I returned home from the Eddie Vedder concert I spoke of on Monday at a loss for words. I wanted to post a review of the show but I just couldn’t bring myself to put my feelings into words. I still don’t think I can. But I’ll try.
Eddie Vedder in Baltimore
Right off the bat I am going to state that if you want a review of the show, you aren’t going to find it here. I would suggest you click here to get a more formal review. What you are going to find here are my feelings towards the show.
As Ariel put it, the show was stunning. There really are no other words to describe it with. The joy that I had on my face during 75% of the show could only be matched by Jessica, the girl sitting next to me, who was brought to tears during the “Into the Wild” section of the show (Eddie played the soundtrack to the movie, arranged in a specific order to tell the story of Chris McCandless, whose sister was in fact in the audience).
This past Saturday, I was at a party that my friend Daniel took me to and a discussion came up about our favorite comedy television programs. I stated that The Office is my favorite show, but no show on TV makes me happier then 30 Rock. I know it sounds sappy, but there are certain things in my life right now that just make me feel really happy to be alive and happy to have the privilege to experience them. For some reason, 30 Rock is one of those things…I can’t really describe it. Having a beer while listening to the Kings of Leon is another. I’ve been getting great joy out of playing the piano lately too, more so then I do out of playing the guitar (perhaps that is why I haven’t played a gig in over a year, but that’s a whole other blog post entirely…).
And then there is Pearl Jam. The love that I have for Pearl Jam is unmatched. Before Monday night’s show, I had seen Pearl Jam 13 times in six years. Out of those 13 shows, I had seen the band play Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, one of their most popular songs (you know, the one with the chorus, “hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away”), ten times. This song is always a fun concert song because it turns into a huge singalong, but on Monday, I experienced something that I hadn’t in my previous 13 shows. Perhaps it was the fact that the setting was so intimate (the venue is an opera house that only holds 2,500 people). Perhaps it was the fact that I was sitting down when he sang it. Perhaps it was the two high gravity beers I drank before he came on stage. But when Eddie got to the line in the song that goes
I just want to scream HELLO
My God it’s been so long, never dreamed you’d return
But now here you are
And here I am
it was magical. It was almost as if we were singing to each other. And I know what you are thinking as you are reading this (“Scott, could you sound any gayer?”), but that is what it felt like. And I know I wasn’t the only person who felt that way at that particular moment…the look on Eddie’s face after speaking those words was pure joy and absolute gratitude. The happiness that I felt by being in a room with him was just as strong as the happiness that he felt by being in a room with 2,500 people who respect him and love him as much as they do, proven by the amount of time he spent shaking everybody’s hand who approached him after each encore and again after the show.
Besides being emotional, though, the show was flat out fun. Three songs into the night, after getting heckled by numerous drunks (“Eddie, I want to party with you!” Eddie’s response: “What the fuck do you think we are doing?”), Eddie taught us a singalong with the chorus being “I’m from Baltimore and I’m an asshole”. Later, in response to members of the crowd shouting out requests, Eddie asked for a piece of paper and a sharpie from backstage and began to write down each request that was shouted out. After four or five requests were made, Eddie ripped up the paper and said he wasn’t going to play them (it may not translate well in retrospect, but it was hilarious live).
Overall, this was one of the finer shows I have ever seen. I saw My Morning Jacket at the Fox Theater in Atlanta last Summer and that was special, but this was even more so. Security was super tight (hence the lack of pictures in the post…yes, cameras weren’t allowed in) but I am holding out hope for some form of audio or video bootleg. If Pearl Jam, or Eddie Vedder, come to your city, go! Heck, if I know you, and if you want me, I will probably travel to where ever you live and go with you. You won’t be sorry.
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ñïñ!…