Serpent Boy
08-24-2008, 11:11 PM
Last week, I saw Eddie Vedder at the Warner Theatre in Washington D.C. It was my first Eddie Vedder show, though I've been to nine Pearl Jam shows. In all, it was a special, intimate, memorable show that displayed Eddie's talents but also the importance of PJ.
My fiancee and I arrived a half hour early but decided to get a coffee and relax. After all, the Warner Theatre only holds 1,800 people, we have reserved seats, and EV posters have not been selling out all tour. This ended up being a wise decision as I was able to get enough cash for a pair of posters (one for me, one for a friend); the venue wasn't accepting credit cards for anything.
When we entered the venue, we found out what our tickets are. The Ten Club (Pearl Jam's fan club) doesn't reveal your tickets until the day of the show at will call. I ended up with two 8th row tickets, which in this intimate setting is as good as first row at most theaters. Amazing.
The poster line was a bit long, but I was still able to get two. The design - inspired by Batman - is much cooler than the other EV poster of the tour, which is a colored picture of Eddie. All of the merchandise is overpriced (yeah, I know, goin' hongray!), but I eat it up because I'm a Pearl Jam fanboy.
Poster:
http://i22.ebayimg.com/08/i/001/03/4a/20fd_1.JPG
At 7:30, Liam Finn hit the stage. For those who aren't familiar, Finn is a New Zealander who plays numerous instruments in each song, utilizing delay/repeat pedals to create a wall of sound. His co-vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Eliza-Jane Barnes joined him on stage for all songs, and they were quite unpredictable as to what instrument they would play on each song. Sometimes, Liam did his best imitation of Animal from the Muppets and pounded on the drums for a few minutes while E-J Barnes howled into the microphone. Other times, Liam was on vocals, guitar, and drums simultaneously while E-J Barnes looped various strange instruments. It was worth watching for 45 minutes.
Liam with Eliza-Jane Barnes and Eddie
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2739155216_00320f1128.jpg
At 8:45, Eddie came out to a thunderous roar. He notified everyone that he was going to skip his ritualistic opener from both tours ("Walking the Cow") and started with a riveting version of Pearl Jam's "Sometimes." The crowd was very quiet and respectful throughout the first few songs, partially because of the venue's NO CELL PHONES OR CAMERAS policy. If you were caught texting, calling, or taking a picture, you were out.
Eddie followed with a few covers (Cat Stevens's "Trouble" sounded great!) before playing three Pearl Jam songs penned by Ed. "Around the Bend" was a definite highlight for me. When three of the first six songs in a show are from No Code - my all-time favorite CD by any band - you know you're seeing something special. "Sometimes," "Around the Bend," and "I'm Open" are definitely three songs that made the night worth it for me.
In between most songs, Eddie would include a lot of stage banter. At a Pearl Jam show, you sometimes get rants and funny quips. But at this show, Eddie planned to take a lot of time to interact with the crowd. At times, this was positive stage banter. For example, he gave a couple of political speeches about "Blackbird" (Beatles cover) and how it relates to the civil rights movement, about Obama and how he endorses him (subtly, by having his crew walk out with a gigantic OBAMA 08 poster), and about crooked politicians in office. He also spoke about the West Memphis 3, about Pete Seeger, and told a funny story about his experiences in Washington D.C. In his story, he discussed surfing/wakeboarding on the Potomac River and seeing several yachts at a dock with silly names like Miss Behaven and Victims of Comfort!
Sometimes, though, the banter was in reaction to rowdy fans. In such a small venue, there are bound to be dozens of fans screaming out song requests ("GONE!" "LEASH!"), the occasional "I LOVE YOU, EDDIE!" and other absurd commments ("ARE YOU HIGH?!"). Eddie responded to each in different ways. For example, he teased a few Pearl Jam songs ("Grievance," "Rearviewmirror,") and said he was playing stuff he wanted to play tonight since Pearl Jam was just in town 6 weeks prior. He called some audience members dumbasses and jokingly said, "I assume you really love me deeply? Like from the heart?" This got a humorous, "Good assumption, Eddie!" to which he replied, "Thanks, professor!" and continued to rib the guy.
The "Thieves of Silence," as Eddie labeled them (people who wouldn't stop yelling out things in between songs) didn't really ruin the night, however, until before "Blackbird" when one guy yelled out "GET TO THE SONGS!" during some banter. Eddie told the guy off and asked him to go outside and check the stocks on his Blackberry while he took the time to talk to everyone.
