Last night, we took the train into NYC so we could go to the Beacon Theater for the Eddie Vedder Solo Concert.
I wanted to do a whole story on the train, as well as on the concert, but it just didn't work out for me. I'll have to do a story on Metropark another day.
The Concert was WONDERFUL. Eddie Vedder, normally the front man for the rock/grunge supergroup "Pearl Jam", has put out a new solo album - "Ukelele Songs." This concert was a solo concert in support of the new album. He also mixed up the set list with songs from his previous solo album, "Into the Wild," and with a few Pearl Jam classics. He also played a few songs in collaboration with other artists - he had a string quartet for a while, played a few songs with Glen Hansard, who opened for him, and a few great songs with Neil Finn (from Split Enz and Crowded House.)
I would have taken pictures and video myself, but the Beacon employees made announcement after announcement that NO CAMERAS where allowed. So I expect that this video might not last too long on youtube; I won't be surprised if it's taken down. Anyway, I wasn't about to get a camera taken away from me, so I didn't bother trying. Plenty of other people ignored the security though. It was almost funny.
The music was pure and beautiful, opening with a whole set of ukelele tracks. Eddie is really great at expressing emotion through his lyrics and his voice. The peak moments for me were when Eddie played "Long Road" in tribute to Clarence Clemmons, "Millworker"- after referring to the lawsuit in the news lately (Walmart), "Unthought Known", and "Hard Sun."
I guess the down-side to the concert was some of the audience, who must not have known what to expect. Anyone walking into the concert expecting it to be a Pearl Jam concert in a small venue must have been disappointed. I had been to the Newark solo concert last time around, so I had a better idea. The "audience participation" was great when it was a sing-along in support of the show, and not good at all when it was the audience just trying to mouth off - for example, yelling out the names of Pearl Jam songs they wanted to hear. Please.
All in all, though, it was a great experience. I wish I had tickets to tonight's show, too. I'm not sure if they are sold out - I imagine they are, though.
From the Eddie Vedder FAN CLUB WEBSITE:
Eddie Vedder at the Beacon Theater, New York, NY -- June 21, 2011
Show 1 Set List -- 01. Sleeping By Myself 02. Without You 03. Goodbye 04. Can't Keep 05. Light Today 06. You're True 07. Long Road 08. Sometimes 09. Betterman 10. I Am Mine 11. Millworker-(James Taylor) 12. No Ceiling 13. Far Behind 14. Long Nights w/ Glen Hansard 15. Guaranteed 16. Rise 17. Just Breathe w/ string quartet 18. The End w/ string quartet 19. Unthought Known 20. Arc
Encore Break 1 -- 21. Wishlist 22. Sleepless Nights w/ Glen Hansard-(Boudleaux Bryant, Felice Bryant) 23. Society w/ Glen Hansard-(Jerry Hannan) 24. Throw Your Arms Around Me w/ Neil Finn-(Archer, Falconer, Howard, Mills, Seymour, Smith, Waters) {Hunters & Collectors} 25. I Got You w/ Neil Finn-(N. Finn) 26. Lukin 27. Porch
Encore Break 2-- 28. Hard Sun w/ Glen Hansard & Neil Finn-(Peterson) 29. Dream A Little Dream-(Gus Kahn, Wilbur Schwandt, Fabian Andree)
String Quartet Members: Lorenza Ponce Violin 1 Robin Zeh Violin 2 Amy Kinball viola Amy Ralske cello
In case the Beacon video is taken down, here's a version of Long Road that I expect will be OK.
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| NYC After the Show - still awake and alive! |
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