Vedder Love

I fell in love all over again...it seems that my life long love of Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam will never die. I spent some of the best hours of my life listening to him sing from his solo tour that was postponed from April to thurdsay and it was worth the wait. I have been to quite a lot of Pearl Jam concerts. Huge venues, stadiums, outdoor pavillions, I have had amazing seats just rows from them. I got within an arms length of sharing the wine passed around from Crazy Mary. I just cannot get enough of them. Their songs...Eddie's voice is in my soul.

This concert was different. It was a close venue. Maybe only 1000 people there at the most. I got seats in the front row in the middle of the balcony, It was very intimate and personal the entire night. Glen Hansard from The Swell Season opened up and his voice is incredible. He was witty and really drew in the crowd to make the night feel special. Eddie came out and sang some of the most intimate songs from all of his albums. One of the most memorable parts of the night was when Eddie and Glen stood in front of the stage with only their voices and a ukelele and sang with just the acoustics of the music hall. It was incredible to just hear their voices...no microphones, no speakers. Simply their voices. I have never had the chance to do that and I probably will never get that opportunity again. I was in awe all over again at that moment. The decorations were awesome. Backdrops that looked like backstreet alleys, a backlit canvas tent with a campfire next to Eddie that was "lit" and blowing flames and smoke out of it. There was a backdrop of twinkling stars that he sang under like it we were all sitting around the campfire with him and his guitar. He had a beer box with a bass pedal for some percussion and a stomp box that he used as well. With every song he played a different instrument. Ukelele, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and a mandolin that he referred to as an "aristrocratic bitch" compared to the ukelele. He messed up the words to Elderly Woman and Just Breathe. He talked about what an honor it was for Willie Nelson to make a cover of Just Breathe and he said that he listened to it so many times that afterwards he couldnt sing it the same. He sang a little how Wille sang it with a twang in his voice and had everyone laughing. He told stories about friends, he made fun of a drunk lady in the crowd, he talked about erections, elections, and marijuana. He politely asked a woman that was annoyingly screaming to please, for her safety, stop because the people behind her were going to murder her. The last song that was played was "Hard Sun". I took the picture on this post during that song. He was interactive with the crowd and so funny. He was just really engaging and I could tell that he wanted to be there and was having a great time and still loved getting to sing for all of us.

The setlist for the night:

1. Walking the Cow (Daniel Johnston cover)
2. Brain Damage (Pink Floyd cover)
3. Sometimes
4. Can't Keep
5. Sleeping By Myself
6. Without You
7. The Needle and the Damage Done (Neil Young cover)
8. Don't Be Shy (Cat Stevens cover)
9. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
10. Far Behind
11. No Ceiling
12. Setting Forth
13. Guaranteed
14. Rise
15. Long Nights (with Glen Hansard)
16. Driftin'
17. Better ManP
18. Immortality
19. Lukin
20. Porch
21. Encore:
21. I Believe In Miracles (Ramones cover)
22. I Am a Patriot (Little Steven cover)
23. Just Breathe
24. Unthought Known
25. Tonight You Belong To Me (Lawrence Welk cover)
26. Society (Jerry Hannan cover)(with Glen Hansard)
27. Sleepless Nights (The Everly Brothers cover)(with Glen Hansard)
28. Falling Slowly (The Swell Season cover)(with Glen Hansard)
29. Crazy Mary (Victoria Williams cover)
30. The End
31. Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover)
32. Encore 2:
32. Hard Sun (Indio cover)

 

Reminiscing...

