Even though Live haven’t released their latest album, Songs From Black Mountain, in the United States as of yet, they have been touring steadily throughout the country in 2006. Friday, May 19th, 2006, the tour rolled into Denver, Colorado with a show at the historic Paramount Theater. With its intimate seating capacity of 2,000, this is a prime venue to see any band, and it was no surprise that the show was a quick sell out.
When the lights came down, the crowd roared to its feet as the band sauntered onto the stage rocking their hit, “Simple Creed.” To say the crowd was frenzied would be an understatement. Front man Ed Kowalczyk is an impressive presence on the stage, a modern-day Jim Morrison who owns the venue from the minute he enters. Wearing blue jeans, a blue wife-beater and dark glasses, Ed looked right at home posturing for the audience.
Not missing a step or the energy, the band went immediately into “All Over You” for their second song. Guitarist Chad Taylor flew about the stage like a man possessed by the spirit of Rock, a showman through and through.
About 30 minutes into the set, Ed grabbed an acoustic guitar and did his best Johnny Cash rendition with “I Walk The Line.” The rest of the show was a wonderful sampling of the entire Live catalog, leaning heavily on the first two albums, and the enormously popular Throwing Copper. 1997’s Secret Samadhi was barely touched on, “Lakini’s Juice” being the only song from that disc to make the set.
Younger brother Adam Kowalczyk, who has been touring with Live for seven years now as a second guitarist, is no longer tucked near the back of the stage; he now commands stage left next to Chad and handles a majority of the backing vocals. There is no touring keyboardist this time out; those sounds are pre-recorded, which was the only down note of the show. As Ed came out for the first encore and performed the beautiful “Overcome” to the taped piano, it was a bit of a karaoke moment. Other than that, the evening was a flawless and exuberant performance by one of Alternative Rock’s leading acts. Despite the high altitude, the band never slowed down and Ed never complained about the lack of oxygen, the way so many singers do when in the Mile High City.
Throughout the nearly two-hour show, the audience was on its feet the entire time. The band played two four-song encores, including “The Beauty of Grey,” which was not on the set list. Closing out the show with “Dance With You,” the band left the audience singing the chorus a cappella as they joined each other stage front and took their final bows. They invited the road crew out for the final curtain and waved goodnight to the delighted, yet exhausted, crowd.
Setlist
- Simple Creed
- All Over You
- Selling The Drama
- The River
- Mystery
- They Stood Up For Love
- I Walk The Line [Johnny Cash]
- Wings
- Lightning Crashes
- Lakini’s Juice
- The Dolphin’s Cry
- I Alone
- Heaven
- Show
Encore #1 - Overcome (Ed solo)
- Mirror Song
- Iris
- White, Discussion
Encore #2 - Sofia
- Voodoo Lady
- The Beauty Of Gray
- Dance With You
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