... present at Eddie Vedder's homecoming

There are a few cities that rank high in Pearl Jam lore: Seattle (their base of operations), Las Vegas (their first major gig), Boston (where they always seem to put on audacious shows) and Chicago. Chicago is Eddie Vedder's hometown. Even when it was all about Seattle, he'd still point to his Chicago White Sox cap and Jordan jersey, record demos with Jack McDowell, and talk about growing up there. Chicago itself is still a musical hotbed and Eddie still talks about it as his home (even if his allegiances have seemed to have shifted to the Cubbies).

So when we heard they were playing not one but two shows in Chicago as part of this mini tour, we took the vacation days and headed off to the pilgrimage. We didn't know, however, that we'd be following the greatest Pearl Jam show we'd ever experienced. As such, we were understandably nervous for these shows.

Show the first

Pearl Jam @ United Center, Chicago, Illinois - August 23rd, 2009

Opening act - Bad Religion. The godfathers of American Hardcore, about to celebrate 30 years. They last opened for Pearl Jam 15 years ago at Soldier Field, and they're still ferocious. Greg Gaffin patrolled the stage with his nervous intensity, but also pointing to band members when they were wailing on their solos. There was no Eddie pre-set, but you didn't need one when it's Bad Religion. You can say what you want about them, but to have that degree of dedication and craftsmanship 30 years into anything is a testament to loving what you're doing.

Click here for set list.

"We've got a lot of emotion to get through tonight. So let's get started."

The show started off a little familiar. A lot of the songs as well as the tone of the show was very similar to the Toronto show. Now, seeing as that was so great, you'd think that would be good. No, not really, because as I've mentioned before you expect something different each night from Pearl Jam. Yes, I know, there's 2 days and 400 miles between the shows and there probably wasn't THAT much cross over in the crowds but one thing that I've loved about the band is that they don't rest on laurels and that they keep challenging themselves, and delivering.

That's not to say that the main set wasn't spontaneous. Jeff led the crowd in a chorus of "Happy Birthday" to a friend who he didn't get to see while he was in Chicago. "Even Flow" flew into uncharted places with Mike playing one of the greatest solos I've ever heard. There were also some great less-played songs that made the main set, like "In Hiding" and "Come Back", which might have taken on extra meaning for Eddie on this night.

Most of the set was treated like a homecoming for Eddie. He spent a lot of time talking about the Chicagoland area and growing up there. He also provided a nice moment of symmetry between his life and mine when he quoted Lou Reed on growing up in a small town - it makes you want to get out (mind you, comparing riding the L in Chicago with the school bus from Grand Lake to Minto is a world of difference in and of itself...).

So...a good but competent main set. Normally this would colour the entire show. But as I've said before, the main set is the vitamins - the stuff you take to make sure you get to the good stuff, which is in the encore.

The first encore started with Eddi giving props to Boom "Boooooooooooom" Gaspar, their touring keyboardist who then started playing some sweet lines...that sounded familiar to me....but I dared not dream...until they hit the chord and broke into a soaring version of "Love Reign O'er Me", the centerpiece of Quadrophenia. As a huge Who fan, I was in my happy place as they played the hell out of it. When they played "The Real Me" two songs later you could have knocked me over with a feather. Along with Neil Young, Pete Townsend is one of the godfathers of Pearl Jam and Eddie said as much, thanking him for the song.

The second encore saw Eddie, alone, discussing the records he listened to growing up with his older brothers, including one artist he liked because the lead singer was only a couple of years older than himself - The Jackson 5. With that he played "The Needle and the Damage Done" (surprisingly for only their second time ever the first being the previous show in Toronto) for Jackson, and then segue-ed into "Rats". I'd never heard "Rats" played live and it's a shame they don't do it as much as it's a great little grinder that can really wind up a crowd. Of course, the coda in it from "Ben" was the real payoff here.

At that point Eddie said that someone had asked them to play more new stuff. For most of this tour they've just been playing 'Get Some' and 'The Fixer', but on this night they pulled out 'Supersonic', whipping the crowd into a frenzy. It's a slightly more hardcore track, and reminded me a lot of some of the more direct moments on Vitalogy. Having heard these three tracks it looks like Backspacer is going to be hearkening back to the band's punk and mod influences, and that while they are (1) being close to the age at which a band can be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and (2) selling their albums at Target (Tar-jhay) they're not about to forget who they are and how they got there.

At the end of the set the lights came up but Eddie motioned to the band that they should do one more song. "This is how Mike McCready likes to say goodnight," and "Yellow Ledbetter" started. Mike ended the song with an homage to Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner", something I'm surprised never happened before.

It was fitting: the show started slowly, gained momentum and then careened full on into a memorable climax.

Show the second

Pearl Jam @ United Center, Chicago, Illinois - August 24rd, 2009

Opening act - Bad Religion.

Click here for set list.

It's one night later and even I'm starting to get tired. But we have floor seats tonight, so that's waking me up - along with the Coke Zero.

"You sounds more like a Sunday night crowd than a Monday night crowd," Eddie said from the stage. And it wasn't pandering - "They really know how to rock in Detroit, you guys!". It was a genuine request. Pearl Jam gets a lot of its energy from the fans, and even after "Corduroy" in the familiar two-spot he felt the crowd lacked something. If you're Ryan Adams you pout and play a miserable set (been there...he's a jerk, plain and simple). If you're Pearl Jam, you turn it up.

