The day after a great concert is always a strange thing, isn’t it? Like waking up from the loveliest dream you’ve ever had, or meeting the love of your life and then saying goodbye after a few hours. The next day, you’re left with wonderful memories, but you’re also sad that it’s over.
Last night’s Eddie Vedder concert at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland was, in a word: enchanted.
Using a Disney princess adjective to describe the concert of a seasoned rock star might be a bit Pollyanna, and Vedder hasn’t lost too much of his edge, but age, waves, marriage and fatherhood (he’s 47, a surfer, and married to the mother of his two little girls) have given Eddie a certain… quality.
If Vedder used to be the cool older cousin you desperately wanted to hang out with but didn’t know very well, he’s now graduated to being your awesome and accessible favorite Uncle. Uncle Ed surfs, plays the ukulele, likes to make jokes, has lots of cool friends, and loves the green. Eddie made a few references to his love of mother nature’s greatest, greenest herb last night. When he forgot the lyrics while singing Just Breathe, he blamed it on smoking too much pot as a kid.”It helps you write songs,” he said. “Then it makes you forget ‘em.” He went on to finish the song up flawlessly.
Back to that gracefully aged quality Vedder’s acquired. In short, his tortured-artist days of swinging from rafters and jumping into crowds have given way to a genuine peacefulness. It’s a virtue that he’s long toyed with but never fully lived by before.
Yep, Vedder’s pretty much Easy Like Sunday Morning now. At one point during the nearly three-hour-long show, during which Eddie played a mix of classic Pearl Jam songs and hits off his Ukulele Songs album and alternated between a litany of guitars, ukes and even a banjo, he asked the audience if they had any requests. Realizing the trouble such a statement could get him into when rowdy audience members starting hollering song names him – including one very obnoxious woman, who happened to be seated behind me before she was “removed,” who starting screaming: “Pooooorch! Play porch Eddieeee! Pooorch!” I’ll think about it,” he responded.
I desperately wanted to scream out “play something by the Boss Eddie!” but my polite Canadian disposition wouldn’t let me do it, so instead I quietly wished and willed him to do so.
Eddie Vedder playing at the Paramount Theatre, July 12, 2011 ~ RIP Clarence
Eddie has an acclaimed catalogue of his own, but he also played a solid handful of classic covers during the first set and second encore.
The first, and sweetest (in my opinion), was his take on James Taylor’s “Millworker.” Vedder added a sorrowful quality to the song that Taylor’s version skirts around but never really gets to the guts of. A beautiful rendition.
Before starting the Rolling Stones’ “Waiting On A Lady,” Vedder told a story from when Pearl Jam toured with Stones in the late 90s. They happened to be in Oakland one night when Eddie found himself standing in the back of the Rolling Stones’ elevator, which was aptly decorated with walls fully lined in leopard print and dangling scarves, when two of the band’s crew guys walked in. With an impressive British accent (think the Vultures from the Jungle Book cartoon), Vedder recounts the conversation between the two wizened roadies: “Do you reckon the band thinks the whole world looks like this?” the first one says, checking out the over-the-top decor. “I think they do,” the second replies.
In addition to this story, Vedder also gave us funny anecdotes and moving tributes to many of his famous friends and acquaintances, including: Tim Robbins (he dedicated Long Road to the memory of his parents), Johnny Depp and Hunter S. Thompson (a funny story of how Vedder had to tell Depp he was still talking like Thompson long after the filming of Fear and Loathing had ending), Neil Young (Neil slyly changed one of the verses in Long Road to “Neil walks the long road” on the track’s original recording), and more. If he ever grows tired of music, there might be a future for Vedder in stand up comedy.
“Waiting on a Friend” was a hit, but even though Hansard came out near the finish to help us along, the audience still didn’t quite get on board with the sing along bit (it’s in times like those that I wish I was in Italy, where crowds would sing along so loudly the building would shake). In the audience’s defense, the riff in that song is extremely high and kinda difficult to sing (oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo o ooo yeah yeah).
Vedder also covered The Beatles’ “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” which he recorded a few years back for the I Am Sam soundtrack. It’s a song built for Vedder. Like Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town (from Vs.), the song brings out both the subtle delicacy in his voice and style, and also showcases his gritty bravado. Happily, the crowd managed to sing along with “Hey! you’ve got to hide your love away!” much better than they did to the Stone’s high-pitched diddy.
