6000 Foot Drop

Stockholm, Sweden: Pearl Jam 7/7/12 at Ericsson Globe Arena -- Copernican Tra-La

We travelled from Washington State halfway around the world to take in the Washington State modern rock sensation Pearl Jam last night at the Ericsson Globe Arena in the grungy Globe City neighborhood of Stockholm Sweden. 

The Sweden Solar System is the world's largest permanent scale model of our Solar System.  The Ericsson Globe at a diameter of 110 meters (the world's largest hemispherical building) represents the Sun, and all of the planets are also represented.  The planets (and their moons) are aligned to scale in size and distance radiating northward throughout Sweden, from the Globe in Stockholm all the way out to the representation of cute cute Pluto at a diameter of only 12 cm (softball sized) up with the reindeer in Lapland at Delsbo. The Earth is 65 cm in diameter (beachball sized) located in the Cosmonova Museum in suburban Stockholm, and the Jupiter is 7.3m in diameter (hot air balloon sized), located at a highway roundabout north of Arlanda.   

 

Saturday night, Pearl Jam did the Globe proud, all hot and flaring and radiating gasses and rays and energy -- just like the sun.

 Show was a sell-out at 16,000 worldly fans packed in like herring.

LA punk sensation from another generation X opened the show -- peg leg frazz all over.  Here is X's John Doe still doing it like 1982.

Pearl Jam took the stage like the sexy sextet that they are.

Here is lead guitarist Mike McCready, traveling with his 1959 Fender Stratocaster and his parents who made him take music lessons (just like yours did).

Here is keyboardist and native Hawaiian Boom Gaspar on his first visit to Sweden.

Here is drummer Matt Cameron who is fast on the skins like, say, Keith Moon was.

Here is Montana native Jeff Ament who wears his bass strap too long so that he looks somewhat like a midget hedge fund manager, but slaps it out with the best of them.

Here is rhythm guitarist and Seattle native Stone Gossard along with frontman Sir Eddie Vedder in a deep mood.

Set I:

Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town -- "I just want to say hello!"

Corduroy -- Our perfect second level section is seated!

Got Some -- Mr. Vedder drinks wine from a bottle.

Why Go -- Some in the fire hazard pit are wondering if it might be time.

Here is Mr. Vedder thanking the crowd in Swedish -- annunciated slowly although not too badly our seat neighbor tells us.

Amongst The Waves -- A very large wave is being ridden to its completion.

Wishlist -- "I wish I were a neutron bomb that wont go off."

Given To Fly -- Mr. Vedder pulls up his shirt like wings (to swoons.)

Comatose -- Sounds discordant like Phish's Sanity.

Even Flow -- Even better than the Adam Sandler version.

World Wide Suicide -- The pit looks like popping corn.

Garden -- Let Stone sing!

Better Things -- Kinks cover about hope.

Unthought Known -- Section B6 is still essentially motionless.  Quizzical.

All Those Yesterdays -- A few of the PJ members have receding hairlines, but, hey, that's ok, so does the audience.

The Fixer -- Mr. Vedder thanks his physician and his mechanic.

1/2 Full -- Mr. Vedder asks for a new bottle of wine and it is replenished faster than you can say Peter.

Jeremy -- Jeff Ament on the solo intro and outro.  You know its the closer.

Set II:

Off He Goes -- "Nothing has changed but the surrounding bullshit..."

Just Breathe -- Beautiful acoustic intro and dedicated by Mr. Vedder to the newlyweds in the audience.

State Of Love And Trust -- Mr. Vedder is taking requests.

Do The Evolution -- "You're in control now.  This set is evolving..."

Love, Reign O'er Me -- Does The Who justice -- especially Jeff and Matt.

Porch -- Sloppy.  Here is Mr. Vedder doing his laying of the hands session like Jesus would do.

E:

Happy Birthday -- sung to two of the crew and one special birthday girl who caught Mr. Vedder's eye.

Once -- Highway living by the side of the road -- you know a Neil Young song is coming.

Better Man/Save It For Later -- Run out nicely.  Crowd on the "oh oh oh oh yah's."

Crazy Mary -- No smoking or drinking in the Globe Arena.

Black -- Pearl Jam has a beautiful song.  Ed joins Boom on keys.

Alive -- Along with the stuffed animals and blouses, several Italian flags are passed up to Mr. Vedder -- who loops them into his belt and strips them off to swoons (in Italian as well as Swedish.)

Rockin' In The Free World -- House lights up. Mr. Vedder supposes that Neil Young would be proud of Stockholm. 

Yellow Ledbetter/Little Wing -- Mr. Vedder gives away a dozen tambourines to close the show.