The music, meanwhile, was exceptional. I wasn't sure if Eddie could do it since his songwriting skills are good, but not as talented as Stone's or Mike's in Pearl Jam. His Into The Wild songs were strong, although he botched "Society" when playing it with Liam Finn and had to restart at the solo. He also botched the opening to "Far Behind," I believe. "Guaranteed" was excellent, and it displayed just what Eddie can do when he really puts some time into a song.
"Driftin'" was a treat since it's a rare song to hear at a PJ show. "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" was another surprise since it wasn't played by Eddie on the East Coast tour at all. "Porch" got the crowd into a singalong and a near frenzy as many stood up and rocked out to the acoustic version of a Pearl Jam fan favorite.
"Here's to the State" got both cheers and boos from the crowd as Eddie criticized several prominent politicians. "Blackbird" featured a "bird-a-long" as fans chirped to the second half of the song. This got even Eddie smiling and many laughing - a very enjoyable moment. "No More" was a BIG singalong for such a relatively new song ("No More War!"). "Arc" was very powerful and moving as Eddie looped his vocals many times over and wailed to the point that he was nearly in tears (I swear, I think he was), remembering the lives of those who died at the Roskilde incident in 2000. It's a very personal song for him, and the crowd was definitely entranced by the performance.
For the second encore, Eddie brought Brendan Carty from D.C. legends Fugazi on stage to play drums for "All Along the Watchtower." At this point, everyone was standing (we were seated for most of the show) and rocking out. Eddie closed out the show with a standing "Hard Sun" with both Liam Finn and Eliza-Jane Barnes on drums and vocals, respectively. People had now taken out cameras and started trying to record video. Eddie took a bow and seemed to really enjoy the deafening crowd response at the end of the show (compare this to Milwaukee, where he left as soon as the song finished).
If you're a big Pearl Jam fan or even a casual Eddie Vedder fan, it was certainly worth the money. It's a show that I'll always remember.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g311/karmakvisser/pearl%20jam/eddievedderdcnight270lr.jpg
SETLIST:
Sometimes
Trouble
Girl From North Country
Around the Bend
I Am Mine
I'm Open
Man of the Hour
Setting Forth
No Ceiling
Guaranteed
Far Behind
Rise
You're True
Driftin'
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
Forever Young
Porch
---
Here's to the State
Blackbird
Society (w/ Liam Finn)
Throw Your Arms Around Me (w/ Liam Finn)
No More
Arc
---
All Along the Watchtower (w/ Brendan Canty from Fugazi)
Hard Sun (w/ Liam Finn and Eliza-Jane Barnes)
My fiancee and I arrived a half hour early but decided to get a coffee and relax. After all, the Warner Theatre only holds 1,800 people, we have reserved seats, and EV posters have not been selling out all tour. This ended up being a wise decision as I was able to get enough cash for a pair of posters (one for me, one for a friend); the venue wasn't accepting credit cards for anything.
When we entered the venue, we found out what our tickets are. The Ten Club (Pearl Jam's fan club) doesn't reveal your tickets until the day of the show at will call. I ended up with two 8th row tickets, which in this intimate setting is as good as first row at most theaters. Amazing.
The poster line was a bit long, but I was still able to get two. The design - inspired by Batman - is much cooler than the other EV poster of the tour, which is a colored picture of Eddie. All of the merchandise is overpriced (yeah, I know, goin' hongray!), but I eat it up because I'm a Pearl Jam fanboy.
Poster:
http://i22.ebayimg.com/08/i/001/03/4a/20fd_1.JPG
At 7:30, Liam Finn hit the stage. For those who aren't familiar, Finn is a New Zealander who plays numerous instruments in each song, utilizing delay/repeat pedals to create a wall of sound. His co-vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Eliza-Jane Barnes joined him on stage for all songs, and they were quite unpredictable as to what instrument they would play on each song. Sometimes, Liam did his best imitation of Animal from the Muppets and pounded on the drums for a few minutes while E-J Barnes howled into the microphone. Other times, Liam was on vocals, guitar, and drums simultaneously while E-J Barnes looped various strange instruments. It was worth watching for 45 minutes.
Liam with Eliza-Jane Barnes and Eddie
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3049/2739155216_00320f1128.jpg
At 8:45, Eddie came out to a thunderous roar. He notified everyone that he was going to skip his ritualistic opener from both tours ("Walking the Cow") and started with a riveting version of Pearl Jam's "Sometimes." The crowd was very quiet and respectful throughout the first few songs, partially because of the venue's NO CELL PHONES OR CAMERAS policy. If you were caught texting, calling, or taking a picture, you were out.
