Vedder Stalking show # 6 I changed by not changing at all
Melbourne- March 25th 2011
I honestly woke up that Friday morning believing there was no way I would be able to locate a spare ticket to the second show in Melbourne. I still hadn’t even organized just how I was supposed to get to Adelaide the next morning and I had promised to meet Laura there at 11 am. I like to think of myself as a pretty easy-going person, but I was beginning to have suspicions that my blatant disregard for planning was going to end badly this time. I fenced off the anxiety of uncertainty with a loosely knit plan to catch an overnight bus if, by 6 pm, I still had not secured a ticket for that evening's performance.
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Virginia followed up on her ticket leads and left messages running into nothing but dead ends as we made our way through the city, nearing the venue. We met the rest of the Jammers at a pub near the venue and enjoyed a few pints of my favourite draft and carried on with our story sharing and Eddie banter. As the crowd thickened, I continued asking around if anyone was aware of a spare ticket that might be available amongst the group with no success. 6pm had rolled around all too quickly and it was time to make a decision. Realistically, I should have just popped onto the night bus but by then I was just having way too much fun hanging with the crew and the idea of getting on an 8-hour bus ride sounded terribly depressing. Virginia's friend accompanied me as I tracked down an internet café and searched for flights the next morning. The only available morning flight left at 8 am, which left yet another obstacle: how on earth was I going to get to the airport and where was I supposed to spend the night? Hmmm, maybe this last-minute “everything will work out” attitude had its flaws after all. But of course, Virginia’s entirely too nice for her own good friend insisted I spend another night at hers and even offered to take me to the airport in the morning. “It’s on the way to where we have to be tomorrow morning anyway,” she justified, “now hurry up and buy your plane ticket so we can get back to the pub and finish our pints!”
I finally had a plan, but I was still without a ticket to the show, and it was nearing the zero hour. Empty glasses slammed down on the table and watches were double and triple-checked as the crowd thinned in the pub. We made our way down to the doors of the venue and waited for the axe to fall and for my friends to walk into the venue with that look like they were abandoning an injured friend on a Mt. Everest excursion. Then Darren came flying through the crowds, “Paul, I found someone with an extra ticket!” No fucking way! I couldn’t believe it, but the next thing I knew, I was walking to meet a kiwi fellow who acted as if we were making a drug trading transaction in the shelter of the nearby bushes. I might have been suspicious, but I was far too many other emotions, and the ticket itself appeared genuine and wasn’t printed on computer paper. A good seat too! I was second row on the Balcony, and even though I was alone in my row, I was surrounded by Jammers in every direction who waved high fives during intermissions and exchanged enthusiastic facial expressions.
The crowd went absolutely crazy this show! It was one of those shows that seemed to have a certain something to it, but was not determined by a sick set list or anything else except for the phenomenal energy that transcended the room and the reciprocation of the crowd. I completely lost myself in the music and wasn’t for one instant taken out of the moment. Every show has been a favourite, but each for its different reasons. The last Sydney show had one of my favourite set lists, but this show kept me engaged the entire time and had the added benefit of being a completely unanticipated treat. I went crazy to hear “The Kids Are Alright” live as that is one of my favourite covers and is on one of my favourite Live bootlegs from a show in Seattle back in 2000. The third encore of this album was by far one of my most listened to Pearl Jam albums of all time, just take a look at the set list off this album: Crazy Mary, Immortality, Alive, Soon Forget, The Kids Are Alright, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter. That CD composed an anthem to my youth, and I had a great conversation with everyone after the show about how we make powerful associations with music and how a simple song can re-incarnate more emotion and memory than any other of the senses.
We stumbled out of the venue and conglomerated outside with all the exact same things to say: “Oh my god, what just happened here? I know I just saw him yesterday, and it was amazing, but somehow I feel like I’ve seen a different show!” I was handsomely rewarded for my willingness to take a chance.
Eddie Vedder
Palais Theatre, Melbourne AU
Show 2
March 25, 2011
01. Long Road
02. Sometimes
03. Thumbing My Way
04. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
05. Picture In A Frame-(Kathleen Brennan/Tom Waits)
06. Man Of The Hour
07. Just Breathe
08. Driftin’
09. You’re True-(New Song)
10. Soon Forget
11. Light Years
12. Setting Forth
13. Far Behind
14. Guaranteed
15. Rise
16. Off He Goes
17. Lukin
18. Porch
Encore Break 1
19. Tonight You Belong To Me w/ EJ Barnes-(Rose/David)
20. The Golden State w/ EJ Barnes-(John Doe)
21. Society-(Jerry Hannan)
22. The Kids Are Alright-(Pete Townshend)
23. I Am A Patriot-(Steve Van Zandt)
24. Wishlist
25. Arc
Encore Break 2
26. Crazy Mary-(Victoria Williams)
27. Rockin’ In The Free World w/ EJ Barnes & Cecilia Herbert-(Neil Young)
29. Hard Sun w/ EJ Barnes & Cecilia Herbert-(Gordon Peterson)