Check out the set list. Not too much overlap between the those two nights, as well as Toronto. THIS is why we can go to 15 shows and still want more.

Having said that, there are some standards. "Even Flow" is pretty much a given, as is "Alive". One guy in the front row was having none of it and had a "No Even Flow" t-shirt. This seemed to really drive the band (and might have explained some of Eddie's mood). They played the HELL out of it, and even had a good old school drum solo from Matt Cameron. "Mike and Matt will kill me if we don't play that," Eddie said (and since it's when he normally goes for his mid show smoke, I'm sure he'd kill also by that point). "There's a guy in the front with a "No Even Flow" t-shirt. Man, you should know by now we always take request. But we don't take orders."

Now it was a Monday night crowd.

The crowd moved along with the coda of "Another Brick in the Wall" during "Daughter" while Mike laid down a great sounding Gilmore-like solo. "Brother" brought everyone up and reminded the crowd of the early energy of the band (it was an early track they recorded and re-released and thus not dulled by repetition).

The first encore was a little more subdued with Eddie playing "No More" dedicating to to Tomas Young who was in the crowd with his family. The second encore was a raucous affair with crowd pleaser (for us at least) "State of Love and Trust" and "Crazy Mary" tossed in with another Neil Young cover "F@&kin' up" with Eddie donning a wig and dancing around the stage while Jeff and Mike swapped instruments.

And then, "Yellow Ledbetter" again, ending the same way. But instead of mirroring the show it put a bookend on our whole journey - so ended a broadcast day, an American adventure, and one of the greatest shows in a series of great shows that I've ever been to.

We've been to 15 Pearl Jam shows, and we still have a long list of songs we want to see live ("Oceans", "Satan's Bed", "Wash", "Hunger Stike" - let me dream). Even if we had heard every song 100 times, we'd want to go 15 more times, and then 15 more after that. Any Pearl Jam show is not about the destination, nor is about the journey. It's about the emotion.

... 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?

... making a request for Pearl Jam

Tonight we see Pearl Jam in Toronto, and then we jet off to Chicago for two shows.

On our spreadsheet we have one song that we really want to see live but never have - "Oceans".

But for Chicago, I'm hoping that Eddie will play this one:

... Pearl Jam @ Centre Bell, Pearl Jam @ ACC (2)

I'll be doing these two together, mostly because (1) I'm running out of time, and (2) there is one incident from one of them that stands out.

Pearl Jam @ Centre Bell, Montreal, Quebec - September 15th, 2005

Opening act: Sleater-Kinney. They opened for Pearl Jam on every show of this tour, and would break up not too long afterwards.

Click here for the set list.

A good show all around, rocked hard and an awesome crowd. This was on the anniversary of Johnny Ramone's death, and most of the night had an elegiac feel to it. There were a couple of Ramones covers, and of course the president of the fan club (who wears the same size shoes as Eddie Vedder) talked about the founding father. But it wasn't mournful, it was a wake, a celebration of those boys from Queens that made it possible.

Not much more I can say about it except...

Most arenas are horrible places to see concerts. They're big, impersonal, cold, and designed to be so multi-purpose that they are unsuited for any purpose.

But not Centre Bell. I've been there for a concert and a hockey game, and it's a lovely laid out arena, nice hallways, and comfortable seats. If you have a chance, go.

Pearl Jam @ Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario - September 19th, 2005

Opening act: Sleater-Kinney. They opened for Pearl Jam on every show of this tour, and would break up not too long afterwards.

Click here for the set list.

The night before, U2 played the ACC and Eddie joined them on stage. Most people thought that the gesture would be reciprocated on this night, but also knew that U2 had a concert the next night.

If you look at the set list, there are little hints something was up, like the brief snippet of "Bad" that was played.

The lights were up during "Rocking in the Free World", when a fellow in black and a cowboy hat jumped on stage and started trading verses with Eddie.

Yup, Bono.

They rocked through the song, and if you looked to the side of the stage you could see The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr also taking in the show. Of course, most people were going mad because, you know, it's Eddie AND Bono.

Me, I'm not a huge U2 fan, and thought that Bono tried to take over a little too much of the performance. But the crowd was into it, and so was the band, playing like a bunch of kids discovering that the crazy guy watching them play stickball was actually Joe DiMaggio. It was one of the first times that I was AT a concert where I knew I would later say those words:

"Yeah, I was there the night Bono jumped on the stage with Pearl Jam".

Pearl Jam @ Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Ontario - September 13th, 2005

Opening act: Sleater-Kinney. They opened for Pearl Jam on every show of this tour, and would break up not too long afterwards.

Click here for the set list.

I thought we were tired. This was the start of the last third of the Canadian tour for Pearl Jam, and they were looking tired. Between the show in Kitchener and this one they played London. So they went west and then east again ("Looks kids, Big Ben, Parliament!"). I would have understood if they just phoned this one in.

But they didn't. Instead they put together a show of a lot of the lesser-played songs. For example, "U", one of my favorite B-sides. It was a nice, refreshing show for all involved.

But that wasn't the best part.

