6000 Foot Drop

Seattle WA: Pearl Jam 8/10/18 at Safeco Field -- The Phone Shows

Seattle's plaid rock sextet Pearl Jam closed its Home Shows at Safeco Field friday night, blazing another multi-faceted performance and thrilling fans from around the globe. Our Ten Club seat neighbors were from Spokane, Shoshone Bay, Vancouver BC, Santiago Chile, and London UK. Show was a sell out at 50,000, Noah's Ark style with patrons limited to two "phone only" tickets. Add another 50,000 for Wednesday's show, and this makes the #HomeShows Seattle's largest concert event since The Rolling Stones' 1981 shows at the Kingdome (Michelobs for everyone!) Indeed, Eddie Vedder is the American Mick Jagger (without the mid-show costume changes): smooth, lithe and alive.

Pearl Jam's Vitalogy Foundation is funneling proceeds of the show in a noble attempt to end the intractable problem of homelessness. But can homelessness be "solved"? "Housing first" sounds fine until you have new college graduates with sub-zero net worths and entry level tech jobs asking for their free houses: "Hey Siri, where's my free house?"

So, will Pearl Jam's good deeds fix anything? Or will the donated money be wasted on someone who wasted their own opportunity to get wasted without wasting your family's getting wasted money? Some wasted people work hard to earn their getting wasted money and want to protect it behind their fortified abodes.

Santa Ana tried moving homeless into hotels, with the government paying the hotel bills. But the government paying $300 per month EXTRA for each pet accompanying a homeless person makes no sense when that $300 could buy school lunches or books for the library. Seattle's parks department is overwhelmed with rough sleepers chopping down trees and clearing land for their illegal encampments. But maybe the $11,500,000+ earned for the cause by Pearl Jam will make a difference -- or at least buy 11 starter homes in Ballard for the rubbydub masses who've plopped into that district, but without an address or plumbing, turning that desirable neighborhood upside down.

Maybe more than $11,500,000 could have been raised if some of the $50 t-shirt or $60 parking money went to the cause.

Sociology aside, Friday's show was masterful. Pearl Jam remains Boom Gaspar, flyin' hawaiian on the keys.

San Diego native Matt Cameron pounding it out on a drum kit more simple than that used by Jon Fishman.

Big Sandy, Montana native Jeff Ament slapping on bass.

Capitol Hill native Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar.

Laurelhurst native Mike McCready on lead guitar.

Chicago native Eddie Vedder is the speaking spokesperson for the band, leading the choir and assisting on guitar.  

Set I:

Oceans: "Glide me toward you..." Slow, bass driven, steady. Jeff is the song MVP.

Footsteps: "If there was a reason, the reason was you..." Slow and lyrical. Mike is the song MVP for his pure tone.

Nothingman: "Caught a bolt of lightning..." Blusey and soulful. Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for his phrasing.

Why Go: "She's been diagnosed..." Some expected this as the opener. Mike is scorching on the strat, but Jeff is the song MVP for his pacing. Mr. Vedder leads the first of many sing alongs "hey hey hey hey.."

Brain of J: "The whole world will be different soon..." Yielding, buzzcocky. Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for his ability to quickly recite memorized lyrics. Punk foreshadowing for what is to come.

Interstellar Overdrive: Floydian instrumental. Mike is the song MVP.

Corduroy:  "I don't wanna take what you can give, I would rather starve than eat your bread..." Ronald Reagan suggested homeless people choose their lifestyle. Others say no one chooses to become homeless, they choose to stay homeless. Matt is the song MVP, shaking the stadium. Mr. Vedder leads the sing along "yah yah yah yah..."

Stage banter: Mr. Vedder thanks his family and friends, invoking the first amendment and the right of peaceful assembly.

Rats: "They don't scurry when something bigger comes their way..." Dedicated to old Seattleites, thousands of whom are in attendance. Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for his raspiness.

In Hiding: "They were upside down..." Soulful, lyrical, Beatlesesque. Stone is the song MVP.

