So thanks to my very good friend Mollie, I was able to see Pearl Jam last night, thus continuing my streak of seeing them every time they’ve come around since my first concert in 1994 (the famous Orpheum concert, which singer Eddie Vedder referred to more than once last night).
They played a good assortment of songs, opening with “Release” and then kicking into “Severed Hand.” They toned it down on the first encore with a couple of Bob Dylan covers in honor of Dylan’s birthday, “Forever Young” and “Masters of War” (which Mollie was particularly pleased with). Overall, though, it was an energetic set, with the second encore featuring a number of rockers, including “Spin the Black Circle” and “Comatose” before wrapping up with Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
I was glad I got to hear live versions of “Comatose” and “Gone,” two of my favorite songs on the new album. I missed “Rearviewmirror” and “Parachutes,” though. Overall, a great performance from PJ as usual.
I was talked into seeing a midnight showing of X-Men 3 tonight, so I’ll have comments on that next time.
I heard on the radio this morning that Vedder didn’t make any political statements or speeches between songs. Of course, there were still political songs sung like “Severed Hand” and I’m sure they played “World Wide Suicide.”
Anyway, that was reported by former Globe reporter Michael Holley on the Dale & Holley show. A listener e-mailed that tidbit in becuase Holley wasn’t going until the next show. He’s a pretty big PJ fan. I wonder if Theo was around…
The only “political commentary” was Eddie’s dedication of “unemployable” to all the college graduates, followed by a remark that “Even Flow” (a song about homelessness) was their future, and then before a cover of Dylan’s “Forever Young” he said he didn’t mean to be cynical and dedicated that song to the graduates too.