Watch Video From Live’s Surprise New Year’s Eve 2016 Reunion Concert
Having reunited with original lead singer Ed Kowalczyk, Live promised new music and a reunion tour for 2017. But they closed out 2016 with a surprise, performing on New Year's Eve at the Valencia Ballroom in their hometown of York, Pa.
Stereogum says that it was the first time Kowalczyk performed with the group since July 19, 2009. Live streamed the concert on their Facebook page, but it’s since been taken down. However, unlike Arcade Fire and Mumford and Sons, both of whom banned cell phones from intimate shows in recent years, they allowed fans to capture the occasion and share the memories on YouTube. You can find video of “I Alone” above, with “Lightning Crashes,” “Selling the Drama” and “All Over You” below.
Live made their reunion official three weeks ago, following a few years of acrimony and lawsuits over royalties and the rights to use the band’s name in Kowalczyk’s solo concerts. Comparing the band to a family, guitarist Chad Taylor said that, despite their arguments, “time, and the grand gesture of forgiveness, helps to heal old wounds,” noting that they’ve “worked hard to restore the tenants of faith and trust that bonded us in the beginning.”
The tour will mark the 25th anniversary of their debut, Mental Jewelry, which came out on New Year’s Eve 1991. As for the new music, they hope to put out a handful of songs this year, with what Kowalzcyk called a “larger project” slated for 2018. They took this approach as a way of easing back into their relationship.
“We didn’t want the pressure of completing an entire album hanging over us before we got out and played some shows,” Kowalczyk said. “I think the idea at the moment is to just go with flow, get onstage together and see where all of this new energy takes us creatively.”
Watch “Lightning Crashes”
Watch “Selling the Drama”
Watch “All Over You”
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