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Live in Ahoy` & HMH

Since quite a few years already my wife and I try to attend every concert (excluding festival appearances) by Live in The Netherlands. So when we heard that Live would be doing first one show, then two, we quickly had our tickets. But we were definitely not prepared for what we were going to get... Wednesday June 28. The minute I finish work I leave for Rotterdam, where Live is playing Ahoy`. Two support acts open the evening. A Balladeer is quite nice, and were able to get the (relatively small) crowd going. Proof of the fact that this concert was far from sold out: We came in while A Balladeer was already playing and we easily able to position ourselves nearly at the front, a few rows from the stage. Anyway, A Balladeer was very nice, and the crowd definitely seemed to enjoy their music. Second support was the dutch singer Charlie Dée. Her voice had a ring to it that reminded of Bjork. That was however the only thing that was really positive. Her music didn't fall well for the majority of the audience, which was evident and must've been frustrating to her. When she announced that she'd be starting her last song, the audience gave a loud cheer, mainly because that would mean she'd soon be gone from the stage. I have to admit that she is a talented singer, and so she did not deserve this. But the concert promoter did a bad job selecting her as the second support for this evening. After a short wait, Live came, and started with a surprise in the form of them playing Simple Creed. A lot of the following songs were no surprise. Of course, there was a selection of songs from their new album, Songs From Black Mountain, but this selection was surprisingly small, considering this tour was to support the release of that album. The majority of the show consisted of all the good old songs that most people would like to hear. There were definitely some surprises, such as them playing Iris and Mirror Song. Being slightly biased, I'll say that as always, Live was playing great! However, it seemed they had some technical difficulties, because there were times where timing was off. Adam Kowalczyk's backing vocals at one point were completely mis-timed, and Ed's lead vocals also had some hiccups in timing. It definitely didn't make the party less big. And Live decided to give the fans what they asked for by playing for well over 2 hours. After they finished and we regained consciousness from our living dream of such an extended concert, we had a hard time getting home. It was 4:30 when we finally found our bed. After only two hours of sleep, I had to get up again. Work was awaiting, another day of work which would be followed by the second concert by Live, this time in Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall, a location easier to reach from my work in the center of Amsterdam. After the Ahoy` concert we'd concluded that we were so lucky to have experienced this concert, and that the chance of Live playing that long again were small. Boy, were we wrong. With the Heineken Music Hall being so close to my work, we were able to be at the doors the minute they opened and we were able to get a nice spot right in front of the stage. The Heineken Music Hall was completely packed, this show was sold out, when the support act started. Absynthe Minded was the only support for this concert, and I have mixed feelings about them. Some of the songs they played were brilliant and beautiful, others were outright boring. The audience didn't really seem to be catching on to the enthusiasm of the band. But with 45 minutes, they definitely were able to put down a consistent and solid set. Before the support started playing, the big boss of The Alternative, the concert promoter organizing the concert, announced that they would not limit Live in any way. If Live felt like playing on, they would be able to. Nobody would tell them to stop. This turned out to be the very truth. After the regular set and the first encore, of which the setlist was quite similar to the evening before, the crowd kept cheering “we want more”. More we got, because Live came back for a second encore. And for a third encore. And even for a fourth encore! At that point, it was clear that drummer Chad Gracey was too tired to continue. Judging from the energy coming from the other band members, if Chad Gracey had been able to continue, Live would've played even longer! But by that time, it was well passed midnight already, and they had started playing around 9:30 PM. Nearly three full hours worth of concert! Respect for both Live and all the fans that even up until the last track were able to keep jumping and cheering. So yeah, we had an awesome time! Truly amazing. These two experiences only heighten my love for Live. The bond they seem to have with their fans, and especially their dutch fans, is unique. I definitely know where we will be the next time Live is playing in The Netherlands.
June 30, 2006 - tags: music