Live Review: Ed Kowalczyk

There's something to be said for a solo singer who splits with the band he's played with for a quarter of a century and then says, 'Fuck it, I can do it without you', and does just that. There's also something to be said for being able to play song after song to an audience that just can't help but sing along to every word. It must feel pretty good to be Ed Kowalczyk these days.
Still, after playing arena-sized venues for years with Live, the sold-out Enmore theatre was as good as it was going to get in Sydney for “father of four” Kowalczyk, but what the crowd lacked in numbers it made up for it in enthusiasm. With almost every song off Throwing Copper a recognisable hit, even if you weren't a huge Live fan you couldn't help but at least hum along to every familiar tune.
Playing an entire album live sans any of the original band members must have seemed a bit weird but if it did, Kowalczyk wasn't into Selling The Drama; instead he was just getting on with it. Problem was, something was missing and even though Kowalczyk had a new band with him, who were all great players, the show lacked, dare one say it, a certain amount of tension. However, the songs themselves do hold enough drama by virtue of Kowalczyk's talent for utilising musical light and shade, which was such a mainstay of the '90s grunge sound, also reflected in his mixing up the vibe by playing some songs with the full band and others semi-acoustically.  
After Horse, the last song from the Throwing Copper, Kowalczyk played a selection of acoustic numbers including sentimental favourite Heaven and the single, Seven, from his latest solo release, a slow burner of a song that tended to grow on you but ended before you could make up your mind about it. Worthy of a second listen, for sure.
The hits were still a-comin' though as the sweaty but satiated audience were treated to a version of Lakini's Juice, which aimed for dark but just managed to fall short of that density.