This is my nine year old's account as he dictated it to Kimmie (the wife & momma) who wrote it on a Big Chief notebook tablet. I typed it out the manuscript.
My name is Heath and I am 9 years old. In Charlottesville the day of the concert, my Dad & brother went to JPJ Arena @ 4AM in the morning. My Mom, my sister Kimble Dann and I got there @ 8AM. We stood in line all day long until they let us in at 6:30PM. During the day they kept moving the line until we were hidden behind the building. Everyone was very nice and thought our hoodies & tshirts were cool (Thanks Dad!)
The guards started letting us in @ 6:20 but stopped the line before my mom could come with us. We were lucky and stood right in front of Eddie Vedder! My mom made it in and we stood & waited for 2 hours for the show to start. My back started hurting and I was hungry and needed to use the bathroom. Luckily the people behind us let my brother and me back in when we returned from the bathroom and to buy two hot dogs. When the concert started the music was awesome! We knew the words to all the songs PJ sang. And they sang Sirens which is my favorite right now. It took the place of Got Some which took the place of Oceans. As I write this Let The Records Play is becoming one of these favorites.
During the concert, Eddie kept saying cool stuff about us, like "these kids are smarter than me!" In the middle of the concert Eddie stopped everything and said maybe we could have our first taste of wine @ a PJ concert. My Dad, brother and I each had a sip of his wine. I did not like it.
The security guard came up to my dad and I wondered if we were in trouble. When we walked to the side of the stage I started to get nervous. I got to meet the band! I was super excited. They shook our hands and gave us some really cool stuff. Eddie noticed our shirts & checked out our concert dates. He thought they were pretty cool (Thanks Dad!).
After the concert we waited around and talked to some people. They were excited that we got to go on stage. They were so excited you would think they were the ones on stage! That security guard come back & took us down some hallways. I got nervous again. Next thing you know we are in Eddies VIP room! We shook hands and sat on the couch. He talked about his girls and how it was cool to be with family. My Dad gave Eddie a song inspiration and my Dad almost passed out when he agreed to check it out. We took a picture together and agreed to meet again someday! He gave everyone a hug. That was the greatest day of my life!
This is my nine year old's account as he dictated it to Kimmie (the wife & momma) who wrote it on a Big Chief notebook tablet. I typed it out the manuscript.
My name is Heath and I am 9 years old. In Charlottesville the day of the concert, my Dad & brother went to JPJ Arena @ 4AM in the morning. My Mom, my sister Kimble Dann and I got there @ 8AM. We stood in line all day long until they let us in at 6:30PM. During the day they kept moving the line until we were hidden behind the building. Everyone was very nice and thought our hoodies & tshirts were cool (Thanks Dad!)
The guards started letting us in @ 6:20 but stopped the line before my mom could come with us. We were lucky and stood right in front of Eddie Vedder! My mom made it in and we stood & waited for 2 hours for the show to start. My back started hurting and I was hungry and needed to use the bathroom. Luckily the people behind us let my brother and me back in when we returned from the bathroom and to buy two hot dogs. When the concert started the music was awesome! We knew the words to all the songs PJ sang. And they sang Sirens which is my favorite right now. It took the place of Got Some which took the place of Oceans. As I write this Let The Records Play is becoming one of these favorites.
During the concert, Eddie kept saying cool stuff about us, like "these kids are smarter than me!" In the middle of the concert Eddie stopped everything and said maybe we could have our first taste of wine @ a PJ concert. My Dad, brother and I each had a sip of his wine. I did not like it.
The security guard came up to my dad and I wondered if we were in trouble. When we walked to the side of the stage I started to get nervous. I got to meet the band! I was super excited. They shook our hands and gave us some really cool stuff. Eddie noticed our shirts & checked out our concert dates. He thought they were pretty cool (Thanks Dad!).
After the concert we waited around and talked to some people. They were excited that we got to go on stage. They were so excited you would think they were the ones on stage! That security guard come back & took us down some hallways. I got nervous again. Next thing you know we are in Eddies VIP room! We shook hands and sat on the couch. He talked about his girls and how it was cool to be with family. My Dad gave Eddie a song inspiration and my Dad almost passed out when he agreed to check it out. We took a picture together and agreed to meet again someday! He gave everyone a hug. That was the greatest day of my life!
