Recap by “Chad from Albany” Koenig.
It’s hard to believe it has been 32 years since I watched MTV for hours on end just to see the video for a song such as “Shine” in the incredible year (and my favorite year ever) of 1994. I could write articles on the greatness that came into our culture in 1994 (and I probably will), but for a perfectly autumn Tuesday evening in downtown Albany, we were blessed with not only one of those bands that were a highlight of 1994, but a band that got bigger in the years that followed, and racked up more hits on their sophomore album, which is a rarity in any generation: Collective Soul. Their stop at the Palace Theatre displayed a band that brought the hits, and also showed why they remain one of the best American rock bands in the past 40 years.
Starting the show was “Counting the Days,” a single off of arguably the best album that they ever recorded, 2004’s “Youth.” I remember in real time hearing that record come out, and as a day one fan of Collective Soul, marveling at how great they still sounded, if not better than ever, a decade after their breakthrough single. Now, 34 years past that, I am feeling that way about their current release, but more on that later.
Following that was the unmistakable riff from 1999’s “Heavy”, with singer/songwriter Ed Rowland’s trademark voice shining (pardon the pun) through as if this WAS a new cut. The band, featuring original members Dean Rowland (Ed’s younger brother) on rhythm guitar and bassist Will Turpin (who interviewed with our own Jason Irwin for the November issue of Xperience Monthly – link below), were tight and staggering, forcing the audience to know that this road-traveled band is more than a nostalgia act, especially with their next song, “Mother’s Love,” from 2024’s “Here To Eternity,” followed by a pair of classics – “Why Part 2,” and their iconic “Shine.” The latter was performed with such veracity that the climax of the song built to such a fever pitch that the song almost became an adaptation of itself, bringing the crowd to nearly venerate the power of the song itself. It was spectacular.
Now to discuss the aforementioned new album. Earlier this year, Collective Soul released their homage to the Cars and the late 70s/early 80s New Wave style that the brothers grew up with. With a very “on-the-nose” album title, “Touch and Go,” the blatant Cars reference was more than subtle. Despite the title, this was not a covers album, but unfortunately you could only initially get it as a record-store day exclusive, and I was unable to acquire it as the store I was planning on getting it from sold out, possibly to people who were selling it for four times as much on eBay. So I only just recently heard it when I learned it was available to stream. Three listens in, it is currently riding high as my favorite album of 2026, much like “Youth” was back in 2004. And the next song they played was the synth-heavy “Eye On You” from said album – one of two played on Tuesday.
The hits kept-a-coming afterwards with a stunning version of “She Said”, a unique hit as it was a hidden track off of 1999’s “Dosage” album (remember hidden tracks???). Two of their smash hits followed from the massive 1995 self-titled album, “The World I Know” and “December,” in which they brought up an audience member to perform with them on guitar.
RadioRadioX photographer Evan Lauber caught up with the lucky fan outside of the show, whose name was Kevin, and who plays for the local band The Seth Tucker Band. He didn’t know how to play the song prior to being called up, but was told the chords on stage to play along to.
The second song from “Touch and Go,” “Feel,” came next, which was another highlight of an evening that was already packed full of highlights, and that kept the impressive crowd on their feet for 90 minutes. The night came to a close with a trio of great classics from the 1995 album, “Gel” (also from the soundtrack to The Jerky Boys Movie!), and the rocking “Where The River Flows”. Surprisingly, but appropriately, they ended the show with the 1999 ballad “Run,” with band introductions and an incredible fade-out as the band slowly walked off the stage while Ed played the guitar throughout, which ended in a cypher-like circle of ending the song together on the side of the stage. Somehow, they made the climax of the show with a slow fade, and it worked tremendously.
As a fan since 1994, it pleased me greatly to see how great they still are, how good their new music is, and most importantly, that they genuinely still enjoy doing what they are doing. This show was just as good as when I was seeing them in the ’90s, and I look forward to the next time.
Xperience Monthly Interview with Collective Soul’s Will Turpin can be found here.
Collective Soul setlist can be found here.
Kevin’s band, The Seth Tucker Band, can be found here.
Photos by Evan Lauber.
