Alison Bourdon/The Ithacan SATURDAY’S LIVE CONCERT sold out Ben Light Gymnasium. The band is on tour and has a new album on the way. They performed a mix of old and new favorites and added a personal statement about the war with Iraq. From top to bottom, lead singer Ed Kowalczyk and bassist Patrick Dahlheimer play their hearts out.

Ben Light Gymnasium was a fitting location for Saturday’s foot-stomping, lighter-fluid-consuming show. Singer Edward Kowalczyk floated out onstage to a crowd full of kids who had most likely heard their first Live song at a junior-high dance. The York, Pa., band saw its popularity peak during the grunge/hard-rock days of the mid-’90s. Since then, copy-cat bands like Nickelback and Creed have taken their place.

Kowalczyk gave life to their dated sound with an unexpected fury Saturday. From the anthemic, radio-friendly hits “I Alone” and “Lightning Crashes” to the sweaty, fan-only rockers like, “S--- Towne,” Live had Ithaca College singing from start to explosive finish, hard-rock clichés in abundance.

Eager fans had to bite their lips as Live’s supporting act, Lake Trout, tried to stir the crowd. The foursome from Baltimore, Md., is an earthy attempt at Radiohead. Stylistic musicians, they capture the eerie quality of their English predecessors. They toyed with several different musical aids like delay pedals, synthesizers and a screaming flutist. And the singer sometimes sounded like Thom Yorke, in stunted falsetto blips. But they missed out on an essential: There’s no substance. They created this trippy, Jethro Tull-inspired landscape, but did so without any emotion. It was like Oz, without the emotion.

Live ambled out onstage and started with one of their more memorable hits, “All Over You,” from their career-defining album, “Throwing Copper.” Dressed in indigos and violets beaming from the bleachers, Kowalczyk looked thrilled. And, of course, there was all the bravado that anthemic hard-rock bands love: hands outstretched toward the sky, guitarists playing back-to-back. Everyone in the crowd bought into it.

Kowalczyk danced around like a puppet that suddenly got hold of the strings. He moseyed. He boogied. During a post-sex cigarette song, he pulled a little Elvis pelvis thrust, all very hackneyed.

Midway through a start-stop head-banger, Kowalczyk touched a nerve with the college-age crowd, giving a brief homily on the war in Iraq. “Whether you’re born in Ithaca, New York or Baghdad ... kids are kids. War sucks.” Almost instantly, the crowd exploded into cheers. The sincerity in Kowalczyk’s speech was questionable, but the crowd didn’t seem to care.

Song after song, the atmosphere at the gym got more eruptive. Live darted from hits to unknowns with increasing energy. Both the band and the crowd fed off one another. By the time they played their last song on the set list, a defiant version of “I Alone,” the fans were bursting.

Moments after the stage light went black, Live returned for a three-song encore. “Dance with You,” an acoustic ballad, was slow but energetic and kept the crowd cheering. Two harder songs followed, and the energy never dissipated. As the band thundered away during the last song, Kowalczyk’s message of peace carried on. He repeated the phrase “God bless America” into the mic, holding up a peace sign to the crowd.

With a new album on the way, Live is touring to bring back fans long lost. A long time in the wash, it will be hard for them to succeed. If Saturday’s show proved anything, they have a good chance of selling well in Ithaca.