Grungy fans interrupt solo Eddie Vedder’s even flowhttp://news.bostonherald.com/entertainm ... ion=recentIn the early ’90s ‘grunge‘ catapulted Eddie Vedder and his band, Pearl Jam, into the international spotlight. Yet beneath the genre’s stereotypical flannel and angst, the singer commonly showcased softer influences, often in solo, one-song performances before Pearl Jam’s opening acts took the stage.
Last night at the Opera House, in the first of two sold-out shows, Vedder seemed prepared to delve a bit deeper.
Unfortunately, an alcohol-fueled audience made that goal exceedingly difficult at times.
To his credit, Vedder played largely above it, but when he made the point that he didn’t “expect the shouting (expletive) until New York,” his frustration was obvious.
Sadly, the point was missed by a bevy of knuckleheads intent on loudly requesting Pearl Jam songs.
What made these interruptions even sadder was that Vedder was at his finest playing outside his band’s traditional catalog.
He began with a reading of Daniel Johnston’s “Walking The Cow” that set the tone for an impressive and diverse range of covers.
These included Cat Stevens’ “Trouble,” The Who’s “I’m One,” dedicated to the authority figures of his youth who would never dream he’d one day be “playing the (expletive) Opera House,” and a beautifully plaintive take on James Taylor’s “Millworker,” which he introduced as being written by “somebody from your area.”
Flanked by both acoustic and electric guitars on a stage reminiscent of those favored by Neil Young on his solo outings, Vedder played a large portion of his recent soundtrack to “Into The Wild,” but also reminded this was not his first film work, with tender readings of “Dead Man Walking,” from the film soundtrack of the same name, and “Man of the Hour,” from the film “Big Fish.”
One can only hope drunken fans didn’t shout for Pearl Jam songs while watching those movies.
Publié : Sam Août 02, 2008 10:33 am
