1) Selling The Drama
2) Mirror Song
3) The River
4) I Walk The Line [Johnny Cash]
5) Sofia
6) Heaven
7) All Over You
8) Show
9) Shit Towne
10) The Dolphin's Cry
11) I Alone
12) Lightning Crashes

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Well, I was among the lucky few who were able to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night for the last +Live+ show of the tour. It was a pretty incredible evening...here's how it all went down.

When I heard that +Live+ were finishing up their tour at the Hall of Fame with a private show, I was pretty bummed, as most others were, that the show was not open to the public. Doubley annoying was that I'm a huge fan of the Hall of Fame as well, a member, and because the show was on a weekend it would be very easy for me to drive down from Canada and see it.

Well, as a last minute whim I got in touch with the powers-that-be at the museum and after a bit of negotiating, it just so happened that they had a couple of tickets available for us to come and see the show! As excited as I was about this, I literally had no idea what I was getting into until I got down there... all I knew about the gig was that is was private and would likely be a small audience... what happened was something else far beyond my expectations.

We arrived in Cleveland on Saturday morning and spent the day at the Hall of Fame, wandering around and checking out the exhibits. This was my fourth time to the museum and my fifteenth time seeing +Live+, so I was pretty pumped at this point in the day that my favourite band would be playing at one of my favourite places. I kept watching out for the guys to be touring around the museum but alas... there are some really neat exhibits on the Clash right now if anyone is planning a visit, check this out for sure.

Around five we left and were told to be back for 7pm doors and a 9pm show.

At 7 we returned to a very small lineup of people outside the front doors of the museum. We waited a few minutes and were let in. I wasn't sure what we were going to be doing for two hours before +Live+ went on, so all of this was new and exciting.

We learned pretty fast that the night was being presented by Miller Brewing Company for contest winners for a talking beer can campaign they had been running in the summer. The prize did not just include the show, but also:

1) A full catered meal at the Hall of Fame (There was even a meat carver)
2) Full, exclusive access to the museum for contest winners from 7pm-8:30pm
3) Free drinks (limited.. but since we were driving part-way home that night this was not a good discovery for us)
4) Intimate show with +Live+ in a small theatre that seats a mere 150 people.

(some contest winners were also treated to some kind of bus tour to a bar for the Ohio State game earlier in the day, drinks included, although we did not know about this until later in the night)

We (and a few other die-hards that found their way into the show) were among the first to be upstairs at the theatre for the show. They opened the doors and let us in, and we obviously made our way to the front of the theatre. The stage was low (about a foot off the ground) and I was within arms reach of Gracey's kit and Ed's mic. The stage was shallow as well, obviously.

After a bit of the wait the theatre filled up with the rest of the crowd.. all in there were maybe 120 people there (somehow due to people not showing up to claim their prize, this show was actually not full?!)

Most of the crowd were contest winners. Many were excited to see +live+ although were not 'fans' of the band, and some were saying that they had "never heard of them". This kind of stuff, while I find it upsetting that such a COOL show goes wasted on the ignorant, it does expose new people to the band which is not a bad thing. There were some die-hards there, though, and we were pretty frikkin' excited.

The band came on stage at about 9:15pm, and it was clear that they found the environment to be a but strange as well, but were prepared to roll with it and see what happened.

The show had no pre-determined set list, just a "master song sheet" that Ed was reading off and deciding, on the fly, which tunes to play. I got the feeling that ALL of these tunes were possibilities for last night, and although many were not played, I found it exciting that some names were on the list. I was able to snag the list at show's end:

Beauty of Grey
Mirror Song
Pain Lies on the Riverside
Operation Spirit
Selling the Drama
I Alone
All Over You
Lightning Crashes
White, Discussion
Shit Towne
Pillar of Davidson
Iris
Lakini's Juice
Turn My Head
Rattlesnake
Dolphin's Dry
Run to the Water
Stood Up For Love
Voodoo Lady
Dance With You
Simple Creed
Overcome
Heaven
Runaway
Mystery
The River
Show
Love Shines
Wings
Sophia
Walk the Line

Some pretty cool choices in there we havn't seen in a while.

The actual setlist for the night ended up being as follows:

Selling The Drama
Mirror Song
The River
Walk The Line
Sophia
Heaven
All Over You
Show
Shit Towne
Dolphin's Cry
I Alone
Lightning Crashes

Overall, this ended up being one of the most memorable +Live+ shows I've seen. The guys were not at their most energetic, because many tunes were played acoustically due to the nature of the gig, and also due to the nature of the crowd. 75% of the people there were not 'fans' of the band, although they enjoyed the show a lot, I think. The rest of us were very thankful to be a part of such a special night, but I couldn't help but think how incredibly cool it would have been to have the place full of fans instead.

Special show highlights for me were:

Mirror Song: Love this tune and Gracey was on for this one. It was neat to hear them do something that only a few of us in the room knew, but play it so well and so fresh that the whole room bought in.

All Over You: The crowd really got into this one. It was the first tune were people got out of their seats to dance and it really broke the ice in the room. Ed also was drinking wine from a plastic cup and during this song was jokingly swirling and sniffing it during Chad's guitar solo.

Sophia: Semi-acoustic. Very low key vibe. Kind of like TBD at the MTV unplugged. Funky, quiet and instense.

Shit Towne: Someone requested it from the audience and Ed decided to go for it. Ed played acoustic guitar while Adam and Chad played electric.. Gracey was an ANIMAL even with his hotsticks (the sticks he uses that are sort of tied together pieces of dowel) as he was breaking pieces off all over the place. Ed tried to take the guitar solos on the acoustic, which was a disaster!! Although it was neat because it was all in good fun... the crowd enjoyed the fact that he had a hard time with it.

No chance to talk to the guys after, I don't think. They started filing people out pretty fast and I don't think the guys were in much of a mood to chat. They seemed a bit tired and ready for a break. They did say their thanks to their road crew for their help on the tour and that they would look forward to getting back on the road with them in 2007, which dispells hopefully any of these rumours that this is the end for +Live+. I didn't get that feeling at all from them last night, by the way. I think +Live+ is not going anywhere soon.

After taking in this show from the short distance I was in proximity to the band, I couldn't help but be left with a real sense of awe and appreciation at show's end. These are five guys who went through High School together, started a band, and fifteen years later are still together, making music, having fun, laughing with each other and being genuine, down-to-earth guys who love making music together.

This concert really made me reflect, as is so often asked of us by others on this board, as to WHY I am a +Live+ fan. I can say with strong conviction that I am a huge fan of this band and will be forever. I am a fan not just of their music, which I find to be honest, interesting and powerful, but also of the way they have built and maintained a career based on honesty, respect and trust in their band. Never have I heard +Live+ as being accused a fakes, or anything other than what they present themselves as being on stage every night or on their albums. I appreicate a band that can maintiain that normacy and honesty and still connect and be relevant to their audience.

I was really thankful to be able to go to this amazing show. This is something that I hope all +Live+ fans can experience at some point. The small setting and intimate show really showed a different side to the band I had not yet seen in all my years as a fan.