During the first set of encores, the band started milling around and putting on tuxedo jackets while Eddie explained that that night two of his best friends were getting married in Seattle, and they couldn't be there and felt like real jerks about it. So they took out a video camera and he had the crowd yell some good wishes to the bride and groom and then "Okay, on three, everyone yell "Eddie's an asshole!"" (for missing the wedding) which we all did. And then they said they were going to play the couple's song, which was Neil Young's "Harvest Moon". While they do cover Neil a lot, up until this point they had only done "Harvest Moon" on a couple of occasions. They played a lovely version of it, and of course the crowd ate it up. It must have made quite a connection with the band because what was supposed to be for just one night became a regular feature on the tour (the song, not the whole skit).

This was a good show. Instead of a full rock show, it felt like a nice night spent with a couple of friends.

And afterwards we loaded up everything and headed to Montreal.

... Pearl Jam @ Kitchener

The year, 2005. The blessed Blue States were pondering secession from Muricah. Many people pondered moving to Canada. Pearl Jam, who were at loose ends and between albums and deals, decided to do a tour of Canada. And this wasn't just a tour of he big cities: they were going to play a lot of smaller venues, a little out of the way.

The time was perfect for our first real Pearl Jam Road Trip. We couldn't do all the shows, so we picked a few and loaded up the car.

The first stop:

Pearl Jam @ Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, Kitchener, Ontario - September 11th, 2005

Opening act: Sleater-Kinney. They opened for Pearl Jam on every show of this tour, and would break up not too long afterwards.

Click here for the set list.

These shows may have well been fan club only shows, especially in places like Kitchener. The Aud is a small hockey rink and it seemed like the majority of people there were fan club members. It was there that we met a couple whose name escapes me, so I'll call them the Patriot Shirt Couple, as he had a Patriot shirt from the Vote for Change tour. We struck up a conversation because (1) they were next to us and (2) they really admired Dawn's "Choices" t-shirt (one of the most popular early Pearl Jam t-shirts, it featured the slogan "9 out of 10 kids prefer crayons to guns"). We got talking about shows we had been to, comparing notes, trying to guess set lists. It was fun. It was connecting with like minded souls.

At one point a chorus of "O Canada" started (small towns, hockey rinks, sigh) and the crowd lustfully joined in. At the end of the there was a cheer, and then the house lights went down and the stage came up, and the show started. Conicidence? Possibly. Cool? Yeah, kinda, I'll give you that.

As I've said, Pearl Jam knows how to connect with its audience. This night was a great example of that. The small arena, the crowd ready to go, and the general atmosphere of the tour pulsed through the set. Although they had no new material, nothing to flog, they played like they had everything to prove. The set was loud, fast, and at times out of control. Check out the main set: most of their harder stuff was there. And then the first encore, a little more personal and anthemic, and then the final set exploded the show and then brought it down to Earth with "Yellow Ledbetter".

The show has no one great moment, no amazing you-had-to-be-there part (those are coming up...). But it was a very important show. Pearl Jam was rediscovering itself. On this tour they reconnected with the energy of their live show and with their fans. They exorcised the devils and the anger that they and a lot of Americans felt at that time and discovered, like so much of us did, that if we just banded together and drew on each other's strength we'd make it through this.

... Pearl Jam @ Molson Amphitheater

Pearl Jam @ Molson Amphitheater, Toronto, Ontario - June 28, 2003

Opening act: The Buzzcocks. Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god I saw The Buzzcocks. Being a fan of British punk, and a disciple of the Manchester scene and what they arranged there, this was IT. And it was a tight set, ripping through the songs at an amazing pace. Made Husker Du look like The Knack.

Click here for the set list.

This is the hardest show for me to write about. As you know, the Buffalo show just before this was the best concert I've ever been to. And this one? This one is not.

Some background: maybe it's just us, but every Toronto show we've been to has had a weird vibe around it. The Barrie show was just too big, and the first Air Canada Centre show just didn't seem to get off the ground. After this show, we were just wondering if there is something in the water.

If you read any of my other concert reviews (you can find them all by the tag "PLAY FREEBIRD") you'll notice that one thing I talk about a lot is the crowd. I think a good crowd can make a show better, or completely ruin it. Yes, maybe I get too involved and too worried about what the people around me are doing. But this show is the reason why.

They were in front of us, Frat Boy One in the Johnny Knoxville sunglasses, and then Frat Boy Two Rocking the Freddie Prinze Jr Look. Thing One was pretty drunk by the time he arrived and Thing Two was kinda supposed to be looking after him, but a little too drunk to do so. As soon the show started, they were falling over each other in that "we're not really gay, yo dude we'd never do that" way that drunk, self-hating, closeted Frat Boys do.

"Ooookkkayyyy," thought we,"I didn't know there was a A First Time Mommy and Daddy Let Me Go to a Show section"

If only that were the end of it. Falling over each other, falling back and forth, and standing on the chairs was just the start. At one point Thing One was on this chair in front of Dawn and leaning back...back...and for once my reflex kicked in in time and I put my hand out to catch him before he landed on Dawn, who was by now covering her head. "THING TWO," I yelled, "LOOK AFTER YOUR DUDE. HE IS HAVING TOO MUCH FUN." Thing Two leaned in to tell Thing One to calm down, but Thing One thought this meant "I will grab your head and yell, and the way I grab your head will LOOK like I'll kiss you, but I never would because I am SO NOT GAY!"

