http://www.examiner.com/x-12340-Philade ... ne-12-2009Eddie Vedder's second night at Tower Theater had a much different energy than the first night. He interacted more with the crowd, which was a rowdier group than Thursday night, and his singing and guitar-playing was on point, without any slip-ups like the night before. He even told the audience that he had been taking pain killers for a recent injury and this was his first night without taking medication, joking that he should play sober more often.
He again opened with "Walking the Cow," followed by the same "Brain Damage" intro leading into "Sometimes." Next were beautiful covers of the Cat Stevens song "Trouble" and "Girl From the North Country" by Bob Dylan, followed by "I Am Mine," "Dead Man," and the Into the Wild songs "Far Behind," "No Ceiling," "Guaranteed" and "Rise."
The next part of the set was slightly different as he played "Picture in a Frame" by Tom Waits and "State Trooper" by Bruce Springsteen. "Drifting" and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" were next, and then the Pearl Jam favorite "Small Town" brought the crowd to their feet, along with the main set closer "Porch."
Following the break Liam Finn again joined Vedder for "Society," which was followed by a brief version of "Lukin" on the ukelele and then "Soon Forget." Next was another Pearl Jam classic, "Wishlist," and again he closed the show with "Arc" followed by "Hard Sun" with Liam Finn and EJ. However, one of the highlights of the show had nothing to do with the music. At one point during the encore, Vedder mentioned a letter he got from a fan that really moved him, in which the writer of the letter talked about the impact Pearl Jam's music had on his life and how he was inspired by Eddie Vedder to begin volunteering for an organization called the Yellow Ribbon Club that raises money to support US troops. As he told the story, he noticed a visibly emotional couple in the front row and discovered that it was the same couple that had written the letter. It was a very touching moment as he hugged them and thanked them for the letter, and announced that he and Pearl Jam would be contributing to the organization. It is moments like this that make you realize the ability music has to bring people together and impact their lives in a powerful way.
Publié : Sam Juin 13, 2009 4:16 am