Do you remember the first concert you ever went to of your favorite band? I was looking thru things of mine the other day...and I found some ticket stubs from Pearl Jam concerts I have gone to in the past. I remember my first time seeing them. We were in Pittsburgh at Post Gazette Gazebo on the lawn, I'm not even sure of the year? Maybe 1999? I'm sure Sam would remember the exact date since he is good with those things. We were waiting for Iggy Pop to come on the stage and play. A single man comes on the stage and says " I am Iggy Pop" and starts singing this:

I will come to you in the daytime
I will raise you from your sleep
I will kiss you in four places
As I go runnin' down your street

I will squeeze the life right out of you
I will make you laugh, I'll make you cry
And we may never forget it
As I make you call my name as I shout it to the blue, summer sky

And we may never meet again
So shed your skin lets get started
And you will throw your arms around me

I will come to you at nighttime
I will climb into your bed
I will kiss you in 155 places
As I go runnin' round in your head

I will squeeze the life right out of you
I will make you laugh, I'll make you cry
And we may never forget it
As I make you call my name as I shout it to the blue, summer sky

And we may never meet again
So shed your skin lets get started
And you will throw your arms around me...
("Throw Your Arms Around Me", Hunters and Collectors)

As he starts singing I realize that it is Eddie Vedder, the lead singer from Pearl Jam. All the years of waiting to finally see him live and in person wash over me and I remember the feelings. The song, the moment, it all fit together perfectly. All of the other Pearl Jam concerts that we went to, he never did that. He never came on stage and played an acoustic song to start the night like that night. It was one of a kind. I thought I was going to cry, I thought I was going to faint like one of those silly girls you see in the old Beatles videos. The crowd went wild as everyone realized it was Eddie all at the same time and that made the emotions even headier. But I will never forget how special that moment was. All the other concerts I have ever been to, none of them were as memorable as that one, and that moment.

Drummers pt. 3

Here are the rest of the drummers in my life. Hope you enjoy!

Chris-My Brother. He’s the 6’6” guy that seems so imposing that it only makes sense that he should play the drums. When he stands up it just scares people so it is good that he sits for this hobby. Chris and I are only 18 months apart in age and we have always had a really cool relationship. I hardly ever remember fighting, we have a lot in common and we have this weird connection that when I have a bad day I always find out that he had similar circumstances in his own. I don’t know if drums were his first choice of musical instrument. I think that he was kinda thrown into them. I think that the guitar is his first love, but I do know that he loves playing the drums. It seemed like overnight he knew how to play them and he was instantly good at it. Like most things in his life, skills come easily to him. Once he knows something he doesn’t forget it either. The way that he plays the drums sometimes cracks me up though. Sam and I used to make fun of the way that he would hold the drumsticks. Like he was ready to beat down and kill a man. You get the picture hopefully or maybe not. We don’t want Chris to look like a murderer or anything; nasty rumors get spread that way. He is totally a straightforward drummer, he is right on with his timing and he plays exactly what he needs to with no extra flourish and it always sounds good. I know that he had no formal training, I am pretty sure he is self taught with a little advice from a couple other drummers at the beginning. I really enjoy watching him play the drums, it is impressive and it makes me happy.

Brad. My Bud.-Well this guy has the skills to pay the bills! Brad has real talent when it comes to the drums (I'm not saying the others don’t)! I became friends with Brad about 5 years ago when Sam and I were youth leaders at the church he went to, now we are totally awesome friends and Sam and I have become really close to Brad and I consider him one of my best friends. I was able to be a part of the worship team at the church he played at. I’ve also seen him play at concerts with a couple bands he was a part of. Always impressive, it is amazing how quickly he can pick up a song too. I’ve seen songs thrown at him that he’s never heard and he picks up on them the first time playing. If you can believe it he actually looks like he is playing the drums about 90% of each day while he is awake. He drums on anything around and his feet are always moving. To be sure, if a song is playing he is beating his hands on his head or legs, it’s always makes me smile. I love to see him play the drums, he has a really awesome drum set that is this gorgeous light blue swirled color, he is very skilled at the drums and he does so many cool variations and he gets the arms flying and makes a cool show of it with no holds barred. Pretty sweet stuff.

