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| Wednesday, June 20, 2007 |
| Pearl Jam - Wembley Arena |
Set 1
Long Road,
Severed Hand,
Grievance,
Comatose,
Given To Fly,
Low Light,
I Got Id,
Faithfull,
Green Disease,
Marker In The Sand,
Immortality,
Down,
Present Tense,
State Of Love And Trust,
Why Go,
Save You,
Porch
Encore 1
Inside Job,
Parachutes,
Crazy Mary,
Do The Evolution,
Alive
Encore 2
No More,
Bu$hleaguer,
World Wide Suicide,
Rockin' In The Free World,
Indifference
Well, what a night! And what a nightmare sequence of events leading up to it!! For a short time, on Sunday night, it looked like my wife would have to go to work and the whole thing was going to go tits up. Thank fuck it didn't as I had a superb night (much as I suspected). I guess I ought to tell you all about it.
Idlewild were the opening act on Monday night and, I have to admit, I hadn't heard much about them previous to the gig. Although they didn't blow me away, I was quite impressed with some of their stuff, enough to want to try out one of their albums. The only thing that bothered me was the vocalist. For some strange reason he seemed to prefer facing to the side when he was singing (or even with his back to the audience at one point). I couldn't get used to it, it was almost as if he was scared to face the audience. However, that aside, they were quite enjoyable and they certainly 'warmed me up' for the main event.
Then it came. The lights went down, Master/Slave began to fill the Arena with its chilled out vibe and then, the moment I had been waiting for for 15 YEARS - Pearl Jam made their way out onto the stage. The sudden, expectant surge was forthcoming and the crowd went wild. It has been 7 long years since they last played a proper Arena gig in the UK, now the end of the famine was in sight. Luckily we got pretty close to the front and, although we weren't quite within touching distance, it was quite an awesome feeling to finally see these guys up close. There's no way these guys could let me down and give a poor performance, and they proved me right with a blistering performance from start to finish.
They opened the set with Long Road which had the crowd singing along right from the start. This was followed by Severed Hand, one of the stand-out tracks on the latest album, and then some classic tunes almost perfectly designed for the moshpit. I was breathless by the time the pace slowed down during Low Light. One thing was clear as they made their way throughout the set, this was a fans set list. The well known hits were shunned in favour of well loved, yet little known, classics from the Pearl Jam back catalogue (which is vast). Of these, the stand-out songs were State of Love and Trust, Porch and Present Tense (a track that is popular amongst all 'true' Pearl Jam fans). Porch was particularly well received, with crowd surfers doing their thing while Eddie strode from one side of the stage to the other taking a moment to check out the audience, whilst Mike McCready did his thing, mesmerising the crowd with his superb guitar work (not to mention his endless generosity throughout as he threw out countless plectrums into the crowd). Breathtaking stuff. I could barely believe I was there.
Eddie was on good form that night as well. Cracking jokes and looking like he was thoroughly enjoying himself, he has become the peerless front man. And what a voice. At one point he thanked the crowd for 'putting up with [his] voice' all these years. With a voice like his, I could put up with it for a very long time and never get bored. Perhaps the finest moment came at the beginning of Indifference. Eddie had just been telling the crowd how he may have written some 'shit lyrics' but he was 'really proud' of these - cue Indifference. Unfortunately, just a couple of lines in, Eddie had forgotten the words that he was most proud of. Luckily the crowd pitched in and it all came back to him! He certainly saw the funny side as a broad smile spread out across his face (yes, that's right all you doubters, Eddie does know how to enjoy himself!!!).
Eddie also took the opportunity to share a new song that had only been played once before. 'No More' was an acoustic offering that was spawned via conversations with a man who had returned from Iraq and was paralysed from the chest down. Whilst the rest of the band were backstage, Eddie performed the song alone with his acoustic guitar and his usual passionate voice. It's difficult to know whether this will be staple of the Pearl Jam live set, but it was a fantastic moment to hear a new song debuted in the UK.
The remainder of the second encore had a distinct political theme to it, perhaps unsurprising given his comparison to Bush as a 'drunken driver' before 'No More'. Whatever, the atmosphere was electric in the Arena and, even after a 2 1/2 hour set, there was a sense that everyone would have been happy if it had gone on all night. Sadly, it wasn't to be. However, Pearl Jam had given a fantastic show that will live long in the memory. Although I had waited 15 years for this moment, I feel I have seen one of the best Pearl Jam live performances. Certainly that was the impression I got from various message boards and from the crowd on the night. It was well worth the wait. Pearl Jam were in their prime. Long may it continue.Labels: Gigs, music, Pearl Jam |
posted by korova @ 12:52 pm  |
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| Saturday, May 19, 2007 |
| Obsessions.... |
| Ok, now I know I'm obsessed. Last night I dreamt that I was at a Pearl Jam gig in a very small hall (almost like a school hall) and, during the interval (at a gig???!!) Eddie Vedder was walking around the crowd with me and my wife. Like we were old friends or something. And this isn't the first time I have had dreams of seeing Pearl Jam and being friends with members of the band! The sooner I go to this gig (1 month to go) and get it out of my system, the better!! Labels: Gigs, Obsessions, Pearl Jam, Weird Dreams |
| posted by korova @ 8:26 am |
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| Friday, January 26, 2007 |
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Could it be? Is it really true??? Could I finally get to see the Greatest Band That Ever ExistedTM? It looks likely!! There I was, minding my own business, opening my mailbox and reading all the usual stuff I get, various activism notices and emails from lonely badgers, when something caught my eye.
PEARL JAM TO TOUR EUROPE!!
Yes, that's right, they are coming back. They have planned to do a one-off show at Wembley Arena in June (around my birthday - COOL!!). Even better, the website says:
At Wembley Arena in London, early entry will not be allowed. Therefore, we have reserved the entire floor for fan club only!!! Any tickets not sold during the fan club pre-sale will have to be released for public sale...So buy buy buy!!!
And I'm a fan club member! Surely the chances of the entire floor selling out to members is pretty small (does anyone know the capacity???).
Perhaps I shouldn't get too excited. I have been disappointed before. This time, however, I may finally get to see the band I love, admire and respect. In short, I might just have to change my pants. BRING IT ON!!!!!!!Labels: Pearl Jam |
| posted by korova @ 12:48 pm |
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