Collective Soul At Place Bell

A quick visit was made to the Place Bell in Laval to catch up with a couple of bands who debuted in the 1990s, but are still out there rocking the world all these years later.  Collective Soul is one of those great rock bands that seemed to disappear from the radar for a little while, but I was more than happy to see come to town.  Their rock albums were a beacon of light in a mid-90s landscape that seemed to have been taken over by boy bands and pop acts.  Their first two albums, 'Hints Allegations & Things Best Left Unsaid' and the self-titled 'Collective Soul' were revelations in that time for anyone looking for a little bit of rock.  Collective Soul's music is just as great today as it was all those years ago.  I took the time to revisit some of Collective Soul's songs in the days before the show and it took me right back to owing my first car and listening to their tapes with the windows down and the music blaring from the speakers.  The band hit the stage as a unit before singer Ed Roland joined them in a flamboyant outfit that immediately made him stand out from the denim of his band mates.  All eyes were on him as he danced about the stage and also pulled out some martial arts movements.  His voice is still as distinct and powerful as I remembered. Shine was met to a massive response and the guitar intro to Gel brought me right back to listening to their tape in my car.  Collective Soul released a new album last year, 'Here To Eternity' and opened their set with the lead single, Mother's Love which is another great song to be added to a catalogue already overflowing with rock goodness.  It was great to be reunited with them after all these years.  All of the photographs were taken at f/3.2 while using several different shutter speeds, ISO settings and focal lengths.  Here are the rest of the photographs that I took of Collective Soul as they performed on the Place Bell stage.

If you would like to find out more about Collective Soul and their music, you can do so by following the link to their website.  If you would like to see the photographs that I took of Our Lady Peace, who performed later that night, you can do so by following the link.  Seeing Collective Soul again after all of these years was really an uplifting moment.  Their music is timeless, despite the fact that time continues to slip on by.  Collective Soul will be back on the road this Summer, be sure to check them out if they end up playing in a town near you.