Awesome review!
If I knew where it was, I would take you there.
11/20/11 San Jose, Costa Rica
10/18/13 Brooklyn 1
10/19/13 Brooklyn 2
10/21/13 Philly 1
10/22/13 Philly 2 (BREATH!!)
10/25/13 Hartford
10/22/14 Denver (BREATH!!!)
When the concert started the music was awesome! We knew the words to all the songs PJ sang. And they sang Sirens which is my favorite right now. It took the place of Got Some which took the place of Oceans. As I write this Let The Records Play is becoming one of these [...]
Lol. Good taste in songs, LTRP, even "real" fans are talkin smack about that one.
Can definitely vouch for your kids enthusiasm and integrity.
We were side stage and my girl must have looked at me half a dozen times that night, pointed at Heath & brother, and yelled in my ear, "those kids up front, they know the words!" .... I'd be all "yeah. Uh uh." And she'd be all, "NO! They know ALL the words! To ALL the songs!" ...
Funny a kids firs thought when tapped by security is "what did I do wrong?" Lol. You looked cute kid. Too cute. Hah.
Glad he sees it as the greatest day of his life. To be surpassed again someday, surely.
If I was to smile and I held out my hand
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Thanks for posting your son's wonderful review! Your sons are very fortunate to have such cool parents. My dad took me to my first PJ show when I was 12 (Charlotte '96). I never took it for granted, but I appreciate a lot more now that I'm older. Your sons will never forget it and will love you for it forever. Do they play instruments yet?
So glad Dan and Heath wrote their experiences in their words, and thanks Dad for sharing them with us! Such an amazing experience, and their attitudes about it are just great: grateful, amazed, but very grounded-sounding and not all manic about it. Very cool!
I like how your 12 yr old left out that he poured most of the wine down your 9 yr old's throat, but your 9 yr old is clear he did not enjoy it! LOL! Now if you can just keep them from being interested in alcohol until they're, oh, 37 yrs old?
I was lucky to have a similar experience when I was a young teen with someone I had crazy respect for, and really it was a great foundation on which to have an attitude about most of life that "anything is possible", which is an excellent attitude to have. There was one experience that I went back to in my mind throughout high school and beyond, that always fueled my backbone and reminded me that I'm an ok person (or better than ok) when circumstances tried to make me feel bad about myself, and I hope for your boys the whole experience will be a great, positive touchstone to just build more great life experiences on top of.
And Dad, when Ed does write that song that you inspired, make sure to come back and tell us about it...
Great show last night! Just got home and still trying to come up with words.
First of all . . . Pearl Jam in Charlottesville. Enjoyed a perfect drive down on Tuesday and a great lunch downtown, loved the people watching in the parking lot before the show, and had perfect seats again. Thank you, 10C. I love my high number putting me on the floor aisle in small arenas! Last night security let me stand in the back in front of the sound booth where I could dance and see the whole stage. As already mentioned, many tunes rocked. So glad to hear "In My Tree" and "Thumbing My Way" especially.
After the show, I returned to the spot where I had earlier tried to smoke behind the building but discovered it was totally blocked off by security. I hung out about 50 feet in the air above the back entrance to wave good-bye to the guys. I couldn't let Pearl Jam leave Charlottesville without a send off. Finally around 1:30, everybody was out. Boom and Mike waved to us above, and it was pleasant to see Eddie had friends with him. He was not able to talk to us because we were so far up and he was saying good-bye to the folks below, but we appreciated his wave while he drove off. Then after we left to go back to our cars in our parking lot, Eddie's car came flying through to drop his friend off parked one row over from me, so we got to cheer him on again. It was a hilarious moment watching him get away! Safe travels, pal.
To top everything off, I stumbled across Bill Clinton this morning, as he was on the downtown mall doing an event for Terry McAuliffe, our candidate for governor. How cool was that?! I got to fucking shake Bill Clinton's hand while getting my Pearl Jam hangover coffee. I wonder if he was at the concert last night. Unbelievable day.
What a fall. First Baltimore, and then Charlottesville. Thanks, Pearl Jam!