If only that were the end of it. They did get warned once by security, and which time I did tell the guard that Thing One was a clear and present danger. To calm himself down, Thing One lit a cigarette.

And flailed his arms about.

Dawn still has the scar on her hand where his cigarette pushed into her skin.

"Tard," said I grabbing him, "You burnt my wife with your damned cigarette. Now apologize to her and chill the intercourse out! This is show is not for your benefit."

And then began the staredown. As most know, I'm a pacifist (read: wimp) and any fight would have been short. As he looked at me, square in the eyes I was mentally calculating the logistics of security breaking it up, first aid getting here, and wondering if anyone would explain the situation to security since a lot of people around Thing One and Thing Two had already left. But the whole time I never broke his gaze and in the end he turned around. I then made sure Dawn was okay, and we debated leaving but knew that meant that history would record victory for Team Thing, so we stayed.

At one point I looked down and saw that Thing One had his hand on the back of his seat. He moved it and there was a $20 bill left on the back of the seat. I was about ready to start it all over again, but Dawn talked me down. We used that to get blizzards on the way home.

The show itself? Even listening to the bootlegs now I can't really feel anything for it. I remember it was the first time I saw "Bu$hleaguer" done with the full mask and dance, and that it was the best version of "Betterman" I've ever seen. And I remember that while they did Baba O'Reilly the fireworks were going off over the lake, so Matt changed the pace of the drum breakdown a the end to sync with the explosions. And then getting out of the show was a nightmare due to the congestion of concert and fireworks people.

This may have been a great show, this may have been the greatest ever. But two guys who forgot we live in a society ruined that for Dawn and I and everyone around us.

Remember that when you go to a concert. Every time you flail your arms, you block the stage. Every time you yell a request, you drown out the band. You're having your fun, but would you be understanding of someone doing the exact same thing around you?

Next show, please.

... remembering a friend

Most of the times when someone passes away, the first things you hear are about what a wonderful person they were, and all the great things they did, how animals flocked to their feet etcetera. Normally I call B.S. on stuff like that. People are people, and they're good, they're bad.

Well, except for Paul Gallant.

Paul was pretty much what you think of when you think about "salt of the Earth". Paul would give you the shirt off his back, and if you needed another one he'd make it. Yes, most cliches about good people would apply to Paul, including even the good die young.

He passed away last week, suddenly. I've only a few of the details and being 1,400 KM away I won't even try to pretend I know it, but I guess what you could say is that for him his heart worked overtime, and just finally gave out. He leaves behind his wife, children, a family that loved him and a town that admired him.

Rest well, Paul. You'll be in my thoughts, as you are in the lives of everyone you've met.

Back in a bit.

... saying Arrivederci Alex

A few years ago I was at a Beloved Blue Jays game and a young outfielder named Alex Rios came up to bat. He hit a solid single to the opposite field. Since it was an opposite field hit, the right fielder was a little out of position. Rios rounded first and the ball was not yet fielded, so he tried to make a break for second. Up in the 500s, you knew how it was going to play out. "Too shallow...hold up hold up hold up hold up," we all yelled, but he recklessly ran and was thrown out at second. He slid, but unless he planned to kick the ball out of the shortstop's glove, it was not going to happen.

"Rios is someone to watch," I said the next day at work," He's got hustle and drive, but he makes a lot of rookie mistakes. Someone who's played a little more would know better than that."

A few years later, and he's still overrunning the bases.

Prior to the 2008 season there was a very serious offer from the Hated San Francisco Giants for Rios. What they were offering for Alex Rios included Time Lincecum, who was a young pitcher with an.....unorthodox...delivery but who was showing some promise. "Nay nay," said the Beloved Jays,"We see a lot of promise in Alex Rios. With a little discipline and some work on his fundamentals, he's going to be a star And we've given him a large contract based on that promise."

Late last week Rios was placed on waivers and picked up by the Hated White Sox. Note he wasn't designated for assignment - that is what being fired in baseball is, though you still have to pay them (see Ryan, Robert Victor). He was put on waivers, meaning the Jays could keep him, or could not, or could make a trade, or not. Really, it's like they're in the schoolyard and no one's said 'No Take Backs' yet.

A lot of people have said that they Jays got nothing for Rios. And in a way, they didn't. They didn't get any new players, and still have the same needs they had before (third base and catcher, sorry but I don't think our yells are going to be satisfied by them giving us Brajas). But they did get something far more tangible:

$58.7 million. That's the amount that was remaining on his 7 year (7!) deal. They paid Rios this based on a promise he never fulfilled.

Now, I'm the first to admit that baseball is a game of futility ("Hey boss, you gave me ten thing to do, but I only got three of them done, and one of them only because it bounced off of Jose Canseco's head." "Great, here's the key to the corner office!"), but at the same time it's a game of consistency - it's a year-over-year game. Jays GM JP Riccardi has made that mistake constantly, either signing guys to large contracts based on promise (Rios) or on those who anyone with half a baseball brain could see were coming off a statistical blip of a year (Frank Thomas). It's deals like the last one that are very disappointing because Riccardi was supposed to be a Moneyball dude: Sign people who are consistent, but unspectacular players and nibble the other teams to death.

