Live, Blues Traveler and Collective Soul. If it was 1996 this would be a huge show, well a least bigger than The Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Collective Soul started the show promptly at 7:30. It was obvious that most people decided to hit the local bars before heading into the show. Ed Roland's voice was not there the entire night. He mentioned after the first song that he was feeling under the weather and that he was going to take all the help that he could get. He turned the mic over to his guitar player for a song and he brought up a female vocalist to sing their biggest hit, "Shine." Very paint by numbers setlist, and exactly what I expected from them. Blues Traveler was simply amazing. They are at heart a jam band and their shows don't fit into an hour set. A blog at the Blues Traveler website highlighted this very topic. How are they supposed to satisfy all their fans with such a short set? Should they jam? Play the hit songs or play the new songs? The set tonight hit all the right notes. They played some hits and some new songs, but the show was a real rocker. "But Anyway" was completely transformed with an incredibly jam. Live was going to be a let down. They simply can not compete with Blues Traveler, but thats not their fault. My buddy summed this show up perfectly when he turned to me late in the show and said, "Can we leave now?" I turned to him and replied, "Not until Lighting Crashes." Do yourself a favor and go see Blues Traveler. Now.

You know thats the first time I've gotten a spot there all season.