Eddie Vedder

Last night was went on a date. We were trying to figure it out and I think it was probably about the 5th date we have had since Naomi was born. Seriously. Mindy's mother was visiting and looked after the kids so we could go out.

The night started with a quick meal at a local Thai restaurant. The food was excellent - curry puffs, chicken satay and a chicken massaman curry - and it was all quickly devoured as we had to kind of hurry to get to the show on time.

Next, on to the New Jersey PAC for the show. The venue is quite magnificant, kind of out of place in Newark in many ways. We bought some merchandise in the lobby - t-shirts and a set of stickers for the car - and found our seats for the support act, which was Liam Finn. Genetically he was always likely to have some musical talent - son of Neil Finn and nephew of Tim Finn (of Split Enz and Crowded House fame) - but I was amazed at the show he put on. He played with one other band member (EJ Barnes, daughter of Jimmy Barnes) but really did pretty much everything himself. He would play an instrument (guitar, bass, drums) and then record it, looping it around...and then pick up the next instrument and begin playing that. It really was a nice effect. Songs would build slowly with him playing a riff...then before you knew it, he was playing another instrument giving the illusion of there being a full band there. His voice was great also, very much like his father's. This was certainly a good start to the night.

A short break and then Eddie Vedder came out. We both really liked his solo album for the "Into The Wild" soundtrack and so this, combined with some Pearl Jam songs and a few covers should make for a good show. He certainly did not disappoint. His performance was outstanding, his voice was amazing and we both thoroughly enjoyed the show. He spoke of being inspired by Tim Robbins to write a song for the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack, which kind of broke him out of a creative funk he was in and joked that their manager now has Tim Robbins on speed dial, ready to be called if he does not contribute enough songs.

At one point he took a question from an audience member "Can you tell us what the lyrics to Yellow Ledbetter are?". For any non-Pearl Jam fans, this song is one of their live standards but is notoriously incoherent. He also often changes the lyrics on the fly. In any case, once the initial laughter from the crowd died down, he made the joke "Does that song even have lyrics? Let me think...something about people on a porch not waving if I recall". He then gave the serious answer about what the song was about and it was quite touching. 2000 people in perfect silence while he related the story, he almost broke down as he said the words. One of his friends had a brother that was killed in the first Gulf War. His family received the yellow letter from the military and he was shattered, walking around the streets near his home, kind of in a daze. Apparently, he saw a house with an older couple sitting on the porch under an American flag. The young kid gestured to the flag, kind of saying that it meant something to him, that this was the flag his brother died for...but the old couple, seeing a young, scruffy kid misinterpreted this as him being disrespectful in some way and indignantly ignored his gesture. So quite a sad story...but hearing him tell it in such a heartfelt fashion was quite incredible.

Not to imply that the night was a downer in any way. The "Into The Wild" songs were done amazingly well, especially Guaranteed. The Pearl Jam songs, in general, were some of the more obscure songs in their catalogue but were also very well done. A few highlights from this were: I Am Mine; Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town (THE show highlight for me - got everyone out of their seats and singing along with him...quite cool); Porch and Lukin. He also played a few covers and I was especially glad to hear him play Throw Your Arms Around Me. The Dylan song Masters of War was also great. So overall, a fantastic experience. We both enjoyed it and I cannot wait until he comes back this way again, hopefully with Pearl Jam.

Full setlist, as noted on a Pearl Jam chat forum, in case you are interested:

MAIN SET: Walking the Cow, Trouble, Don't Be Shy, Around the Bend, I Am Mine, Dead Man Walking, Sometimes, I'm Open, Man of the Hour, Unripe Fruit, Driftin', Masters of War, Setting Forth, No Ceiling, Guaranteed, Far Behind, Rise, Small Town, Goodbye (You're True), Soon Forget, Forever Young, Porch

1ST ENCORE: Society, Throw Your Arms Around Me (w/ Liam Finn), (Q/A), Growin' Up, Lukin, Let My Love Open the Door, Arc

2ND ENCORE: Hard Sun (w/ Liam Finn)