Tonight's only oddity was the sea of seated patrons in the second level where we were.  One lone beautiful dancer danced untouched like it was her birthday.  Your correspondent rose to groove only to be punched first and asked to sit later.  At least they were dancing outside.

Stockholm is fit for a king.  But next time ask for the regal box -- standing and dancing allowed!

 

See you in Oslo!

Alpine Valley WI: Phish 7/1/12 -- Dick Bong Recreation Area

The powerfully talented Vermont jazz rock ensemble Phish closed out its two night run at the legendary Alpine Valley Music Theater in rural WIsconsin last night.  Not a sellout, but over 30,000 in attendance in 90 degree prairie heat.

Two night runs are nice for the fans because it gives them a day to sit around the pool listening to Garth Brooks or to get out and enjoy the local tourist attractions, like the famous Dick Bong Recreation Area.

Here is the man-made ski hill at Alpine Valley that killed Stevie Ray Vaughn -- Stevie was no Sonny Bono.

Our seatmates were from all over -- Section 203 row FFF, Section 201 row GGG, Section 202 row HHH, the lawn, and this chap from Reykjavik.

This fan may have been sandusky'd by the University of Wisconsin mascot Bucky.

We were again in scalper Section 202 row CC, dead center with a nice view -- you dont need no education to see that.  But the tranquil ambiance of this shot was overrun by seathopper nation, who (for reasons unknown) assume the true owners of dead center close-in seats will choose (for reasons unknown) not to sit here in the lovely Section 202 row CC seats they purchased, but instead (for reasons unknown) choose to sit in lousier seats, say in Section 201 row GGG, or Section 203 row FFF.  

Seathopper nation was out in force tonight, using the old-fashioned "multi-person stubdown team" technique, or the newer "print multiple copies of the one good ticket your crew has" technique, and even using the clumsy "crush-past the cute Wisconsin teenage ticket-checker like the boor that you are" technique.  We even saw married seathoppers and seathoppers with jobs.  A highlight in the quest for personal space, however, was seeing one bedreaded profiled seathopper get his ticket tossed by an unassuming blonde beauty trying to hold onto the space she deserved.  But overall, the ridiculous logic and anti-social selfishness of the push and shove seathoppers is a miserable side effect of Phish.  

On the bright side, here was a fan and magician with a very small sign chasing four songs but trying to do so in a manner not to affront the band or the sight lines of his neighbors.  Alas, he didn't get any of his wishes, including Section 202 rows AA, BB, or CC.

The band does not care about seathoppers or other frustrations of the fans, and why should they -- they have music to make.

Set I:

Soul Shakedown Party -- "I need your concentration just to feel your vibration" indeed.

Lonesome Cowboy Bill -- You've got to see him yodel.

Vultures -- As seen in in the Blue Lot before the show feeding on the remains of heat stroke victims.

Gotta Jiboo -- And they keep on drinking too. 

Song I Heard the Ocean Sing -- Phish 2.0 mini-set in progress.

Access Me -- Wasn't this song thrown away during Phish 2.0?

Meat -- Halting, with fake-out endings.  And just while  you were wondering where the Meat vocal special effects were, Page alights from his piano bench and dons the keytar. 

Frankenstein -- Edgar Winter loved to wear a piano around his neck.

Fee -- With Trey on bullhorn!  Just like you remember from the first song of the first side of the first Phish record you ever heard.  Crowd on the "You're trying to live a life that's completely free" -- the seathopper dichotomy.

Maze -- Hard to get out of the maze when the seathoppers are humping each other like cords of mexican jumping beans.

Squirming Coil -- Page continues his MVP performance channeling George Gershwin and closing the set alone.

Set II:

Crosseyed and Painless -- Fish was strong on vocals all weekend, or are you still waiting?

No Quarter -- Just like you remember from Houses of the Holy.

Light -- Superb Phish 3.0 with delicate interplay from all four in the quartet.

Story of the Ghost -- One of the elderly Wisconsin $2-per-ounce wine slingers expresses surprised approval.

Crosseyed and Painless -- Still waiting no longer.

Get Back on the Train -- The Chicago EL commuters are reminded tomorrow is a workday.

Farmhouse  -- More melodious than you remember.

46 Days -- Powerhouse dance craze, including even a few of the flashlight toting pretend security personnel.

Heavy Things -- You know, for kids.

Joy -- People cried at the Grateful Dead, but apparently Phish phans are more emotionless (for reasons unknown).

Julius -- Nice power version.  Don't take another step down the 45 degree lawn!

E:  Meatstick -- With Japanese lyrics.  Phish shocks the brain again.

See you in Stockholm for Pearl Jam!