Eddie Vedder Show - 8/4/08

Got a chance to see Eddie Vedder play the United Palace Theatre up in Washington Heights last night. Fantastic show that really rocked my socks, especially because I didn't think I'd be able to go until almost the last minute. When tickets went on sale last month through the 10 Club I tried to get them for either of the NYC shows and got shut out. I went to Ticketmaster a few days later and had no luck there either. I had accepted the fact that I'd miss the shows and bummed as I was I figured it was probably for the best, financially speaking.

On Sunday night I got an email from my friend Alan who had sent some video from the Boston show of Eddie playing an acoustic version of "Porch" and telling me that the show was amazing. So that had my itching to see the show. I was thinking about heading up to the theatre after work and trying to scalp a ticket, but on a whim went to Ticketmaster yesterday afternoon and found two tickets with no trouble. Weird.

Got to the show a little late - missed most of Liam Finn who was opening. Seemed like he was in the midst of a pretty cool set though, so I might have to check him out another time. We probably heard the last 2 or 3 songs in full once we got to our seats (about 3 rows from the very back of the orchestra - not bad all things considered) and he was making good use of several looping effects and/or pre-recorded tracks. Definitely a charged performance, to say the least.

Around 8:45 or so Eddie hit the stage, coming up through the crowd. Set was pretty sparse - he was playing surrounded by about 3 or 4 guitars and a couple other instruments, an old tape recorder and some amps. He sat for the whole show and played in front of a series of increasingly in-artistic backdrops. The first one was a city background which was cool, but the two that followed were no great shakes. The final sky backdrop was better, but a little hokey.

He opened with a couple of covers, "Walking The Cow" by Daniel Johnston and Cat Stevens' "Trouble". Not overly familiar with either tune, but I think he's played each a few times as sound checks at PJ shows. First thing I noticed was that his voice sounded very good. Sound system in the building was MUCH better than the Tweeter Center PJ show last month. Of course, they were only really mixing his vox with his guitar last night, so I would imagine that had something to do with it. I had never seen a show at this venue before, but to me it sounded great.

From there he went into some Pearl Jam material. "Around The Bend" sounded great and I realized how long it's been since I listened to that song. I've never been a huge fan of "I Am Mine" but stripping it down to just him and a guitar made it seem fresher and I really enjoyed it. "Dead Man Walking" has never been a favorite of mine either. This performance was fine, but the song just doesn't really do much for me - never really goes anywhere. It is cool, however, to see him go deep into the PJ catalogue and play songs you rarely hear the band play live to fill out his set list.

He briefly played part of "I'm Open" before "Man of the Hour" which was also fine, despite being another song that never really gets out of 1st gear for me. It's funny - writing this now I feel like I'm being very critical of the show, but to be honest, I never really thought "Oh, I don't like this song" or "I wish he was playing different stuff" as the show was progressing. I was just enjoying being there which I think had everything to do with accepting that I was going to miss the show in the first place then being surprised at the ticket availability.

"Sometimes" was a huge surprise for me (I haven't been keeping up with the set lists for his solo shows) and that really knocked me out. He followed that with a few songs from the "Into the Wild" soundtrack, which felt like a bit of a rock-opera to me. "Setting Forth", "No Ceiling", "Guaranteed", "Far Behind" (my personal favorite song from the album), and "Rise Up" were a great representation of the album and I loved the overall flow of that particular mini-set.

After the Into the Wild section, he played "Millworker" which is such a great story in a song. Really clean and crisp throughout the song, but then he veered way off course (in a good way) and went into a Townshend-esque guitar beating session which was just completely emphatic and brutal. Totally out of left field and a take on the song I wouldn't really have expected.

"Soon Forget" game next which reminded me how much I love Binaural. He followed that up with a song called "Goodbye" which I hadn't heard before. Not sure if it was one of his own or a cover, but it was great. Very emotional and one of the real highlights for me - love the new stuff.

