Tuesday 24 November 2009

Pearl Jam - Gig Review - Etihad Stadium - Nov 20th 2009

The news that Pearl Jam and Ben Harper would be playing on the same bill was a source of great excitement to me which only grew after hearing Backspacer which is their best album since Vs in my opinion. My friends shared my sentiments and a posse of over 10 people was quickly formed as the countdown to the 20th November begun. After leaving work early at 4pm, we all congregated at a close-by pub to get a few beers into us before Ben Harper started. We timed it perfectly, arriving just as the great man got on stage to play the unreleased track "I Will Not be Broken". By the time we made it down to our spot in the Fixer field (Front GA) we were treated to the first of the nights countless highlights with the suprise inclusion of "Faded" which sounded just as good a did with his original band. "Number With No Name" was next which is one of my faves from the new album. Eddie Vedder was then invited on stage for an awesome duet with Harper on the Queen/Bowie classic "Under Pressure". They sounded great together and even inproved on the original with Harper hitting some awe inspiring notes and Vedder treating the crowd to an early taste of his distinctive vocals. Harper then treated the crowd to another of his classics with "Diamonds on the Inside" much to the delight of the many fans of Harper's earlier tunes, myself included. The band finsihed the set with some tracks from this years White Lies for Dark Times and another new track called "Rock N Roll is Free" which sounded quite good as well. The lineup for drinks was a pisstake and I missed more than I would have liked of the second half of Harper's set but could hear it pretty well.

Pearl Jam wasted no time when it came to playing the songs the crows wanted to hear opening with the laid back "Elderly Woman" from their best album Vs followed by the more energetic "Corduroy" and "Animal". By the time one-two combo of "Even Flow" and "Oceans" was played to an extremely appreciative crowd I was aware that I was witnessing something more than an average touring rock show, well aware that the set so far was quite different to the previous shows at Perth and Adelaide. It is rare for international artists or even locals for that metter to play a different set for each gig and is one of the many reasons that I rate this gig as my favourite of all time. They ticked every box required for the perfect performance as they played plenty of their hits, a few covers, some special guests, a few unexpected rarities and it went for 2 and a half hours. The group of friends I went with all shared the same opinion and the best was yet to come. Other highlights from the main set included "Given to Fly" (dedicated to my favourite footballer Richo), "The Fixer" and "Do the Evolution".

As good as the main set was, the two encores that followed were nothing short of perfect. Eddie Vedder came out by himself to rapturous applause armed only with his acoustic guitar to play a chilling version of Neil Young's "The Needle and the Damage Done" which is one of my favourite songs ever. This was followed by another acoustic track "Just Breathe" from the new album which sounded great. The first very special guest, Ben Harper, was then invited on stage for a couple tracks, first on slide guitar only on "Red Mosquito" and then shared the vocals on the highlight of the night "Indifference". It was the track I was most hoping to hear and was every bit as good as I'd hoped. I would have been quite happy for the gig to end there but there were 10 more classics yet to come. To finish the first encore we were treated to 4 in a row from the classic debut Ten, the highlight being "Jeremy" as the 50,000 strong crowd sang along.

The 2nd encore begun with a rousing version of one of Australia's greatest songs, "Throw Your Arms Around Me" joined by Liam Finn on vocals which envoked another heartfelt sing-along from the crowd. By the time "Black", "Spin the Black Circle" and "Alive" were played I was entirely exhausted and completely blown away by the calvacade of hits I had witnessed and I was not the Lone Ranger. The concert finished with a great version of The Who's classic "Baba O'Reilly" and popular B-side "Yellow Ledbetter" featuring some wicked AC/DC riffage. After 32 tracks and 2 and a half hours of madness I was spent and ready for home.
Best. Gig. Ever.

Set List: Elderly Woman, Corduroy, Animal, Got Some, Brother, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Oceans, Lukin, Green Disease, Force of Nature, Present Tense, Gonne See My Friend, Given To Fly, Daughter / Another Brick In The Wall Part 2-(Waters), Glorified G, The Fixer, Do the Evolution,

1st encore: The Needle And The Damage Done-(Young), Just Breathe, Red Mosquito w/ Ben Harper, Indifference w/ Ben Harper, Jeremy, Deep, Why Go, Porch

2nd encore: Throw Your Arms Around Me w/ Liam Finn-(Archer, Falconer, Howard, Miles, Seymour, Smith, Waters), Black, Spin The Black Circle, Alive, Baba O'Riley (Townshend), Yellow Ledbetter / AC/DC Medley-(Scott, Young, Young)