REVIEW BY DAVID TAYLOR AND PHOTOS BY ROBERT A CHADWICK | Go Venue Magazine
It was a cold night in Omaha, Nebraska, on Tuesday, February 12, when Georgia rockers Collective Soul played Steelhouse in the downtown area. But that didn’t stop the Collective Soul fans from turning up and rocking out to them. This performance was originally supposed to happen in July, but, according to lead singer Ed Roland, he had an uncontrollable nosebleed that needed to be tended to, so luckily, they managed to postpone it to kick off a handful of headlining dates to travel up north to open up for Our Lady Peace for a Canada run of dates.
For over thirty years, Collective Soul has been playing their brand of rock n’ roll to the masses. Led by Ed Roland, the band continues to stay relevant, usually playing gigs in the summer in outdoor venues with packaged tours with fellow contemporary bands, like with Hootie and the Blowfish last year. But, it was quite nice seeing them doing their own thing in a controlled environment like the Steelhouse with no support acts, just an Evening with Collective Soul. Ed Roland sounds just as good as he does on the recordings. He also moves around on stage like it was the mid to late nineties. I love that his brother, Dean Roland, is still in the band playing rhythm guitar. I know it can be hard to have a sibling involved in doing anything creative, but they both look like they enjoy each other’s presence, especially on stage. I was also quite impressed by Jesse Triplett’s lead guitar playing. That man knows how to shred an axe. They played hits like “Shine” (with a little “Livin’ on the Edge” by Aerosmith sprinkled in the middle) and “The World I Know”, as well as some tracks from their latest album, Here to Eternity. One of the highlights of the night was Ed Roland telling this story of how he got into playing music and how supportive his religious father was and then kicking in one of those songs that inspired him to play music, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” by AC/DC. I was quite impressed by Collective Soul, having this being the first time I’ve seen them live. Glad they managed to reschedule this performance because it was all worth it in the end.
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