Eddie driving and not on the tour bus...... Seems really really odd?? Bill Clinton is an amazing man, I met him twice in Culpeper right before he got elected and a few years ago while he was shopping for his wife on Davis St! I was at this show and the Baltimore show too, but this show just had a different vibe and great set list!!! I've only seen them 5 times dating back to 1994 in Fairfax, Va and they still bring it like they did back in the day!! I love this band so much, can't wait to see them again soon!
Eddie driving and not on the tour bus...... Seems really really odd??
no. not really.
goes back as far as the no code era and his monkeywrench shows.
if he really is driving from show to show.
may be just a vehicle used for getting around town during tour stops, though.
(ps - i'm not sure ANY of the band still ride IN the tourbuses from stop to stop, as opposed to charter jets)
If I was to smile and I held out my hand
If I opened it now would you not understand?
i'm happy to read the two boys accounts of the night.
so funny and adorable they thought they were in trouble when security came up to them.
although i've already said i'm jealous ..... if it had to be those two boys .... i feel better that they knew all the words!
you better, being up front and 'from the womb' and all!
I've only seen them 5 times dating back to 1994 in Fairfax, Va and they still bring it like they did back in the day!! I love this band so much, can't wait to see them again soon!
that was SUPPOSED to be my first pj show.
stupid parents weren't as cool as these boys parents.
*~Pearl Jam will be blasted from speakers until morale improves~*
ive got the flu after the tour and finally got around to trying to sum up this night into words.
surreal. can anyone say 'surreal?!?!'
35 pj shows since 1996 and this show...
this show...
it was on another level.
this about sums up my experience in cville.
me and my tour partner, 5'3" annie, walked onto the floor of jpj arena at 730 and were stunned and amazed to see how few people were on the floor and in the teeny tiny ga area. like seriously, maybe 30 people. the rail was full from end to end, but maybe only 5 people deep in front of center stage. my jaw dropped. annie looked at me with a beaming smile standing right at center stage and she said 'lets get closer!' i was still feeling like wed already won some sort of lottery and i said 'no darling... lets go over this way <<<< a bit'. she obliged with a sigh of 'ohhhkayyyy' and we got in front of jeffs setup about 4 people deep. i looked at my watch. i looked at the upper rafters. 745. upper rafters 90% empty still. annie said 'u think thats a good thing or a bad thing?' i said 'dont worry... itll fill up' we stood there for a few minutes. no one was really even filling in the ga. i said to her 'i cannot believe we are 4th row'. i said 'we cant move'. she said 'ok'. i was worried thered be a flood of people and wed lose our epic spot as showtime grew closer. i heard a voice behind me and to my left, and i turned and looked and it was a familar looking dude. i said to him 'can u believe how close we are right now?!' he was dazed at his position on the floor. huge smile from him and completely nodding and agreeing with me. then annie looked over and said 'hey... we met u in the merch line in bmore!' and he looked at us and was like 'ohhh yeaaah!...we all struck out on the posters!' i said 'my name is jake. this is annie. he said 'im ryland'. so a few min later, a few of his buddys showed up. we all introduced ourselves. i was telling them my concerns for annie not being able to see. so it was nice to have a group of people looking out for my short touring companion. annie also made friends with a few other girls/women who were relatively short also and they were all talking about getting closer. being blocked by big guys. not being able to see etc. they totally took care of each other all night long. it was great to meet all the people around us. we really had no clue what to expect when the lights went down.
annie delcared 'i going to get a drink'
time blurred.
pit never really 'filled' in.
she cruised back in with wine and water.
i dont think she even had to say 'pardon me...or excuse me' to get back to our spot. THATS how mellow the pit was. she just WALKED back into 4th row between mike and jeff!!!
i had some water. gave the rest to ryland. who difinately needed it.
i saw a stage hand lay down the setlist on jeffs equipment and i said to annie, 'here we go!'
lights went down.
place goes balistic!
sorry to everyone who hates loud whistlers... but i didnt hold back during this show.
we knew pendulum would open...
the rest of the show was just a magical wonderful dream. it was absolutely perfect.
im not going to anyalyze every song, because they were flawless.
