Eddie Vedder Solo Show A Guaranteed Success

April232008
From talent network, inc
Written by Linda Venezie
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talent networks own Linda Venezie is one of the biggest Pearl Jam fans in the world. Her obsession is pretty amazing to see. Linda is very passionate and genuine about her music and how it moves and motivates her inner peace. Pearl Jams Eddie Vedder is the straw that stirs Linda’s drink. Just last week Linda was in California to catch two sold out shows. We are happy to bring you this review written by a fan not a critic. Raw, real and “Guaranteed” to please any passionate fan.


Review…
So I was lucky enough to be one of the 1,456 fans that got to see Eddie Vedder’s solo shows in San Diego on April 15th and 16th.


The shows were in a word (or 2) just totally amazing. Eddie was so relaxed and happy - you could just feel it. The first show he came out and said he had been out late with the PJ tour manager the night before and was "so hung over his hair hurt". Then he asked if we could please keep the noise to a minimum. But he didn’t disappoint, and went on to play 31 songs, for almost 2 1/2 hours.



Continued...
We were in the very LAST row that first night - and we stood the whole time. But from what I could see, we were the only ones who did.

The 2nd night - we were lucky enough to have the coveted auction tickets, and our seats were 2nd row dead center. What a difference that made!

The set lists are here:

April 15th

April 16th

Both nights the first 8 to 10 songs were pretty much the same, with the order changed up – except for “I’m Open”, which Eddie threw in the first night, and a Beatles cover “Her Majesty” on the 2nd – which was very cool!

As for his voice, hearing him in such an intimate venue (with no other musical accompaniment except his guitar and an old Corona box he used as a bass drum, tapping it with his foot) his voice really stood out and completely filled that venue, and his vibrato sounded so clear and well controlled. Every few songs a roadie dressed as a doctor would bring out different guitars for him.

The stage setup was sparse and very intimate. There were a few speakers behind him, a small drum kit that Liam Finn played on for the encores, a screen draped along the back that would show scenes like a blue sky and the ocean, and Ed sat on a stool with a spotlight on him. Lastly, there was an old-fashioned reel-to-reel tape player, which he used for a moving version of “Arc” on the first night. He would sing an a cappella lick into the tape player, and it would play back as he added another and another different one until 9 or 10 were playing back at the same time. VERY COOL!

And as I said above, NO ONE stood during the shows... not a single person. Everyone stood when he first came out, and during the very last encore. The rest of the time was a laid-back, intimate show... as if you were sitting in Ed's living room and listening to him play guitar.

What was most surprising was that Eddie was really, really funny! Both nights he did a little take off of a Barry White song, and it was absolutely hysterical. I want a copy of it SO BAD!! He’d say in that sexy Barry White-esque bass monotone, "I wanna take you baby.... and lick you up one side and down the other... just like an ice cream cone on a hot summer's day...". TOO FUNNY!!! Later on, a guy yelled out from the audience "who are you voting for Ed?" and Eddie said "sorry - I didn’t catch that", so the guy repeated it. Eddie started strumming his guitar and said, "I don't really like talking about my political affiliations"... and as he said it a HUGE Obama poster floated from one end of the stage to the other. Leave it to Ed, eh?

And both shows I got to hear my favorite song, “Guaranteed”, and both times it brought tears to my eyes. I’m still pissed at the Oscars for their stupid rules for nominating songs in movies. At least the Golden Globes got it right and chose it for Best Song!

Partway through the 2nd show Ed mentioned how he'd been hung over the night before, but this night he needed to be on his best behavior because there was a special guest in the audience. He said, “my Mom is here - stand up, mom!". They turned a spotlight on, and she was in one
of the small boxes on the side of the stage. Ed said, "It’s my mom's
birthday today, and hey mom - where'd you get tickets for those seats? I hope you didn't spend all of your birthday money on a scalper!" There was such talk and complaining about tickets being scalped for all of these solo shows, so it was hilarious that Eddie addressed it. Then he said again "Happy Birthday to you, Mom" and we all just stood as one and started clapping for her... and for her giving us Eddie (at least that's was I was clapping for). The applause went on for a good minute and a half. It was a very special moment, and she was beaming from ear to ear - and so was Eddie. Then we finally sat back down and Ed said, "I was planning on singing Happy Birthday to you Mom, but I don't think anything I sang would be a better tribute than you were just given". And yes – the thought of the moment does bring tears to my eyes yet again.

And speaking of scalping tickets, the people in the front row told us that they were waiting in line to get in and a guy came up to them and said “where are your seats?” and they told him way up in the balcony in one of the last rows. And he said, “Here – switch tickets with me” and gave them FRONT ROW SEATS! This is the kind of stuff Ed loves to do – because it is something you will never, ever forget.

Eddie played a song that surprised me the 2nd night... starting it with "we're going to do a sing along, kind of like in Disneyland, where the guys will sing one part and the girls the other.” And he started muttering some low words the men were to sing and an "oooh oooh" for the women to sing, and he kept repeating it until I finally made out that the guys part was "let my love open the door" - the Pete Townshend song! Being a huge Who fan, that was just so cool. And we singing our background parts went along perfectly with his singing the melody. He also did a little snippet of a Bad Radio song.

Both nights Liam Finn came out and they sang “Throw Your Arms Around Me”, their harmonies blended together beautifully, and I loved the alternate melody.

The friend I was with had met Eddie before, almost 10 years ago, and Eddie was very helpful to him because he had just lost his brother the very day before. Eddie paid tribute to his brother during the show that night. So my friend made a pillowcase that said, "Always remember Boston 9-16-98" the day of the meeting and the show. So at the very end as Ed was standing there waving and saying goodnight my friend threw the pillowcase. Eddie caught it perfectly, and scrunched it up in his hand so he wouldn't drop it, and carried it with him off stage. A fitting and special ending to a truly magical set of shows.