty of Gray
They Stood Up for Love
I Alone
Mirror Song
Pillar of Davidson
Ghost
Leave the Radio on
Turn My Head
Overcome
Lakini’s Juice
Encore:
Horse
Gas Hed Goes West
Dolphin’s Cry
Lightning Crashes
