Whenever we travel, Laura and I have had tremendous success finding hotels using the ‘secret hotel’ deals on lastminute.com.au. The idea is simple: you book the secret hotel online, but you are not told which hotel it is until after you’ve paid for it. Some people are a little skeptical about it but I’ve always found the most incredible deals booking accommodation this way, even during the Christmas peak season. But there must have been some huge conference this weekend in Sydney or something because even outside the secret hotel deals, we simply could not find any reasonable accommodation that was available for four straight days and didn’t cost an absurd amount. This, and my recent unemployment status, left us with few options but a single room in a downtown hostel. The location was ideal, but the building was old and the room was basic. We of course made up for this by treating ourselves to an awesome dinner cruise around the Sydney Harbor on our first night.
Now I can’t say the Eddie Vedder tour is the reason I am currently unemployed, but if it wasn’t for this tour, I could still be milling away the 12-hour days in the Australian outback. I had been working as a Geologist since I landed in this country and I have just recently completed a contract for a gold exploration company. The resource evaluation had proven successful and with a brand-new budget, my employer was hoping to extend my contract through March and beyond. Without this tour as an excuse, I might have found turning down a pay raise a little more difficult. But the truth is, I was desperate for a dramatic change of pace. I was becoming painfully aware of the reality that my career was consuming a large proportion of my life and it just wasn’t the dream I was meant to be living. I can’t be certain of what I am supposed to do exactly, but I just know that I need to experience something different. In a situation like this, my dad would probably quote Seinfeld with regards to the tendency of men to channel surf the television claiming, “I don’t care what is on, I just want to know what else is on.” I might like to quote Eddie Vedder in any number of his songs about finding one’s own path and questioning the expectations of society:
“As I walk the hemisphere, I got my wish to up and disappear”
“Gonna will rise up, find my direction magnetically”
“Society, have mercy on me, I hope you’re not angry, if I disagree”
“My road it may be lonely just because it’s not paved, it’s good for driftin’, driftin’ along”
When Pearl Jam tours, you can count on every show being unique with set lists that carry little to no similarity once so ever. With only one album out, Eddie’s solo tour has a smaller pool of songs to play from. Nevertheless, I’ve been beyond impressed with Eddie’s ability to make each show a unique experience. The number of Pearl Jam songs played in each set has been more than I expected and I’ve loved experiencing these songs in such an intimate environment. I’ve also enjoyed hearing the covers from other bands but none of the covers he’s played this tour was as amazing as what was witnessed tonight. Of the crowd requests that often populate that silent space between songs, there was one guy who shouted the same request three nights in a row. “How about something from The Who, Eddie!?” This time Eddie would hold up his hand and say, “You know, that’s the third time you’ve asked me that and… well hang on I’ll have something … I’ll have a little something for you … later.” Eddie tried to take in a few more requests from the balcony but with everyone shouting at once, all Eddie could hear was that “Wah-wha whahaw” sound from the Charlie Brown cartoons.
Now I hate to keep one-upping myself for every show, continually claiming that THIS show was the best one so far… but just look at a few of the songs off this set list for a minute. Eddie plays the first three songs without saying a word to the crowd or leaving even a moment’s hesitation between titles; “Sometimes,” “Elderly Woman…” then, “Just Breathe.” WOW. Next comes “My City of Ruins” by Bruce Springsteen and then “I am Mine” which I enjoyed so much in the first show. After hearing the beautiful new “Betterman” he goes on to play … wait for it … “I believe in Miracles”!!!! OH MA GAWD I’ve been in love with the way Eddie plays this song since I first heard it on the Live at Benaroya Hall Album. Performed acoustic, solo, and maybe 25 meters in front of my face. I seriously don’t think I have been this happy since I almost touched Mike McCready‘s guitar as he wrestled his axe like a possessed mad man on top of a speaker for the solo of “Sad” during a show in my hometown of Edmonton… but that’s another story. And I’m only halfway through the first set!
Then he plays a new song “Longing to Belong,” then four awesome songs from Into the Wild, then hits me with another helping of “Unthought Known” which still grips my mind the same way it did in show one. Then immediately after we hear the Beatles cover “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” and he gets the crowd jumping for Porch. This time I’m on solid ground so I can jump and dance as much as I want to without worrying about literally bringing down the balcony. End of set one. Need a break? I do!
Maybe a cup of coffee wasn’t the best way to take a break from writing because now my hands are shaking even harder than they were while re-living set one of Sunday night in Sydney. Now you remember that promise Eddie made to play a song by The Who for the persistent audience member? Well now was time to deliver but Eddie had to warn us that he had not played this song since he was about 15 year old and … well Eddie went on to explain that had been smoking a lot of pot when he was 15.. and 16 .. and maybe 17…18,19,20 and 21… but then he stopped… until he was 31. He amused the crowd with his stories and continued stalling for time seeming a little nervous about this one. But then he began plucking the strings of his acoustic and serenading the lyrics, “No one knows what it’s like, to be the bad man, to be the sad man, Behind Blue Eyes.” If you don’t understand the power and range of Eddie’s spectacular voice, there are many songs you can find that will astonish you both in the depth of sound and in the heart and soul he puts into it. But when he played this song, I was STILL surprised by the ambience of his vocals. Flawlessly pulled strings filled the room once again creating the illusion of an entire symphony of musicians backing him up. Eddie completely loses himself in the moment of the song, eyes closed, right leg lifting off the tiny wooden stool like a loyal farm dog being scratched behind the ears. How he was able to pull off a performance like that after thirty years without playing it can only be explained by black magic or, more likely, a talent for music that transcends time. I might be as bold to say that Eddie Vedder performed this song more powerfully than “The Who” ever had… But having never seen The Who, I’d be making a biased and unfair comparison.
To end the first Encore, Eddie played Arc by using an impressive method of recording his onstage voice and playing it back using a guitar pedal as he continues to sing over the recording. The constant playing and recording of Eddie’s own voice builds like rising action in a Stephen King novel until there are about seven or eight layers of Eddie humming A cappella patterns using the entire range of his vocal capabilities. His hand gestures towards the crowd communicated that he needed us to be quiet as he began to sing with a serious look of concentration in his face while keeping time by pulsating his entire body. It was a spectacular performance unlike anything I have ever seen before in my life.
Then, for the third time in a row in Sydney, “Keep on Rockin in the Free World” wrung the audience of the last of their energy before finishing with Hard Sun. What a way to end his time in Sydney. The next stop is Melbourne before seeing my last show in Adelaide.
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