song after song was a 'oh my god!! no wayyy!' kind of feeling the entire night. we had an amazing group of people around us the whole night. everyone singing and screaming and yelling and jumping and dancing the entire show. it was absolutely surreal. ive never been apart of something like this. it felt special right out of the gate. any time someone blocked annie, there were people all around who were kind enough to move and keep her from having her view blocked.
annie is a documentary film artist and shes got some of the most amazing photos and videos from the entire night.
i couldnt blame her for wanting to capture all these epic moments because it may be the only time we'll ever be 4th row, so i never even told her to cool it with the camera. i will upload a link to all these pix and vids when i can. no one in the band, or around us looked even slightly irritated by our camera action either. which i was kind of expecting, but from our vantage, there wasnt THAT many people shooting, so i dont think anyone cared.
crowd was out of this world. setlist looks great on paper, but the feeling of joy and love and happiness was just emminatting from the pit. i was soaked with sweat after the first set so i was happy to see the chairs come out for the first encore. i could finally stop jumping, dancing, and screaming to cool off a bit.
so many many highlights on this night.
'the end' had me welling up with tears as ive got an all too familiar tragic story of losing a dog with cancer.
still rips me apart to this day.
impossible to remember all the highlights because it just felt like an unbelieveable dream.
i loved seeing the wheelchair dude cruise by us and get on the rail.
it was awesome to see him and mike exchanging gifts.
it was cool to see eddie switch out lightning bolt hats with the dude on the rail to our left.
i loved seeing the kids on stage...getting wine...learning they all met the band...what a dream!
stories for a lifetime from charlottesville!
my highlight of the night no doubt...
ive worn my Montana State shirt to several shows hoping to get jeff to acknowldege it and it finally happened.
during alive, after mike walked right next to us in the pit, he got back on the stage to finish the jam with jeff. they were jamming out and i was watching their fingers and hands destroying their guitars and i noticed jeff was staring at me in the eyes. i held up my tshirt a little bit off my chest and jeffs eyes got big. he got a big smile on his face. he tilted his head a bit. raised his eyebrows. and gave me a shrug and a huge smile. sort of like a 'wellll... okayyy'. i couldnt believe it. i turned to annie and said 'did u see ? did u see? did u see that??! jeff saw my shirt!' she said 'i know!!! i saw!' with a huge brimming smile. the rest of the show, i was in another world.
it was like a dream. i swear. it couldnt have been any better. unless we got to shake eds hand and drink some of his wine and say 'thank you' personally, of course. the amount of eye contact was so cool to see from ed mike and jeff. by the looks on their faces, they were all blown away by the crowd. they looked super suprised and impressed by us. it was THE perfect crowd.
once little wing started, i looked to my buddy behind me and said 'if they play the whole thing, u better get me some tp!' he just laughed at me. ive heard pj do little wing clips before live, but never the whole thing in person. needless to say, i did not need any tp. i just had to remember to keep picking up my jaw from off the floor for the first few minutes of the song. then i had to snap back and realize what was happening in front of me and savor every second of this magical experience. i knew it was going to be immpossible to top this song. or anything else to top this night.
this was the best show for me ive ever seen. ive seen many unbelievable shows, but this one pushed its way into the top tier. every song flowed so well into each other and just got on top of the last one. perfectly mixed setlist. it was rediculous. i never thought id witness them THIS good....from ten feet away!
thank you pj for still ripping peoples faces off on a nightly basis. im extremely lucky to have see this show from the viewpoint i had and i did not take one second for granted! we represented the pit sooo fucking hard! thanks to all the cool people in the pit by jeff and mike. it was an unforgettable experience. even the strangers were all nice wonderful happy faces. there was no bumping into anybody. no pushing. no shoving. no arguments. no accidental elbows to the eyes. everyone had plenty of space to express them selves, which was remarkable. no unwanted sweaty idiots acting like fools. no self entitled attitudes of 'lets push our way up front' from anyone. no obliterated drunks acting like jerks... i loved every second of this show...except the small problem during the start of Down, which we really couldnt see, and it seemed to end quickly and calmly. even the fuck up at the end of Whipping was funny. i didnt even realize what went wrong....