So no matter how you cut it, he overpaid for Rios, and was on the hook for the long run. Now, add to this the current economic downturn. A lot of teams don't want to pick up a contact that's worth that much without a promise of a big return. Note that Wells and his enormous contract was put on waivers also with nary a bite. The pale Sox were willing to take a chance, and had nothing to offer. So what did the Jays get:

Again, $58.7 million.

What can they do with this? They can go over a number of free agents in the off season. Why should they? Because we're in an economic downturn right now that won't impact major sports until next year (it's why people are excited about LeBron in the NBA, and there's the potential for another NFL strike). People might be more inclined to sign with the Blue Jays or Pirates knowing that those wages will be competitive with the Hated Yankees and Hated BoSox. As well, the Jays have more depth than they are given credit for, so they don't need a lot of new parts, just a couple of guns for hire (and middle relief, but that's where I hope the Cincy deal for Rolen pays off). They Jays did the same when they bought their two World Series' in the 90s. So they gave up Rios, but they might have gained a chance to be competitive next year.

Having said that, Riccardi is done. He's done not so much for the moves he made on the field (though those are pretty bad and, again, he did not live up to his billing as much as Rios didn't) but for the way he handled being a GM. Let's just say I suck at poker, but I have a feeling I could take a few bucks from JP without too much work. He's gone, and would be gone already for one reason: Paul Beeston is only interim President, and supposed to be looking for his replacement. I'm with Bob McCowan on this one: Paul Beeston's replacement is Paul Beeston, and he's just waiting for (1) the end of the season and (2) to have his GM pick ready to take over before he pulls his Cheney. Once those ducks are in a row, he'll start firing. And here's my other prediction, which I'll go into later: The order of firing will be this - Riccardi, pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, and then manager Cito Gaston, all on the same day and within minutes of each other if not at the same time.

I just hope that whoever it is looks at the money - $58.7 million - looks at the team and looks for the pieces that fit as opposed to trying to make those pieces fit on the team. Because the last few they did that with? They're on other teams right now.

... Pearl Jam @ Buffalo

But first, the moment that changed our lives.

Pearl Jam likes its fans. Most bands do, but Pearl Jam is one of the bands that really goes out of its way to look after its fans. It also likes to make everything as fair as possible for everyone. That's why they often wind up tilting at windmills like taking on Ticketmaster.

This love of fans led Dawn to finally join the Pearl Jam Fan Club, or Ten Club. One of the benefits of joining is being able to purchase tickets for upcoming concerts, and getting to buy them early. This means that the area in front of the stage (and to the sides, depending on the set up) is made up of hard core Pearl Jam fans. To keep things fair, tickets are not allotted by random draw or things like that but by how long you've been a member of the Ten Club. If you've put in more time, you get closer. This means that you don't get people who just joined the club to get the early purchase date having prime seats in front of the stage. It also means you're going to see a lot of the same people on a tour.

This, as I said before, changed our life. Being able to follow Pearl Jam was going to become more interesting and a lot easier to do. We weren't going to have to jump through a lot of hoops to sit up in the rafters, and we were going to be part of a group of people who wanted the experience as much as we wanted it: no sitting next to drunken "I got the ticket from my friend" dude. These were people who wanted to be there.

And so...

Pearl Jam @ HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York - May 2, 2003

Opening act: Sparta. We missed them completely and I regret this now because I'm a big At the Drive-In fan, and this is one of the two groups that rose from its ashes. Can you name the other?

Click here for the set list.

Read the set list.

Read it.

I want you to really take your time and read it closely. Because I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to tell it to you now.

This is the greatest concert I have ever been to.

Full stop. End of line. NO CARRIER+++. That's beyond just Pearl Jam. It's the greatest rock concert I've ever been to, and likely ever will.

Riot Act is the most underrated album in their discography. People will say No Code is, and they're right, but you never find anyone that considers Riot Act their best while some will consider No Code for that role. But Riot Act was part of a rebirth for the band. They started rocking harder, Matt Cameron started flexing his muscle (he's the John Paul Jones of grunge), and the band became more of a band.

That's what was on show that night. It wasn't Eddie Vedder and Co (a designation that Eddie hates), but it was Pearl FRAKING Jam. They played a tight main set. Compare that setlist to some of the others I've posted and you see that it's much more even, fewer swings in mood.

Now look at the encores. First of all, there are THREE of them, and they are mostly covers. "Some say the last night of the tour is the best," Eddie said at one point during the show, "but really, it's the second to last show that's the best". They played with wild abandon for the entire night, like this was the last waltz for everyone involved. And they really connected with their fans. During "People have the Power" Eddie pulled a woman from the audience on stage to hold the lyric sheet for him, and danced with her during the choruses. You can actually see this moment if you have the excellent Live at Madison Square Garden DVD during the "Fortunate Son" compilation.

The show was entering its third hour when the band came on stage for what was supposed to be the third encore. During this time the lights had flared up a little, and we were wondering what was up. Eddie took the microphone "A lot of these places have a curfew, and you have to be out at a certain time or you start paying crazy money, like, for every 15 minutes. And we're already 30 minutes over." Booos. "So we talked backstage and we agreed....Mike McCready will pay the fine tonight. F--k it, the Bush tax cut made us rich!"

