Pearl Jam concert

Welcome to my first attempt at a blog.

This blog will not have a theme. I’ll be posting about random topics. Don’t be surprised to see a topic of music, followed by a post about family trip or my latest house project. Who knows? Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it so much that you leave a comment or two. All comments are welcome.

There are so many topics I’d like to post on, but I’ll start with something fresh on my mind. Monday night Stacy (my wife) and I went to see Pearl Jam in concert at the Colonial Center in Columbia, SC. We’ve been excited about it for some time, not only because we love Pearl Jam, but also because we have not been to a concert together since seeing Aerosmith in Greenville, SC some 9-10 years ago.
Being that we live in Columbia, it was a no-brainer to check out this concert. It seems as if many bands just skip our state altogether, choosing to limit their concerts to the larger “local” venues in Charlotte or Atlanta…that is assuming that they schedule any shows in the south. When a quality band finally does grace us with their presence, we’d better take advantage of the opportunity. That is exactly what we did. The day that I heard Pearl Jam would be in Columbia, I immediately went online to buy tickets. We bought early, but still ended up in the upper deck. Not a big deal , but I hope to get floor level seating next time.
On the night of the concert, we didn’t want to miss anything so we arrived at the Colonial Center at 7:00, thirty minutes before it was supposed to start. There were a small number of people that were already seated at that point in time, but there were tons of empty seats. I guess all of the “cool” people had planned to arrive fashionably late…well, all of the cool people besides us, of course. We found our seats and watched as the opening act, Kings of Leon, prepared to take the stage. To us, they were virtually unknowns. I had heard a song or two of theirs before but really could not tell you what those songs were. I had hoped they would be good and I have to say that they did not let me down. I was impressed with what I heard and wouldn’t mind hearing them again sometime. I enjoyed their entire set (even the parts that I heard while battling the beer lines…more about that later). The high point of their set was the last song (Slow Night, So Long), during which Eddie Vedder joined them on stage. I guess that was a taste of things to come because it was really entertaining.
After their set, which was about 45 minutes, there was a 45 minute break to set up for Pearl Jam. At this point, the place was beginning to fill up… in part because the cool people had begun arriving and in part because all the drunken people had found their seats. Strangely enough, this feat was difficult for a number of people, and specifically one guy that had a problem determining whether to sit in seat 7 of section 21 or section 22. His ticket said 22, but section 21 had a better view of the stage so of course he assumed there must be a mistake, like maybe the sections were mislabeled or something along those lines. In reality, he was probably right. In fact, seat 7 of section 22 probably meant he was supposed to be in the front row, but I didn’t tell him that. Anyway, the auditorium was full and we were ready to hear all the songs that we know and love.
At 9:00, Pearl Jam took the stage and the place erupted. Eddie addressed the crowd and everyone cheered, although most of us had no idea what he had said. I like Eddie but I have to say that he is one of those people who always sounds as if he’s had about 3 too many beers. Unless you are listening very intently, you can only pick out certain words. Evidently those few words were enough to impress, because the place went crazy. Cheers throughout. It makes me laugh, but I couldn’t laugh that hard…as that would have interfered with my leading the cheering in section 21.
It was funny when they started playing because I only vaguely recognized one song during the first 20-25 minutes. They sounded good, but I had no idea what the songs were. It wasn’t until they performed “I Am Mine” that I was really able to belt it out with Eddie. That’s right, I was chiming right in with that beautiful voice that I’ve been working on for years; both in the shower and in the truck while I haul ass down the interstate every day.
After I Am Mine, they performed Even Flow. At that point I had already gotten my money’s worth out of the night. The rest of the concert was icing on the cake. Before the night was over, they had played for a solid 2 hours and 20 minutes. It was an amazing concert. Some of the highlights for me were the performances of Even Flow, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, Better Man, and Alive. If you’ve never seen Pearl Jam live and get the chance to do so, I highly recommend that you seize the opportunity. They were incredible.

Oh, and congrats to Pearl Jam for making it into my first blog!