Eddie had some fun next, saying he was going to play a sad song and goofing around with "Used To Work In Chicago" which basically ended up being about a verse's worth of set up for a limerick punchline. He followed that up with a brief "Walk Hard" cover which then lead into "Drifting", which did about as much to blow the doors off of the place as one could expect at a solo show with an acoustic guitar. Another rarity that was great to hear live and a song that really captures the very best of his talents, I think. He kept the pedal down for the rest of the main set, closing with singalongs "Hide Your Love Away" and "Porch" both of which were phenominal and tremendously energetic.

He took off for a minute or two, but came back quickly for the encore, which was a nice surprise. Not the encore, just that we didn't have to stand there clapping for 5 minutes before it happened. Second set opened with "Wishlist" which is another favorite that I haven't heard the full band play very much live. Funny bit here as he sort of sang the e-bow solo (I still love the mini-argument Ed and Stone get in over who should play that solo on the "Single Video Theory" DVD).

Highlight of the night came next in what appeared to be a completely impromptu rendition of "Let My Love Open The Door". Just completely thrilling. Before the song he said something along the lines of "I have no idea how this one is gonna go..." Well, it went pretty fucking great. He attempted to get the audience to sing in harmony at the end, which also went surprisingly well, considering they were having trouble even keeping a simple beat with the clapping along all night. Great moment and another cover that allowed Ed to really showcase where his voice is at right now. I honestly think he sounds as good as I've ever heard him live right now.

Liam Finn joined him for "Society" and then Ed played "Masters of War" after someone shouted it out as a request. Speaking of which, there seemed to be a lot of that going on last night. Not surprising, happens all the time with every band. That doesn't make it any less annoying though. Yeah, there are about 100 songs I've love to hear him play too, but why spend time bitching about what you're not hearing when there is such a great show happening right in front of you? Just something I don't get about people. And don't even get me started on the shitheads who just scream out whatever goes through their heads just to be heard. At least the clowns requesting their favorite song have some kind of misguided purpose. The other guys and gals might as well just scream "PAY ATTENTION TO ME!" and get it over with. Just do us a favor and take up your inferiority complex with your parents at Christmastime instead of in the middle of a show the rest of us are trying to enjoy.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, "Masters of War" was fucking intense. Saw this with the full band on the Vote For Change tour in 04, but I think this version was more gripping. I read a review today that mentioned how the whole place was completely silent and I was struck by the same thing. Eerie. Touching. "No More" followed and that felt sort of like the manufactured version of the Dylan tune. Where "Masters of War" shook the whole place, "No More" was more like a paint by numbers thing with a big "YOU PROTEST HERE!" neon sign flashing during the singalong parts. Still moving based on the subject matter alone, but not in the same league as "Masters" and it ended up suffering for it's placement.

Second set closed with "Arc", a tune from Riot Act that I've never been a huge fan of. Completely different experience live though, with Eddie looping his howling voice and adding to the loop until he goes off at the end, improving at the high end of his register. Really a striking performance.

He ended the show with "Hard Sun" for which he was joined by Liam Finn and Eliza (not sure of Eliza's last name, but she plays with Liam). This was a total 180 from the direction the show had taken in the second set with the lights coming up and everyone letting loose and celebrating the music. The three of them played along with a pre-recorded track, which led to at least one minor problem with Eddie repeating a chorus one time too many when the music shifted back to the verse, but he covered it well and it made the whole thing that much more memorable.

Eddie seemed in good spirits all night. He talked a little about his first trip to NYC and how the magnitude of playing the Garden and these solo shows in the same summer was not lost on him. He joked a bit here and there, talked up the venue, gave us a little politics (not much) and generally came off as though he was really enjoying the chance to do something a little different. I remember shows where, despite his enthusiasm for the music, it sometimes looked like touring was the last thing he ever wanted to do and I just feel really fortunate with the way he and the band have progressed because when I see them these days it looks like they are all 100% comfortable, happy and content, which has me hoping for many more great shows to come.

As we were walking out I was just shaking my head at how great a time I had. I'm honestly not even sure exactly what it was that made it such a great show to me - although I think sometimes it's the stuff you can't explain that makes certain concerts stand out. I just know that I had a great time and that it's easily one of the best shows I've ever been to. Not that I didn't expect Eddie to step up and deliver the goods, but even then my expectations were exceeded. Wish I was headed back up there tonight.