And with that the house lights stayed up and they ripped through "Baba O'Reilly". Afterwards Mike started playing the Hendrix-like riffs that make up "Yellow Ledbetter", one of the most heartfelt and emotional Pearl Jam tracks (you can't really call it a song...). They played while some of the roadies started packing gear up. They played their hearts out. They ripped through solos while Eddie sang those notes that pretty much make the heart of any Pearl Jam fan melt a little. I couldn't help it, I started welling up (and am a little bit now). I looked to my left for a second and noticed that a lot of the crowd was moving into the aisles, some just standing there but in general moving forward, not to be closer to their idol or to touch the hem of his garment but just because the moment called for it. It was a moment when fan and band were the same, when they were staying past their metaphorical bedtime and knew the moment was going to end soon so it just had to be marked in some way.

Mike vamped at the end of the song, like he always did. The band left the stage one by one. The lights stayed up. The house music came up. The set started to come down.

And I knew I had found where I belonged.

... Pearl Jam @ Barrie, Pearl Jam @ ACC (1)

Someone asked me in the comments for the first post if I'm going to be recounting these shows for memory or if I've taken prodigious notes at all the shows I've been to.

The answer is, well, a little of both.

First, I am blessed/cursed with a great memory for things that are of no consequence. I can recite chart positions for most singles and albums, list most Oscar winners without breaking a sweat, and can still give you detailed plot outlines of most the books I've ever read. Important things....eiiinnn...those come and go. Hey, I didn't get to be a Reach for the Top provincial champion based on good looks and charm.

Secondly, Pearl Jam themselves do a lot of the heavy lifting. Their website lists all their gigs and each set list. So often if I remember the venue and the set list I can fill in the rest of the show. Pearl Jam also releases bootleg albums for every show, and we have all of the ones we've been to, so I can go through those to refresh my memory.

Dawn, also, has been keeping a book of Pearl Jam concert memories that I check from time to time.

Having said that, the first couple of shows are a little faded in my memory, so I'm going to do those together, and each will be kinda short. Consider this the cardio before the weight training.

Pearl Jam @ Molson Park, Barrie, Ontario - August 22, 1998

Opening act: There was a side stage that Cracker and The Matthew Good Band headlined. Main stage openers were Cheap Trick.

Click here for the set list.

Yes, Cheap Trick opened. I thought it was a joke. It wasn't. They rocked.

Molson Park was a huge field outside of Barrie, Ontario, an hour a bit north of Toronto. At the time this was the largest show Pearl Jam had ever headlined, and in a way I think they were a little daunted by the number. If you look at the set list you'll see they opened with "Corduroy", which does not happen all that often. It was like they felt a need to really start the show on a high note. On the other hand, there were other reasons to start the show on a big note. This was the first real large scale tour after their battle with Ticketmaster, and was also in support of Yield, which was their most straight ahead record since Vs..

I think I was a little lost in this show. It was a big concert, we were at the top of the field, and it was tough to connect with the band. But there were moments where I saw the flashes that I'd see later. The ones that stick out the most were the coda of "Surrender" at the end of "Daughter", both as a nod to Cheap Trick and also touching on some of the menace that I've always heard in that song since I was a little kid when I'd listen to it in my brother's room. Think of it: "Daughter", a tale of childhood alienantion, ends with "The shades go.....down" and at this show segues it into a morose acoustic "Mama's all right...daddy's alright...they just seem a little weird...surrender." Shudder. Also, they borrowed the famous Boy guitar for "State of Love and Trust", and it's then that I felt that any Pearl Jam song could possibly be an homage to another one. And that leads to a whole other series of events...

Pearl Jam @ Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario - October 5th 2000

Opening act: Supergrass

Click here for set list.

Binaural was a tough period for Pearl Jam. It's one of their more difficult albums (up there with No Code), reflecting a difficult time for the band (and possibly the world, when you think about it). The set list reflects that. The songs almost all seem to have a sense of resignation about them, and the switches in tone seem almost manic. I also think it was a tough night to connect with the crowd: Eddie was talking about the Doomsday Clock and how it had been moved up just that week, and the crowd cheered. "You're all sick f---s, you know that," he said with a laugh, but it was kidding on the square (oh, there will be more stories about Toronto crowds later, don't you worry).

We were up in the rafters, pretty much in the last row, so once again there was a bit of a disconnect between ourselves and the show, which might be why this is one of the least memorable of the shows I've been to.

But then I look at the set list, and check out those encores. That's what I'm talking about when I say that the encores are sometimes the best part of the show. "Crazy Mary" and "Baba O'Reilly", plus "Do the Evolution". In a way, the encore set outstrips the main set.

And it's quite funny, how you can be so close to something: the next year we were in Montreal for the Grand Prix, and I was wearing my Binaural shirt, and some Australians were in the elevator. "Where did ya see Pearl Jam?" "Toronto, on this tour." "Cooooor..we heard that show on a bootleg...it was Awwweeeesoooommmmah."

This was my first show with Dawn, and for a while we both thought this would be our only Pearl Jam show together. But then one day, out of nowhere, we made a decision that would change our lives forever.

And I'll talk about that in the next post.

