Review by Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Venue: Wild Horse Pass, Gila River Resort & Casino (https://wildhorsepass.com/)
Date: Friday June 13th, 2025
If you were among the youngest of Gen-Xers (around 14 or 15 years old) in 1994, and liked “alternative” music, it’s a safe bet to say you vividly remember hearing York, Pennsylvania-based quartet Live constantly on active rock radio.
That year, Live had released its second (major label) full-length album Throwing Copper. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist/ guitarist Ed Kowalczyk, lead guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer and drummer Chad Gracey.
By mid-1995, the band was at its absolute height. To this day, Throwing Copper remains not only Live’s biggest selling album, it remains their best album artistically as well.
Fast forward to 2025, and +LIVE+ now consists of (rightly or wrongly) one original member (Kowalczyk)… and four additional musicians. The current incarnation also features lead guitarist Zak Loy, bassist Chris Heerlein, drummer Johnny Radelat and keyboardist Nick Jay.
Speaking candidly, I was curious to see how the fans would react to this version of the band. When they took the stage at the Showroom at Wild Horse Pass Casino on Fri. June 13th, opening with Pain Lies On The Riverside (from 1991’s Mental Jewelry), the mostly 40-something audience (of roughly 900 in attendance) roared in approval.
But it didn’t take long for them to dive into material from the aforementioned Throwing Copper. In point of fact, no less than seven tunes were played from it during the paltry 85-minute, 16-song set. (Editor’s Note: A 90 minutes set or shorter is not uncommon for shows at a casino. They really want to get the people back out on the floor and gambling.)
The second song of the night, Selling The Drama, obviously went down a storm. Essentially, it’s more or less R.E.M. on steroids. At least to my ears it is.
To that point, Kowalczyk has always worn the influence of (R.E.M.’s) Michael Stipe and U2’s Bono on his sleeve. Or perhaps both sleeves?
To their credit, the current lineup does stay pretty faithful to what the original Live created. The audience rightly came to the show expecting to hear the songs the way they remember them. To that end, the band delivered pretty well. No need to fix something that isn’t broken.
There were also two new songs in the set, Lady Bhang and Goose Blackstone’s (i.e. Ed Kowalczyk’s) Leave The Radio On, respectively. Whether they stand side by side with Live’s classic songs is up for debate. But at least they have the desire to play “new” tunes. I applaud them for that.
It was disappointing that +LIVE+ omitted two of their best songs from the set: Operation Spirit and White, Discussion. The latter in particular would’ve been very fitting, given the divisive times we’re living in now.
Having said that, it was a nice surprise to hear T.B.D. and Rattlesnake. I’ll concede that I did miss the thunderous rhythm section of Dahlheimer and Gracey on T.B.D.
It could be argued that those two are the ones that make the song great. Be that as it may, it was a real treat to hear it live again.
Closing out the main set with Lakini’s Juice (from 1997’s Secret Samadhi), +LIVE+ left the audience wanting a few more. Predictably (but understandably), I Alone and Lightning Crashes were saved for last.
The final verdict? I’ll give it 3.5 out of five stars– on its own merits. With any luck, perhaps they’ll consider adding four more songs to the set at some point.
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
+LIVE+ Set List in Chandler:
Pain Lies On The Riverside
Selling The Drama
All Over You
Iris
Lady Bhang (She Got Me Rollin’)
The Beauty Of Gray
The Distance
T.B.D.
Shit Towne
The Dolphin’s Cry
Leave The Radio On
Rattlesnake
Lakini’s Juice
Encore:
Turn My Head
I Alone
Lightning Crashes
