Collective Soul
September 14, 2009
The Grand Ballroom, San Francisco, CA
By Dan Wall
Collective Soul Set List: Welcome All Again, Heavy, Listen,
Tremble For My Beloved, Why Pt. 2, Needs, Dig, You, December,
Shine, Hollywood, The World I Know, I Don’t Need Anymore
Friends, Better Now. Encore: Staring Down, Gel, Run. 1 hour, 35
minutes.
Black Stone Cherry Set
List: Rain Wizard, Blind Man, Cowboys, Please Come In, Soul
Creek, Reverend Wrinkle, Lonely Train, Things My Father Said, We
Are the Kings/Voodoo Chile. 45 minutes.
Collective Soul is a band
that has been constantly evolving since it first burst on the
scene back in the 1994 with the mega-hit “Shine.” Once thought
of as a faceless hit machine, the band has become a solid
recording act and touring entity since coming back from a break
that bridged the band’s fifth and sixth records.
The quintet’s recent show at
San Francisco’s Grand Ballroom was a career-spanning 95 minutes
that featured all the band’s hits, some new songs and a few
chestnuts thrown in for good measure. Like most Collective Soul
shows, the band’s devoted crowd helped elevate the performance
and make this show even better than it should have been, even
better than I expected.
It took me 10 years to see
this band live, but after seeing the band six times since 2004,
I can report that these guys are even better live than on
record, and that the group rocked much heavier when onstage.
Virtually every song played far surpassed the recorded versions
we’ve come to know and love. The riffs for songs such as “Heavy”
and “Why Pt. 2” were bigger than life, and the lengthy version
of “Shine,” moved to a position mid-set from its usual encore
slot, nearly tore the roof off the theater.
Many of you might be
wondering why Collective Soul is being covered on this website,
and the argument is much easier to make when you consider the
band’s influences-The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick,
David Bowie and especially The Cars, classic rockers all. Also,
if we don’t start seeking out and finding bands that adhere to
and love classic rock as much as modern, alternative sounds (and
this band sounds much more classic than most of today’s top
bands), then in about 10 years, we won’t have anything to write
about. Plus, these guys have been around nearly 20 years to
begin with, so classic rock status is right around the corner
for the band, anyway.
Back to the show, and it’s
easy to see whom the leader of this group is-vocalist Ed Roland,
who sings all but one song, wrote them all and plays guitar for
about half of the set. He’s the focal point, the star, and the
guy who drives this band’s engine onstage and in the studio.
Roland shares the spotlight
with his brother, guitarist Dean, who plays most of the beefy
riffs live along with lead guitarist Joel Kosche, who plays
tasty solos and adds shading to the slower moments such as “The
World I Know” and “You.” Bassist Will Turbin and new drummer
Cheney Brannon help fill out the best live unit the band has
ever fielded onstage. (One of the noticeable changes to the
band’s appearance-everyone has grown out their hair, and now
each member has their own identity. There definitely was a time
when you couldn’t tell one Soul guy from another, but those days
are over).
The highlights were
plentiful, with the crowd adding background vocals to the
biggest songs played, including an impressive version of the
set-closing “Better Now” and the finale encore of “Run.” The new
songs fit nicely along the classics, and all in all, it was a
fine way to spend a Monday night in the city.
The show was made even
better by the inclusion of openers Black Stone Cherry. The
Kentucky-based southern rockers absolutely ripped the place up
with 45 minutes of modern sounding (think Soundgargen) rock,
with obvious Southern rock influences (think Skynyrd). The band
is about as classic as new rock gets, mixing references to
classic blues acts, Z.Z. Top and Hendrix into the show that
featured nine of its best songs.
Another band with a southern
rock pedigree (drummer John Fred Young’s father plays guitar for
the Kentucky Headhunters), the quartet knows how to play big,
beefy rock songs that ooze with melody and sentiment. Just
listen to songs like “Things My Father Said” and try not to be
moved. Or if the slower, more introspective songs aren’t quite
your thing, the roaring “Lonely Train” or ballsy “Rain Wizard,”
will have your head banging and feet moving.
BSC
made quite an impression during its second local appearance, if
the crowd lined up at the merch booth after the set is any
indication. Hopefully, these guys will come back on its next
tour to headline-the band is already a massive act in Europe,
and heads over this month to headline its own shows there.
