... describing Hearinglossapalooza

So I'm going to jump ahead a little here. I didn't get to review all the shows before I started this little mini-tour, but I will finish those this week. However, I want to write about these three shows before I get too deep into the others.

So...

Pearl Jam @ Molson Amphitheater, Toronto, Ontario - August 21, 2009

Opening act: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists...or was it?

Click here for the set list.

So...you might have noticed the little note next to the opening act. It seems that either weather or the new passport law kept Ted Leo from showing up. So...what does a band do in that case?

Well, if you're Pearl Jam you do this:

1. You do the little Eddie Vedder pre-set that happens before most shows, where he might do an acoustic number and then introduce the band (this is normally a nice way to get people to actually see the opening act). Except in this case you do TWO numbers, Neil Young covers.
2. You then introduce Mike McCready and then let him a couple of numbers.
3. Then you let Stone Gossard come out and do a number.
4. And then Jeff Ahment and Eddie come back out and do a version of "Bee Girl", one of the great Pearl Jam B-sides.
5. Then you let The Pharmacists (who DID make it) play a couple of songs.
6. And then you bring Eddie and Mike out to tear through The Stooges "Search and Destroy" to end the set.

So already the night is kinda special. What do you do then?

You then play the greatest concert ever.

Yes, this surpassed the Buffalo show I talked about earlier, which is no mean feat. How did they manage to do this?

Well, most Pearl Jam shows have a mood. Some of the songs are the same, but the others, as well as when they are played, makes all the difference. You might remember that I described a Montreal show as being like a wake, while another Toronto show was bi-polar, and Buffalo was about solidarity. The Toronto show was angry, but it was angry with a sense of relief. Maybe because it was a Friday night, but the band played like they had just had a rough week/month/whatever of frustrations, and they were back in the one place where they could control everything.

Two songs in and things were already special as they played what has to be the greatest and most driving version of "Corduroy" ever. They normally do play this early in the set as it is a rousing number. But it's also the manifesto of the band, describing everything from how they feel about their music, their fans, and critics (and not in that annoying way that current pop music has), and the fact that it seemed to rise above the crowd made what was already a special night seemed destined for greatness.

And so it went, with a setlist that featured the old classics and the new ones, played with great passion and fierce energy. Even the quiet moments like "Off He Goes" and "Wishlist" seemed to take on an energy and urgency that a band half the age of Pearl Jam would fight to maintain. "Inside Job" also showed the meolodic, rock operatic side of the band (Sidebar: listening to those two songs - "Wishlist" and "Inside Job" made think about Springsteen: they are both reminiscent of his style, and makes me wish he could impart that type of energy into his new material. Not that his new stuff is horrible, it's just weaker and knowing that bands like Pearl Jam or the Hold Steady is doing that, well, I wish it would inspire him a little more).

The real star of the night was Mike. While Eddie gets a lot of the attention, Mike is a lot of the time the stick that stirs the drink, as they say. I don't think that he really gets enough recognition for both his playing in general and how well he drives the band in particular. Eddie is the emotional and public focal point, Matt Cameron is seen as the stabilizing influence, but Mike's sound which can emulate Hendrix, Gilmore, and Iommi all in the same night is really what gives Pearl Jam its colour.

To have seen Pearl Jam on this night was to see a band on the top of its game, sharing an emotional experience on stage with 16,000 close, personal friends. It was a great night to be a fan, and a great night to be alive.

The Venue
I have one note about the venue: I don't know what changed, but getting around and then out of the venue was a nightmare. I know that it was the first night of the CNE, but even moving on the pavillions was a mess. Did they add new stands, or was it just that crowded?