I scored last minute tickets to see Eddie Vedder at the Orpheum Theater last night. I had wanted to go, but the tickets were $80 and the only seats I could get were way in the back and I just couldn't justify it. Of course, seeing what I saw last night, I would have paid hundreds of dollars for those tickets.
But, awesomely, I didn't have to and I was just 5 rows back on the main floor.
Eddie Vedder was my second rock star crush. First being Axel Rose. I loved Eddie and all of his angry sensitivity. The long hair. The cargo shorts. The flannel. I was 14. I wore the t-shirts. My walls were adorned with massive Pearl Jam posters.
But I never saw them live.
I was too young living in too rural an area to get to them in their prime. And as I got older and started attending shows, they got older and started playing stadiums and I lost touch.
I would still hear a song here and there and enjoy it and then run to my Pearl Jam collection to revisit them.
And Eddie Vedder always held a place in my heart.
He's on a solo tour for the release of his album Ukulele Songs. When I first heard about this album, I was so excited. I love the ukulele and I could only imagine how awesome Eddie's baritone vocals would sound over the happy little instrument. And it does sound awesome. Yet, I didn't buy the album. I don't know what was stopping me.
Back to last night.
Glen Hansard opened. You may know him from such Oscar winning songs like "Falling Slowly" and his movie Once. He is also in The Swell Season and The Frames. I like Glen Hansard. He has nice songs. Now, I love Glen Hansard - and so it seems does Minnesota.
He played a 35 minute set, belting into the mic and beating up the guitar. He rocked way more than I thought he could. But it wasn't until his cover of Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" that I was completely blown away. The crowd gave him a standing ovation, to which the very humble Glen Hansard blushingly apologized for getting "carried away on that one". He then played one more number before leaving the stage to another standing ovation and the crowd chanting for more.
But, being the opening act, he didn't come back out.
Eddie Vedder started playing from behind the curtain. As the curtain pulled away, there he sat, surrounded by suitcases and reel to reels, a reading lamp, and a plain black backdrop. And my 14 year old self squealed with happiness. Okay, so did my 31 year old self.
The first part part of the set was entirely on the uke. I was only familiar with one of the songs, but it didn't matter. His voice, accompanied only by the uke, soaring through the amazingly attentive audience was enough to grab anyone's attention. He talked, he joked about making mistakes on songs - and the performer in me felt relief that even Eddie Vedder forgets lyrics and chord progressions - and he sang. And it was beautiful.
He switched from uke to electric to acoustic guitar. When he played "Just Breathe" and "Off He Goes", you realized what an amazing lyricist he and what an emotive vocalist he is. The meaning to the songs really came back through. And no more than on "Better Man", a song that went the way of 90's grunge rock big band stadium sing alongs. It almost made me cry last night.
The first set closed with Eddie looping just his voice in almost a native american chant. I found myself closing my eyes and just taking it in. It was very moving. The curtains started to close and he stepped out in front and shook hands and waved and walked off stage.
The first encore (or second set considering he played a ton more songs) opened with the song "Long Road" which he dedicated to a crew member's grandmother who had just died, then went right into "Wishlist" - changing the opening line to "I wish I was a neutron bomb for once I wouldn't go off". Glen Hansard came out to join him on a few songs (with the crowd welcoming him back with massive applause) and they dueted on Hansard's Oscar song "Falling Slowly". I would call it the highlight of the show, except the whole show was a highlight. These two guys can sing. I was on the edge of my seat and woohooing and hollering throughout the performance. Also, Eddie did not play an instrument on this song and watching him grab the mic stand the way I've always seen him do in all of those videos...it was so cool.
He closed out this second set with a solo singalong of Pearl Jam's "Porch". "Porch" has always been my favorite Pearl Jam song and I was thrilled to sing along. When he got to the chorus, I just swelled.
Encore #2 kicked off with his song from the Into the Wild soundtrack, "Hard Sun". Hansard joined him once again and Eddie left the stool behind and stood up and Rocked. Out. Jumping up and down going full on "Eddie Vedder". The houselights were up and everyone was singing and clapping along and it was just one of those completely joyous musical moments. Both Eddie and Glen appeared to be just as glowingly happy as the crowd. When the song was over, Glen walked off stage and Eddie just stood there soaking it all in. He was about to leave and then he picked up his beer and gave the crowd a cheer, plopped down on his stool and said "I got to do one more" and closed with "Dream a Little Dream" on the uke.
He said in the earlier set that next time they should just "do three weeks in Minnesota". It was certainly one of those concert experiences where you could tell the connection was happening between the audience and performer. Eddie Vedder, a musician/rock star, seemed truly humbled by the love he was receiving. He really seemed to be having a good time. It made me so proud to be a part of such a great crowd. That doesn't happen too often at concerts.
And, tip of the hat to you, Glen Hansard. You don't see too many opening acts winning over a crowd like that. And not that he's a typical opening act, but wow. You were just as amazing as the headliner.
These two together just seemed like two of the most likeable musicians I've ever witnessed on stage.
What a truly amazing night.
There's going to be a lot of Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder in this house for a while now.
They were strict on picture taking, so I snapped these two quickly when the houselights were up for "Hard Sun". The backdrops changed throughout the night from just plain black to a back alley setting, a warehouse, a tent, and then the ocean.
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