June 20, 2008

Vedder in Camden

Last night I, a big fan of the group going back to their first album in 1991, finally saw Pearl Jam live for the first time, at the Susquehanna Bank (nee Tweeter) Center across the river in Camden. Yes, I once saw Vedder sing "Better Man" with Springsteen, and once saw McCready and Stone Gossard throw out the first pitch at a St. Paul Saints game a few hours before they were to play the Xcel Center. But never before had I seen the whole band play.

A great show (here's the setlist), they really are as great live as I've always been led to believe. The set was a pretty even mix of old and new, with just about every album represented. Highlights were "Black," "Given to Fly," and especially "Evenflow," on which Mike McCready played the entire guitar solo with the ax behind his head. Also great renditions of "Better Man," as well as "Yellow Ledbetter" (the closer), even though I'm still no closer to understanding the lyrics.

Other highlights include Vedder dedicating "Light Years" to Tim Russert, musing about all the long-gone venues in Philly where they've played over the years, and (my personal favorite) giving a long speech about ending the war, during which he stated that "it's right there in Constitution- we can throw those fuckers out!" (I'm not a lawyer, but I don't remember that part.)

About 30 seconds after Vedder's anti-war speech, a huge brawl broke out a few feet from me in the crowd; in line for the ferry back to Philly, one NJGuido.com-type guy threatened to fight three different people who thought were cutting in line.

Notable omissions: "Alive," "Jeremy," "Daughter," "Worldwide Suicide," and "Rearviewmirror." No complaints, though.

Posted by Stephen Silver at June 20, 2008 04:45 PM
Comments

Thanks for sharing your review.

Posted by: Bernie Zimmermann at June 22, 2008 12:55 PM

Dude! You failed to achieve by not using the greatest acronym ever ... and you must carry the torch as it no longer applies to me.

Posted by: LilB at June 24, 2008 04:30 PM
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