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August 7, 2008
Tripleheader at the Chevy
Why am I doing this?
That was what I was asking myself on the way to the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford Wednesday night to see three bands that had their heydays in the ’90s – Blues Traveler, Collective Soul and Live. Three bands, I should add, that don’t really interest me that much. Separately, I wouldn’t have made the trek to see any of these bands, but three groups in one concert, there had to be some good music to be found.
For the most part, there was.
Blues Traveler was up first and it is the only band of the three that I have seen perform live before and the only one on the bill with an album in my CD collection – a two-disc live album from 1996, “Live from the Fall.”
I was interested in seeing Blues Traveler again because the other time I saw the band was at Toad’s Place in New Haven and that wasn’t very enjoyable. The music was fine, but we were packed into the club like sardines on a steamy summer evening.
The band played for about an hour and was very tight. Singer John Popper, who attended Stamford Catholic High School, may have shed a lot of weight since his gastric bypass surgery a few years ago, but he still has a big voice. His harmonica playing was inspired, too.
Blues Traveler played a couple of songs – “How You Remember It” and “You, Me and Everything” – from the forthcoming album “North Hollywood Shootout,” due out Aug. 26 and they sounded fine. But I, like most of the crowd of about 4,000, wanted the hits. They were delivered with excellent renditions of “Run-Around” and “Hook.”
Up next was Collective Soul, which was easily the most disappointing of the three acts. I walked into the venue not being a huge fan of the band and, sadly, I left the same way. The band had some catchy grunge-lite tunes that became major hits back in the day, so I figured it would at least be an entertaining set. I figured wrong.
Most of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of the people working the soundboard. Were they the only ones in the building who couldn’t tell that the vocals were washed out by the overly loud guitars? Believe me, I love loud guitars, but I also love to hear what the heck the singer is singing. That wasn’t an option Wednesday night.
I could make out some of the songs – such as “Heavy,” “December” and “The World I Know” – and, of course, the smash “Shine.” For that song, they were joined by young singer Hana Pestle, who apparently did an opening set before the 7 p.m. start of the show.
Where Collective Soul turned ridiculous was when they left the stage and came back for an encore. The second act on the bill coming out for an encore? Idiotic. Just play your set and make way for the next band. To top that off, the band came back and played two songs I never heard before. . . . At least, I think I never heard them before. They never did correct the vocal mix, so I couldn’t readily decipher what Ed Roland was singing.
Luckily, the concert ended on a high note. Live sounded really solid and singer Ed Kowalczyk was obviously having fun on stage. The positive energy was reciprocated by the crowd, making for an electrifying set.
The group was on stage the longest, logging around 90 minutes, but unfortunately I had to leave a little past 11, missing the last 20 minutes or so.
I’m sure I missed the hits “Lightning Crashes” and “I Alone,” but I did get to see the band play “All Over You,” “Selling the Drama” and 10 or 11 other songs, including a killer cover of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line.” I wouldn’t have thought that song was open to interpretation, but Live’s atmospheric take on the song was a winner.
Posted by Sean on August 7, 2008 6:35 AM
