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The Verve Pipe/K's Choice Live at Toad's Place, New Haven, CT on August 25,1997

This show had more of a co-headlining feel to it as both bands did sets of approximately one hour in length. The night began with K's Choice taking the stage in front of an already packed house. Tables, and most chairs, were all removed from the club tonight to allow as large a crowd as possible. This was an all-ages show so the crowd was much younger then at most Toad's shows. Crowd-surfing was the order of the night and continued constantly throughout the evening, at times even distracting from the real show as bouncers attempted to keep surfers off the stage. K's Choice delivered a solid performance but still fails to show anything to distinguish themselves from the hundreds of other "alternative" bands currently clogging the airwaves. Their hit "Not An Addict" was sung word for word by most of the crowd, who've obviously heard it thousands of times. Overall, K's Choice was satisfying but wasn't much different from the last time they played the area, June 1st, as one of the twenty bands who performed at Radio104 Fest. The Verve Pipe did a set of just over an hour but managed to pack a lot more energy into their show. Complete with projected images for a constantly changing background, this was a band that was trying to reach up and produce a more complete performance. This was also a band that was obviously enjoying themselves. They roared through most of their latest offering "Villians" and threw in a new song for good measure. I would've appreciated hearing a couple more new ones, especially since they had the time available, but enjoyed the show regardless. The crowd also sang along to every word of "The Freshmen", at one point causing front man Brian Vander Ark to break out in laughter. He apoligized, given the serious nature of the lyrics, but continued to feed off the energy from the room. An extended encore of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" found both bands sharing the stage and happily jamming away. The crowd may have been heading home earlier than expected but were well satisfied with the night's entertainment.