Mike. My Incognito Friend.- Mike is another one of those extremely talented individuals that also plays the drums. I met Mike about 12 years ago when he was dating Sam’s neighbor Ginny and I was dating Sam. Mike and I are like 2 peas in a pod. He’s just a little wacky and so am I, so I really understand his mindset and the crazy stuff he does. As long as I have known him there has always been a drum kit set up in his house. He often fools around playing it and has taught himself how to play too. He really likes to jam and get together to play live music with others, it totally gives him nourishment and revives him. Mike is good at everything he does; I know the drums are no exception.
Kevin. My Old Friend.-Kevin is this wiry guy that is bred to play the drums. He is so fast paced and always on the go, it would be a shame if this world didn’t have Kevin playing the drums. We first met in high school and we don’t get to see each other as much as either of us would like anymore, maybe once or twice a year, but when we do it is always awesome to be hanging out again. I’ve seen him play at church and at concerts from high school to just a few years back and he sincerely loves the drums. They let out his emotion and high energy and they fit so well into his life. He sometimes needs to vent and I think that drums are his way of expressing who he is; they are just a natural extension of him.

Drummers pt. 2...Sam

Of course the first drummer that I would write about would be my amazing husband Sam! I really have only heard Sam play the drums live one time. We were dating & he was making the decision to get out of playing the drums & he decided to take his set down and sell them. I had always wanted to hear him play & I told him that occasionally, kinda hinting that he should for me. He talked about how much he loved to play them & I wanted to see that part of his life at least once. Well one day he calls me over to his house & he brings me out to the garage & he says that he’s been practicing for hours on this song, its one of his favorite ones to play the drums to & he is going to play one last song for me before he retires the old drum set. I was & still am amazingly impressed that he would go thru all the trouble of doing this for me! I don’t even remember what song it was. He turned on the old cassette tape & blasted away at this baby! Something metal and loud, but it wasn’t the song that I remember. It was Sam playing something that he loved & put time and skill into, something that he wanted to share with me one last time. That moment made me love him so much for sharing a part of his life that was over, but he wanted to give me a glimpse of all the joy he had in it before he was done. To this day he has never played the drums again to a complete song that I know of. Yeah, he may fool around & hit a symbol or snare here and there (that rhymed). But everyone that asks him if he still plays drums he will say that he doesn’t do that anymore & that he has no interest in starting again. I’m not sure why he doesn’t want to give it a try, he actually has most of a drum set in our bedroom that is not set up. I don’t know if it will ever be again, or if it does when he will even sit behind it and play it. I may never see it again, but maybe he will sneak one of the old metal songs when no one is around & get that same exhilaration all over for something that he loves so much!

Drummers

I was just thinking about it the other day and I came to the conclusion that the most important and influential men in my life are drummers. They may deny that they are "true" drummers, but at heart they will always have that love for the instrument in them. I’m not sure why it is so important that they all play drums, or why in this weird way I have been linked to them. I love the intertwining of interests that they all share and I am so glad to be a part of it. I just thought that I would share my heart and the importance these men play in my life and how much they mean to me.
I love the drums, and I always have. The thing that draws my attention in music is the singing first and then always the drums. I wish that I could play the drums, but I know that I would get my feet and my hands all tangled in some non-coherent sounds and I would never be able to make any sort of effort of decent noise out of them. They scare me to play. I have sat behind a drum set and they are daunting. I can sit in front of a piano or other instrument and I have no problem making a fool of myself playing it. But those darn drums frankly just scare the crap out of me. I think that it is the fact that whether you are good or not they are going to always be LOUD. If you do some really sour things on it, everyone will hear you, I guess that I don’t like people to hear every little mistake that I make. That’s just my nature. I wish that it didn’t matter to me but it does.
I thought that I would share these drummer men in my life because, like I said before, they play huge roles in my life and I love the fact that they have something so awesome in common, yet they are so different in each of their styles. So for now I will stop and gather my thoughts....check back soon!