... going to review all his Pearl Jam concerts

At the end of this month, Dawn and I are going to be doing Mini-Pearl Jam Road Trip 2009. It's three shows: one in Toronto and two in Chicago, which are parts of a mini-tour they are doing before the release of Backspacer this fall. Sadly, we're not going to get the time to go and see any of the west coast dates which include shows in Seattle (their hometown, don'tcha know?) so that will remain on the the To-Do list. (Full disclosure: We're flying from Toronto to Chicago, so it's not actually a road trip in the stricktest sense of the word. Some year we do plan to suit up the Pearl Van and follow them that way, but that's for another time).

These three shows will bring our combined Pearl Jam show total to 16, plus one solo Eddie Vedder show. Now, these aren't Deadhead or Phish Phan levels - I know a Deadhead whose shows total in the hundreds - but it is a significant amount.

Whenever I tell people that I'm either going on a trip or have just come back from a concert, I always get the same question: How different can the shows be?

I really do have to answer this properly, because if there is one thing I've complained in the past about, it's the people who will go to a large number of pop shows (like the recent NKOTB reunion, or who will go to both nights of Britney Spears). What it comes down to is something I've alluded to before on this blog when talking about concerts: the material covered in the show, and the band's attitude to performing.

First, the material. Pearl Jam has released nine studio albums (counting Backspacer), a compilation of B-sides (the brilliantly named Lost Dogs), EPs, and a lot of one-off singles and tracks for compilations. There is an amazing amount of material they can draw from night after night. There are a few songs that make it onto the list every night, but some that get dragged out for special occasions or based on conversations they might have had with fans before the show. As a sampler here is a list from their site of every song they've played live, as well as a playcount.

Their shows aren't just limited to their own material. They play a lot of covers also, and have been doing this throughout their career. The amazing thing is that most of these covers have actually never been released as proper Pearl Jam singles: The only way to hear them do "Baba O'Reilly" or "Rocking in the Free World" is to go to a concert (or have a bootleg). So every night you're going to get something special like that.

It's not just enough that you can go to a couple of shows and not hear the same setlist over and over again. What also happens at each Pearl Jam show is a completely different experience from night to night in the actual performance. These guys LOVE to play live, and it shows. And they've never forgotten the fan quotient: You are doing what you are doing because you once were a fan, and do what do you because you have fans.

Most other concerts fit a certain mold: they front load a lot of the bigger hits, the section in the middle where they play the safe or new numbers, and then a closer and encore of the songs everyone came to see. And that's okay. It's a formula for a reason.

A Pearl Jam show works more like a story. Most of the time they will start with one of their slower numbers, something quiet. Then the second or third number will be something loud. So you've been eased in for a second, and then BAM instant release and catharsis.

After that...well it's anyone's guess. A few numbers might always be in the main set, but sometimes there are little diversions - the "Nothingman/Betterman/Leatherman" trilogy might be there, or it might not. They might also play "Lukin" just to rile the crowd up, or slap it in the middle of the set to give a chance to the guitar techs or stage hands to fix a couple of things. "Daughter" often has a coda that is either completely free form, or segues into another cover. The point is that the main part of the show has a great ebb and flow to it.

Where the show really takes off is the encore. Most bands will play a three/four song encore. With Pearl Jam, there can be up to three encore sets, and totaled together they can be almost as long as the primary set itself. This is when things get really interesting. This is where the odd covers come out, a lot of the b-sides, and a lot of the spontaneity. There's always the sense that a lot of this they're making up on the fly, that they came out with one or two songs they wanted to do but just used that as a jumping off point. I have no proof of this, and it's probably not the case, but it sure feels like it.

It boils down to this: they love playing live, they take it very seriously but they also know it should be fun for both them and the fans. They jam, but it's not indulgent. They might do a silly little song in the middle of a set but it's not a comedy show. Yes, they rail about politics and injustices but then they also talk about how most of the band missed an entire verse of a song, and then play a bit of it again to make up for it.

So many people get into the business today because they wanna be famous, wanna be a star, wanna be in movies, wanna drive a nice car, see the world, and wanna have groupies. Pearl Jam got into it because they loved the music, and loved playing, and believe in something bigger than themselves. And go to any Pearl Jam show, you'll see that. You might not agree with it, but you'll see it.

Now, I could write about 20 more paragraphs explaining to you why I can go to so many Pearl Jam shows and how each one is an experience in and of itself. But like the book says - It's like telling a stranger about rock 'n' roll.

So for the next couple of weeks I'm gonna do this: I'm going to write about each Pearl Jam show I've been to. That's an even dozen for me, plus the Eddie Vedder solo gig. I'm going to give you set lists, I'm going to tell you as much as I remember, and I'm going to try to take you with me on each one. The first few shows, my mind is a little hazy on. But as we get closer and closer to the present day you're going to get a good view of why I try to save up vacation days as a new release gets closer and closer - and also hear about the time when no amount of savaed vacation days could have prepared me for one of the most exhausting stretches of my life.

Welcome, my friends, to the show that never ends!

...reviewing Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Kool Haus

The band

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are part of the current American wave of art rock. In the UK this is represented by bands like Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and The Invisible. In the U.S. (where it used to be called "Vowel Rock", I'm not making this up) its leading lights are The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV on the Radio, the last two who form a little bit of an artists commune amongst themselves (while Jack White is his own cottage industry. Did you know he's in every band going, and is at least two members in some of them? I read it on a blog.)