And you’ll be glad to know that my wishing must have worked because, right before he launched into a raw acoustic version of Porch, Vedder delivered a powerful cover of Springsteen’s “Open All Night.” The guitar on the song was enough to get us dancing, and with his booming vocals, Vedder pretty much out-Bossed the Boss.
I could really go on and on about last night’s show. It was everything I could have ever hoped for and more. Eddie was more relaxed than he is with Pearl Jam, probably thanks in part to the much smaller, more intimate venue.
Speaking of the venue… it deserves its own post. The Paramount Theatre in Oakland is stunning. Completed in 1931, it’s a rare example of Art Deco in America. The room’s acoustics are pitch perfect and the intricate detailing on the walls, ceiling, floors and stage is breathtaking.
The ceiling and stage at the Paramount
The show’s opening act was Glen Hansard, and I really couldn’t think of a better fit for the bill. A moving performer and talented singer/songwriter, Hansard had the crowd prepped and eating out of his hand by the end of his opening set, even though most of us didn’t know who he was. When Eddie brought him out to sing a few duets (Society, Hansard’s Falling Slowly, and more) the crowd couldn’t have been happier to see him.
The Paramount was initially designed by San Francisco architect Timothy L. Pflueger, but was later finished by a collaboration of architects, designers and artists. Nearly a century after the building’s completion, on a chilly summer night in Oakland, Vedder and Hansard honored that spirit of artistic collaboration. Their voices are so complementary together, they sound like brothers who’ve been harmonizing together for their entire lives.
One of my favorite moments was when Eddie said, “The uke’s got balls, and yeah, this takes balls too,” before he and Hansard stepped away from their mics and to the edge of the stage to deliver a spellbinding version of “Sleepless Nights” (an old Everly Brothers standard). The crowd fell eerily silent and the room’s heavenly acoustics combined with their crooning vocals made for musical magic.
The lobby of the Paramount Theatre
Growing up Catholic, I used to long for spiritual experiences in church, but I never found them there. I stared at the pretty stained glass images and the red candles, the dark wooden pews and the beautiful alters. I listened to the priests tell stories and sometimes, I was moved by them. I was usually bored and questioning everything around me. Definitely not a true believer.
Instead of in a real church, I found my connection to the spiritual, that catharsis I longed for, in the rock halls and stadiums that my favorite bands played in. They transformed me, took me away, healed me – and last night’s show was no different. It was an experience of genuine happiness and light.
I’ve always joked that I belong to the church of Bruce (Springsteen, for those of you unfamiliar with me or my blog). I’m pretty sure Eddie prays there too, and last night in the church of Springsteen, Vedder served as chief priest.
The sermon ended as Vedder bade us good night with an acoustic rendition of “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”
We will, Ed, you can count on it.
Full setlist:
01. Walking The Cow (Daniel Johnston)
02. Can’t Keep
03. Sleeping By Myself
04. Without You
05. Goodbye
06. Soon Forget
07. Long Road (for Tim Robbins’ parents)
08. Sometimes
09. Off He Goes
10. Just Breathe (for Jeff & Christie)
11. Millworker (James Taylor)
12. Santa Cruz
13. Long Nights w/Glen Hansard
14. No Ceiling
15. Guaranteed
16. Unthought Known
17. The End
18. Betterman/Save It For Later (Charley, Cox, Morton, Steele, Wakeling)
19. Arc
Encore Break 1
20. If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out (Yusuf Islam)
21. Parting Ways
22. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (Lennon, McCartney)
23. Waiting On A Friend w/Glen Hansard (Jagger, Richards)
24. Sleepless Nights w/Glen Hansard (Boudleaux Bryant, Felice Bryant) (a cappella – no mics, no amplification)
25. Society w/Glen Hansard (Jerry Hannan)
26. Falling Slowly {Glen singing and playing acoustic, Eddie duet vocal}-(Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová)
27. Open All Night (Bruce Springsteen!!!)
28. Porch
Encore Break 2
29. Hard Sun w/Glen Hansard (Gordon Peterson)
30. Dream A Little Dream (Gus Kahn, Wilbur Schwandt, Fabian Andree)
