Atlantic City Weekly

With a name like Live, a reputation for performing killer concerts and more than 20 million albums sold, you'd think the Delaware Valley-based rock band would have long since released a CD that captured the raw excitement of one of its shows.

Yet it wasn't until last year that York, Pa. natives (and lifelong best friends) Ed Kowalczyk, Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer and Chad Gracey finally added a live performance to its discography when it released LIVE at the Paradiso - Amsterdam. The CD and DVD was recorded early last summer during two shows in the Dutch cultural center and concert venue.

Timing, Kowalczyk says on the band's Web site, was everything. The band had been kicking around the idea of a live concert recording for 15 years, but the timing was never quite right.

"The band is playing better than ever," Kowalcyzk says. "The timing [of the shows] captured the band at a great moment in our career."

The album unleashes the band's raw power and the explosive energy contained with a group that's really somewhat reserved -- until its show time.

"These guys are kind of quiet, and then as soon as the [sound system] comes on, they totally lose it," Kowalcyzk, the band's lead singer and guitarist, explains.

It also gives the listener and viewer a keen insight into a band that's been together since the quartet was in grade school. Unlike other groups, whose backstage bickering and personality clashes often distract from their music, the members of Live are literally best friends who have known one another most of their lives.

That familiarity proved key when the group began tasting mainstream music success in the early 1990s.

"By the time we got a record deal, we'd formed our personalities together," Kowalcyzk adds. "When the going got tough and we got famous and there were pressures and stuff, everyone had their role defined already. With Live, there are no surprises between the four of us."

Given its popularity, the band, which performs Saturday night (March 28) at the House of Blues at Showboat, could have probably recorded the album anywhere. But it chose Amsterdam for several reasons, Kowalcyzk says, not the least of which was the incredibly strong fan base it has there and throughout Europe.

"Our fans [there] are super crazy about the band," he offers. "Also, the idea of doing it internationally is another dimension, another color for our American fans. It was just a little bit more exotic."

In addition to some new songs ("Forever" and "Purifier") and some of Live's early and now-classic hits ("Selling the Drama" and "I Alone"), LIVE at the Paradiso - Amsterdam also contains a dark and almost brooding cover of the late Johnny Cash's standard "I Walk the Line."

The album also provides a compelling reason for people to see the band perform live.

"If you've never seen the band in concert, this DVD makes a strong case for you to do just that," Kowalczyk says.

Idol Gossip: For a guy who once turned down any and all offers to play Atlantic City, perennial beach bum Jimmy Buffett is sure making up for lost time. For the third consecutive summer, Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band will hit the stage of Boardwalk Hall for a show Aug. 23. ... One good gig deserves another: Those reunited stoner comedians Cheech and Chong, whose December debut at Borgata's Music Box sold so quickly they added a second show that night, will be back for another go June 6. This time, though, they'll work the 2,200-seat Event Center. Tickets are on sale, but get 'em while you can; they'll likely go up in smoke quickly. ... Here's an interesting booking for Resorts Atlantic City: The casino has booked the "Regeneration Tour," which features the new wave bands Wang Chung, Cutting Crew, ABC, Heaven 17 and Berlin. The show hits the Superstar Theatre stage June 20.