Listening to the first Yeah Yeah Yeahs album Fever to Tell reminded me so much of the energy that I felt when I was in New York and visited CBGB's (though I admit to passing up the opportunity to visit the bathroom). Lead singer Karen O came across as if Patty Smith and Chrissie Hynde had a little baby, and that baby was raised by Debbie Harry. The music was fierce, energetic, and Karen's vocals wavered between tender punk crooning (like on "Maps" or parts of "Pin") and ferocious yells ("Date with the Night" and other parts of "Pin") all against the stellar playing (and interplay) of guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Brian Chase. Their second album, Show Your Bones, was the very definition of "difficult". It was difficult to make and difficult to listen to. It sounded almost joyless, and the tensions in the band were on full show in the music. It would not have been hard just listening to those two albums to see Karen O as a dark, almost intimidating figure on stage and in person and not the best way to spend an evening, like the standard stereotype of Hynde.

Their latest release It's Blitz is a glam-mier, more danceable collection. In a way, it's their Parallel Lines. This new life for the band has seen them appearing on more mainstream shows like Saturday Night Live, and that night I saw Karen O do something I didn't know she could do.

She smiled.

So she wasn't unapproachable, and actually did enjoy herself while performing. Also, I wouldn't be wondering if I was going to be judged "cool enough" to be at the show.

Alrighty then, on the list they go.

The show

They played the first of two shows in Toronto at the Kool Haus on August 4th. The opener was Amanda Blank. I only saw the last bit of her set, but she presented a great definition for the following: trying too hard, pandering, and demonstrating less lyrical depth than Lady Gaga. As she left the stage it hit me: she came across like a party-girl/hippity hop version of Ashley Tisdale. Or maybe I'm just not the target market

Yeah Yeah Yeahs took the stage and even though I was at a weird angle and couldn't see most of the band I knew I wasn't going to miss anything because you just knew Karen O was going to be the focus. And she was for the bulk of the set which was heavy with newer works and a couple of presents from the Master EP. Whether she was holding the microphone aloft like a cross between an Olympic torch and an aspergillum (See how nice I am to provide a definition?), covering herself in a muslin shawl, or crawling across the stage - she was the performance focus of the band. It was something trying to reconcile the image I had of her with the bouncing, jumping, happy person on stage, singing and performing her heart out.

The show isn't just the Karen O Dance Party. Zinner and Chase are phenomenal musicians in their own rights, and some performances were re-inventions of their songs. "Cheated Harts" morphed from a driving, steady song to a slow-burn-to-a-freakout, while "Maps" was became a combination campfire/country song being played on an acoustic guitar. This was quite remarkable because on Fever to Tell the song is a series of tom-toms and shrill guitar notes, the urgency of which provides a great contrast to Karen's more mellow singing style. The encore performance of "Art Core" which oscillated from noise punk to groovy surf rock like some kind of Raveonettes/Sonic Youth mash-up shows how the band could play on a dime, to coin a phrase, and just how much the group truly is greater than the sum of its parts.

What I took away from the show was something that I wish more bands and performers today knew: There is something to be gained from honing your craft, working at your art, and treating it as such. I never got the sense that they were happy with just being good and a fun night out. There was a sense that they were always going to challenge themselves to be something just a little more and that doing anything else would be betraying their talent. They don't rock hard because it's cool to rock hard the kids like it. They rock hard because they're damned good at it and they're going to keep getting better at it, because what's the point of going through what you've gone through unless you're going to keep improving?

This was one of the best shows I've been to this year, hands down.

The venue:

I've written about Kool Haus a couple of other times, so I'll just mention these two things:

1. The air conditioner was on finally. Thank the maker!
2. For the love of Clapton, close it down for two months if you have to and try to figure out a better way to get people OUT of there. Everyone is funneled through a set of doors on one side of the stage, and they have to avoid being pushed into the door frames or the one or two doors that are never opened. They then walk down a hallway and then into the courtyard...which is full of 102.1 The Edge interns throwing their boxes everywhere, and then a hot dog cart that everyone has to move around. Either open the back doors, or expand the main entrance. (Also, the interns who were saying that the promotional condoms that fell onto the ground and were trampled on were "still good": No, no no no no no, no, they are not." This is NOT a "close enough for rock and roll" thing.)

The crowd

The crowd was a mix of true believers and a few tourists, but at usual I have a message to someone special

*ahem*

Dear Prince of Douchynees,

I knew you were going to be special to me as soon as I saw that you had the collar of your shirt turned up.

I wanted to thank you each time you pushed by me to get a drink at the bar/shots for your friends (8 times in a 90 minute set) for not proving me wrong.

When you landed your 6 foot 5 frame and size 13 shoes on my thin Converse with full force and didn't even apologize, I knew you were truly one of God's great prototypes.

And the way you spent the entire show talking to your friends with your back to the stage; that was genius, because it showed you really didn't care that there were people who wanted to be as close to the stage as we were and actually, you know, see or hear the band. You are such a great fan that you don't even NEED to be there.

We obviously don't deserve you.

Smooches,

G Valentino