Whipping: "Don't need a raincoat, I'm already wet..." Punky, frazzy, Seattle sound. Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for his multi-tasking.

Stage banter: Mr. Vedder makes some predictions, including that Mike will be the MVP of the next song because he plays better when he's "pissed off." Mr. Vedder explains that the venerable Showbox theater is planned to be demolished to supply more housing to the Seattle market.

Even Flow: "Thoughts arrive like butterflies..." Indeed they do - depositing lingering earworms among the thousands. Mr. Vedder is strong on the Sandlerian yabba dabba do gibberish and leading the "Save the Showbox" chant, but Mike is the song MVP, as predicted.

Missing: "Here come the signs of early warning misery..." Soundgardeny. Jeff is the song MVP for his strong groovy plucking.

Daughter: "Breakfast table in an otherwise empty room..." 50,000 moving and singing in unison. "Daughter" is Pearl Jam's most understandable single word throughout its broad repertoire. Stone is the song MVP for his rhythm. 

Immortality: "A truant finds home..." Prettiest girl in Section 143 gets her call. Phish-like outro. Mr. Vedder is strong with the which-way-is-up strumming, but Matt is the MVP.

Stage banter: Mr. Vedder tells a story about his first appearance in Rolling Stone and how his "cool Asian dude" shopkeeper friend thought it was a fishing magazine. Then he shows Stone Gossard's picture on the cover of the current Rolling Stone.

I'm Open: "So this is what's it's like to be an adult..." No codian. Mike is the song MVP.

Unthought Known: "Fill the air up with love..." Ungrungy. Lucky man in Section 143 gets his call. Mr. Vedder is strong on his rhythmic strumming, but Boom is the song MVP for his tinkling.

Can't Deny Me: "Got nothing, got nothing but the will to survive..." Fun new song. Matt is the song MVP.

Do the Evolution: "It's evolution, baby..." Hallelujahish. Vince Vaughn gets his call. Stone is the song MVP.

Lukin: "Open the fridge. Now I know what life is worth..." Fast scat. Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for matching his singing with his playing.

Porch: "Hold my hand, walk beside me..." Pearl Jam's Character Zero. Screens Wizard of Oz from black and white to color. Mr. Vedder goes into the audience, touching peoples' hands, Jesus-style. Jeff is the song MVP. 

Set II: 

I Won't Back Down: "Hey baby, there is no easy way out..." Mr. Vedder remembers seeing Tom Petty at Safeco Field and dedicates this solo performance to his memory.

Thin Air: "She reached my heart in thin air..." Orange tinged, Kinks like. Stone is the song MVP.

All Or None: "This hopeless situation is what I'm trying to achieve..." Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for channeling his inner Chicago blues artist.

Better Man: "It's 4 o'clock, it's got to stop..." Everyone sings the intro. Matt keeps the song from running away with his English beat, but Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for his strumming lead and Townshendian windmilling.

Crown of Thorns: "You ever hear the story of Mr. Faded glory..." Prettiest girl in Section 143 gets her second call. Beautiful with more shout outs to local educators. Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for his sincere intensity.

Kick Out The Jams: "Yes I'm starting to sweat, my shirt's all wet..." Kim Thayil of Soundgarden joins the jam kicking. Matt is the MVP for pounding it out while Mr. Vedder traverses the stage.

Spin the Black Circle: "A paper sleeve, oh my joy..." Dedicated to Sub Pop Records. Jeff is the heavy MVP.

Rearview Mirror: "Saw things so much clearer, once you were in my rearview mirror..." Aborted by Mr. Vedder after conferring with Jeff. Slide into Abba's Fernando before re-stating. Strong set closer, Rearview Mirror is Pearl Jam's Cavern. Mike ends the song playing on the ground, but Jeff is the song MVP for his smiling.

Encore:

Stage banter: Mr. Vedder introduces the band by their home neighborhoods, and also his butler Simon.

Crazy Mary: "Take a bottle down, pass it around..." Soulful. Stone is a strong strummer, but Boom is the song MVP for his Hammond hammering. 

