Eddie Vedder - Boston Opera House - 8/1/08

[radiowilco]

Eddie Vedder

Boston Opera House

August 1, 2008

Boston, MA

 

I went to the opening night of Eddie Vedder's east coast (and Canadian) tour last night at The Boston Opera House. I have always been a big Pearl Jam fan and have had no patience for the 'hipster haters" who find it convenient to dis' the band for one shitty reason or another. That said, I was very stoked to see how Eddie would show up on his own without loads of sound behind him. I spent a good portion of the ride down to Boston from Burlington listening to the "Into the Wild" soundtrack, which is wonderful if you have not given it a real listen. In addition, it was great to pop on some old PJ shows which I have not listened to in years. What follows is the set list -- albeit a bit incomplete.

 

Walking the Cow - Daniel Johnston Cover

Trouble - Cat Stevens Cover

Man of the Hour

Insignificance

Dead Man Walking

I am Mine

Wishlist

Setting Forth

No Ceiling

Far Behind

Rise

Millworker - Jame Taylor Cover

Hide Your Love Away - Lennon/McCartney Cover

Goodbye

Drifting

Here's to the State - Phil Ochs Cover

Porch

 

Parting Ways

Society w/Liam Finn

Lukin

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter...

Man of the Hour

 

Hard Sun w/Liam Finn

 

I am missing a few tunes here, but this is pretty close. Eddie was great! One of things that he did particularly well last night was he really played within himself. He is good guitar player -- not great, and he knows that his vocals and songs hold up really well and that what connects with the audience. It kind of reminded me of the first few times I saw Jeff play acoustic. He never played shit he couldn't handle, and he let his songs speak for themselves. Now, of course, he is a monster player. Eddie's voice (despite being a bit under the weather) is simply amazing. It is incredible that with all the strain he has put on his voice over the years -- that it still holds up as one of the best in modern music. The crowd was a bit obnoxious at times, and it was nice to see Eddie take the idiots on.

 

"I thought I was going to make it to the NYC gigs before I had to listen to an asshole like you," he said to one butthead who kept shouting for him to play "Even Flow" over and over again.

 

All in all, a great night though. Liam Finn was terrific as well.

 

August is live music month for me. Radiohead on the 6th in Montreal. Wilco and Andrew Bird at Tanglewood on the 12th. MMJ/Black Keys at Red Rocks on the 21st, and Radiohead again at the Hollywood Bowl in LA on the 24th and 25th.