Eddie followed with a few covers (Cat Stevens's "Trouble" sounded great!) before playing three Pearl Jam songs penned by Ed. "Around the Bend" was a definite highlight for me. When three of the first six songs in a show are from No Code - my all-time favorite CD by any band - you know you're seeing something special. "Sometimes," "Around the Bend," and "I'm Open" are definitely three songs that made the night worth it for me.
In between most songs, Eddie would include a lot of stage banter. At a Pearl Jam show, you sometimes get rants and funny quips. But at this show, Eddie planned to take a lot of time to interact with the crowd. At times, this was positive stage banter. For example, he gave a couple of political speeches about "Blackbird" (Beatles cover) and how it relates to the civil rights movement, about Obama and how he endorses him (subtly, by having his crew walk out with a gigantic OBAMA 08 poster), and about crooked politicians in office. He also spoke about the West Memphis 3, about Pete Seeger, and told a funny story about his experiences in Washington D.C. In his story, he discussed surfing/wakeboarding on the Potomac River and seeing several yachts at a dock with silly names like Miss Behaven and Victims of Comfort!
Sometimes, though, the banter was in reaction to rowdy fans. In such a small venue, there are bound to be dozens of fans screaming out song requests ("GONE!" "LEASH!"), the occasional "I LOVE YOU, EDDIE!" and other absurd commments ("ARE YOU HIGH?!"). Eddie responded to each in different ways. For example, he teased a few Pearl Jam songs ("Grievance," "Rearviewmirror,") and said he was playing stuff he wanted to play tonight since Pearl Jam was just in town 6 weeks prior. He called some audience members dumbasses and jokingly said, "I assume you really love me deeply? Like from the heart?" This got a humorous, "Good assumption, Eddie!" to which he replied, "Thanks, professor!" and continued to rib the guy.
The "Thieves of Silence," as Eddie labeled them (people who wouldn't stop yelling out things in between songs) didn't really ruin the night, however, until before "Blackbird" when one guy yelled out "GET TO THE SONGS!" during some banter. Eddie told the guy off and asked him to go outside and check the stocks on his Blackberry while he took the time to talk to everyone.
The music, meanwhile, was exceptional. I wasn't sure if Eddie could do it since his songwriting skills are good, but not as talented as Stone's or Mike's in Pearl Jam. His Into The Wild songs were strong, although he botched "Society" when playing it with Liam Finn and had to restart at the solo. He also botched the opening to "Far Behind," I believe. "Guaranteed" was excellent, and it displayed just what Eddie can do when he really puts some time into a song.
"Driftin'" was a treat since it's a rare song to hear at a PJ show. "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" was another surprise since it wasn't played by Eddie on the East Coast tour at all. "Porch" got the crowd into a singalong and a near frenzy as many stood up and rocked out to the acoustic version of a Pearl Jam fan favorite.
"Here's to the State" got both cheers and boos from the crowd as Eddie criticized several prominent politicians. "Blackbird" featured a "bird-a-long" as fans chirped to the second half of the song. This got even Eddie smiling and many laughing - a very enjoyable moment. "No More" was a BIG singalong for such a relatively new song ("No More War!"). "Arc" was very powerful and moving as Eddie looped his vocals many times over and wailed to the point that he was nearly in tears (I swear, I think he was), remembering the lives of those who died at the Roskilde incident in 2000. It's a very personal song for him, and the crowd was definitely entranced by the performance.
For the second encore, Eddie brought Brendan Carty from D.C. legends Fugazi on stage to play drums for "All Along the Watchtower." At this point, everyone was standing (we were seated for most of the show) and rocking out. Eddie closed out the show with a standing "Hard Sun" with both Liam Finn and Eliza-Jane Barnes on drums and vocals, respectively. People had now taken out cameras and started trying to record video. Eddie took a bow and seemed to really enjoy the deafening crowd response at the end of the show (compare this to Milwaukee, where he left as soon as the song finished).
If you're a big Pearl Jam fan or even a casual Eddie Vedder fan, it was certainly worth the money. It's a show that I'll always remember.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g311/karmakvisser/pearl%20jam/eddievedderdcnight270lr.jpg
SETLIST:
Sometimes
Trouble
Girl From North Country
Around the Bend
I Am Mine
I'm Open
Man of the Hour
Setting Forth
No Ceiling
Guaranteed
Far Behind
Rise
You're True
Driftin'
If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
Forever Young
Porch
---
Here's to the State
Blackbird
Society (w/ Liam Finn)
Throw Your Arms Around Me (w/ Liam Finn)
No More
Arc
---
All Along the Watchtower (w/ Brendan Canty from Fugazi)
Hard Sun (w/ Liam Finn and Eliza-Jane Barnes)