Jeremy: "Lemon yellow sun..." 50,000 singing along to another educator shout out. Jeff is the song MVP for his lead guitar on bass.

Leash: "Cut the leash, cut the leash..." Discordant, mudhonian. Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for his yelling.

Search and Destroy: "Looking for something to destroy..." More Seattle punk vets join the lights up melee of yelling.

Sonic Reducer: "Sonic reducer, ain't no loser..." More lights up melee, ending the group grope.

Alive: "Son, she said, have I got a little story for you..." Even better than the Israeli school children version. Mr. Vedder is the song MVP for engaging the 50,000 in the stadium and the 50,000 in the surrounding neighborhood.

Baba O'Riley: "Out here in the fields, I fought for my meals..." Everyone knows the teenage wasteland lyric. People in the quiet suite sections are finally standing up.

Yellow Ledbetter: "I don't know whether I'm the boxer or the bag..." Lights up closer ending at the stroke of midnight. Mr. Vedder thanks the community and reminds everyone of the cause.

See you in Missoula for Pearl Jam!

New York NY: Pearl Jam 5/1/16 at Madison Square Garden -- The Mug is Round, the Jar is Round

Seattle's tour de force Pearl Jam set off the bunker busters last night at New York's famed Madison Square Garden, proving they are the world's best, currently touring rock and roll ensemble. Show was a sell out at 19,000. Everyone was thoroughly satisfied, except maybe the large-armed Evenbro in Section 116 who pouted and left after spilling $100 of beer all over his Jersey Shore costume. 

 

The Garden is family owned and, like many other east coast icons, is revered despite not being entirely clean. Thanks to skilled American craftspeople, the Garden has undergone a slow but complete renovation in the past 10 years, adding bunker suites, socio-economic dividers, and rafter seating. At least $1,000,000 of concrete, steel, glass, uniforms and radios have been devoted solely to dissuading seat-hoppers from diluting the value of the seats that aren't theirs. Our seats were Mike-side first row. Other than the Evenbro beer sprinkler, our seat neighbors were civilized and hailed from Los Angeles, Maine, Syracuse, and Westchester County.

No opening act. Pearl Jam took the stage with the house lights up 65 minutes after showtime with union bosses checking their watches. Pearl Jam remains Boom Gaspar on keys, Jeff Ament on bass, Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar, Mike McCready on lead guitar and Eddie Vedder as choir director. Mr. Vedder still does his Mookie Blaylock moves, with his limbo and spread eagle mixed in with homilies and sincere gratitude. Despite Mr. Anastasio being in attendance, no Phish songs were played.

Set I:

Go: "Please don't go out on me..." The PJ's have pulled out their discographies and are eyeing the Vs track list. Mr. Vedder does the limbo.

Mind Your Manners: "Self-realized and metaphysically redeemed...." This is the hopeless, motherless, starched hanky soundtrack for the walk down Seventh Avenue to The Garden.

Corduroy: "I don't want to take what you can give..." Pearl Jam speeds up the tempo on this Garment District shoutout.

Hail, Hail: "All hail the lucky ones, I refer to those in love..." Muddled. Maybe too many guitars?

Given To Fly: "Arms wide open with the sea as his floor..." Mr. Vedder dons his wingsuit and climbs the drum riser. He addresses the crowd acknowledging Muhammad Ali and thanking Billy Joel for taking the night off. 

Low Light: "Can I be here all alone?" Soulful.

Release: "I'll ride the wave where it takes me..." Baritony. Mr. Vedder dedicates the song to a friend.

Even Flow: "Even flow thoughts arise like butterflies..." Mike has this one memorized. He can play his part behind his back, or from the front row. Mr. Vedder plays along, dropping his corded microphone into the crowd for the fans to use. A technician reels the cord back in, marlin style.

I Got ID: "An empty shell seems so easy to crack..." Beatlesesque. Gives these two musical buddies a chance for some call and response.

