Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
A trio of cameramen roamed the small, packed crowd at Smith’s Olde Bar, grabbing shots of Ed Roland and the rest of Collective Soul as they worked through fierce renditions of some of their biggest hits – and a few new songs.
The Thursday scene at the longtime Atlanta watering hole/venue was the second consecutive night that a camera crew caught the Atlanta band ripping through “Shine” (twice – because you’ve got to get your best-known hit recorded perfectly and from every angle), “Precious Declaration,” “Heavy” and other fan favorites.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
The band – frontman Roland, his brother Dean Roland on guitar, Will Turpin on bass, Johnny Rabb on drums and Jesse Triplett on guitar – sounded taut and the accompanying light show guaranteed that this documentary will have a full-on rock star polish.
During the performance, Ed Roland, decked out in leather jacket and dark-tinted glasses, wondered out loud why he never heard the band’s new-ish “AYTA (Are You the Answer)” on any of their hometown stations when the melodically rich song has garnered airplay internationally.
He and the band also rolled through a solid cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California,” a song well-suited to Roland’s elastic voice, and the unreleased rocker “Rule #1,” which will hopefully find a reason to be released soon.
No word yet when the documentary will be released. A portion of proceeds from both shows benefited the TJ Martel Foundation.
Last fall, Collective Soul released its ninth album, "See What You Started By Continuing," and embarked on a 50-plus date U.S. tour that included a fiery show at The Tabernacle in October .
The band will also hit the road thi s summer with the Goo Goo Dolls and play a Sept. 4 date at Chastain Park Amphitheatre.
