Live Closes ‘The Distance’ Between Itself, the Audience

Pop music can still surprise. And the big surprise at Live’s Thursday concert at the Mayan Theater was that the band has come back down to earth, finding inspiration again in melody and leaving overkill behind. For all the talk of spiritual quests in the Pennsylvania band’s lyrics, Live has rediscovered the simple joys of connecting emotionally with an audience.

In recent years, even a surprise show at the tiny Viper Room left Live looking and sounding distant, making music that failed to connect on a human level. The band’s 1997 “Secret Samadhi” album focused hard on issues of spirituality and existentialism, but the themes were buried beneath overblown guitars and pointless howling. Live’s new “The Distance to Here” explores similar subjects, but this time pomposity has given way to real emotion.

Standing shirtless and with a shaved head, singer Edward Kowalczyk still showed a weakness for high-volume melodrama on Thursday, but this time it was buffered by a new commitment to crisp song structure. The band’s performance of the new “Sparkle” was built on explosive vocals, grinding guitars and no sludge.

Live also performed a straight-ahead rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” prompting fans to sing along and sway in the aisles. With some distance now from their early-’90s popularity peak, the members of Live sound more relaxed and less labored. That’s a sign of creative growth, and maybe a first step toward transcendence.