In Hiding: "I shut and locked the front door, no way in or out..." Eddie Vedder might be the most visible member of Pearl Jam, but even Mike McCready and his cute backpack and Jeff Ament and his skateboard get noticed on the street. Mr. Vedder reminisces about Pearl Jam's first New York City show in July 1991. He calls Madison Square Garden octagonic and then tectonic. Indeed, it appears Madison Square Garden is round.

Rats: "Ben, the two of us need look no more..." Fast plaid scat rap.

Down: "Cry me a river dried up and damned..." Catchy and poppy for a song that presumably is depressing.

Wishlist: "I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me..." Mr. Vedder dedicates the song to American historian and author Howard Zinn. Mr. Vedder muses about running for president, like he does when Pearl Jam covers Pink Floyd's Mother. Mr. Vedder makes an anatomical joke about Mr. Trump who apparently did not make his hometown show.

Jeremy: "Jeremy spoke in class today...." Freight train style.

Do The Evolution: "It's evolution, baby..." Stone carries this tribute to Darwin, baby.

Why Go: "What you've taught me put me here..." Somebody has diagnosed the New Jersey Evenbro in Section 116 who has now spilled all of his friends' beers on himself and his penumbra.

Lukin: "I find my wife, I call the cops..."  Yelling in synch, Mudhoney style.

Rearviewmirror: "Saw things so much clearer, once you..." During the group clap, the MSG mop lady arrives to mop up after the shameless Evenbro beer fountain. He wins the wet t-shirt contest and leaves to a standing ovation.

Set II:
The End: "Slide up next to me..." Jeff on stand-up bass. Mr. Vedder touts medical research.

Future Days:  "I can see our future days of you and me..." Collective hopefulness. Nobody cries at a Phish concert.

Off He Goes: "Nothing's changed but the surrounding bullshit..." Pearl Jam has kept it real for 25 years.

Footsteps: "Don't even think about reaching me. I won't be home..." Western tinged, like the Rockford Files theme song.

Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns: "This is my kind of love..." Prettiest girl in Box #6 gets her call. Beautiful. Can a grunge band have a beautiful song? Pearl Jam's If I Could.

Unthought Known: "Up with love!" Dorkiest boy in Box #6 gets his call. Thoughtful. Can a grunge band have a thoughtful song? 

Mr. Vedder accepts a request, but hedges, saying he does not want to screw up in The Garden. Mr. Vedder admits he is not Lou Rawls.

Takin’ It To The Streets: "I ain't blind and I don't like what I think I see..."  Lots of brothers in the audience, but not a doobie in sight.

Whipping: "Don't need a helmet, got a hard hard head..." Fast paced.

Better Man/Save It For Later: "She dreams in color, she dreams in red..." Mr. Vedder climbs the drum riser and does a spread eagle. He may need the number of Mick Jagger's physical therapist.

Porch: "Hear my name. Take a good look. This could be the day..." Mike justifies the guitar lessons his parents got for him at Roosevelt High.

Encore:

Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town: "Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away..." Mr. Vedder changes by not changing, and everyone accepts that.

Lightning Bolt: "She's rock and roll. She's a lightning bolt..." Pearl Jam continues to use the Grateful Dead/Kiss/SS logo, lighting it up and everything.

Black: "The pictures have all been washed in black, tattooed everything." Elaborate, moving and intricate. Pearl Jam's Harry Hood. 

Alive: "Son, she said, have I got a little story for you..." Mike is wireless and peripatetic, taking laps and running the stairs. This version was almost as good as the Israeli school kids' version.

Rockin' In The Free World: "We've got a thousand points of light for the homeless man..." Young Ray Cameron joins the lights-up fracas on guitar. 

Indifference: "How much difference does it make..." Being sung by hundreds of middle aged men leaving the venue, like your dad leaving church on Christmas.

Pearl Jam remains a world party: combining talent, sincerity, verve and perseverance all wrapped in obvious true friendships among the band members. With encouragement, Pearl Jam might even be persuaded to play its home state every now and then. See you tonight at The Garden!