'stories and memories for a lifetime'
thanks,
jake
1996 - Columbia Maryland, Hartford
1998 - DC RFK Stadium, Virginia Beach, Columbia Maryland, DC Constitution Hall
2000 - Virginia Beach, Camden I+II, Columbia Maryland
2002 - Seattle Key Arena I+II
2003 - Raleigh, Charlotte, State College, Bristow, Camden II
2004 - Asheville
2006 - Boston II, Camden I+II, DC
2008 - Virginia Beach, Camden I+II, DC
2009 - Philadelphia I, II, III, IV
2010 - Bristow
2013 - Philadelphia II, Baltimore, Charlottesville, Charlotte
Sounds odd, but I recall hearing that Ed drove on tours before like in the mid-90's. Certainly possible.
He may/could be driving locally but I know for a fact(its my industry) that they were using a chartered plane to get between gigs...For example they stayed in Baltimore after that show and flew to Charlottesville on Tuesday afternoon. All of the buses on this tour(so far) are for the large road crew they are using for the stage, lighting guys above the stage, sound guys, video guys, etc.
"Populated with every reject and cutthroat from Bombay to Calcutta. It's worse than Detroit."
This is my nine year old's account as he dictated it to Kimmie (the wife & momma) who wrote it on a Big Chief notebook tablet. I typed it out the manuscript.
My name is Heath and I am 9 years old. In Charlottesville the day of the concert, my Dad & brother went to JPJ Arena @ 4AM in the morning. My Mom, my sister Kimble Dann and I got there @ 8AM. We stood in line all day long until they let us in at 6:30PM. During the day they kept moving the line until we were hidden behind the building. Everyone was very nice and thought our hoodies & tshirts were cool (Thanks Dad!)
The guards started letting us in @ 6:20 but stopped the line before my mom could come with us. We were lucky and stood right in front of Eddie Vedder! My mom made it in and we stood & waited for 2 hours for the show to start. My back started hurting and I was hungry and needed to use the bathroom. Luckily the people behind us let my brother and me back in when we returned from the bathroom and to buy two hot dogs. When the concert started the music was awesome! We knew the words to all the songs PJ sang. And they sang Sirens which is my favorite right now. It took the place of Got Some which took the place of Oceans. As I write this Let The Records Play is becoming one of these favorites.
During the concert, Eddie kept saying cool stuff about us, like "these kids are smarter than me!" In the middle of the concert Eddie stopped everything and said maybe we could have our first taste of wine @ a PJ concert. My Dad, brother and I each had a sip of his wine. I did not like it.
The security guard came up to my dad and I wondered if we were in trouble. When we walked to the side of the stage I started to get nervous. I got to meet the band! I was super excited. They shook our hands and gave us some really cool stuff. Eddie noticed our shirts & checked out our concert dates. He thought they were pretty cool (Thanks Dad!).
After the concert we waited around and talked to some people. They were excited that we got to go on stage. They were so excited you would think they were the ones on stage! That security guard come back & took us down some hallways. I got nervous again. Next thing you know we are in Eddies VIP room! We shook hands and sat on the couch. He talked about his girls and how it was cool to be with family. My Dad gave Eddie a song inspiration and my Dad almost passed out when he agreed to check it out. We took a picture together and agreed to meet again someday! He gave everyone a hug. That was the greatest day of my life!
...When the concert started the music was awesome! We knew the words to all the songs PJ sang. And they sang Sirens which is my favorite right now. It took the place of Got Some which took the place of Oceans. As I write this Let The Records Play is becoming one of these favorites.
Heath...I didn't think it was gonna happen BUT I'm right there with ya.
VideoGremmie always posts damn fine audio I find. And the video here is amazing. I'm sure he's on here somewhere but I am not such a pro on the boards.
6 years since the last performance Nov 2006 in Australia. And a CRUSHING PERFECT delivery. They must rehearse or something.
Yeah. Or something.
Seems to be the hallmark of this tour. TIGHT!
Eddie botched last verse of Whipping horribly.
But that was IT.
Everything else was 150% and with nary a lyric sheet used.
Band never missed a. Note.
Fucking crazy how good (nay, GREAT) they are right now.
On FIRE.
If I was to smile and I held out my hand
If I opened it now would you not understand?
Yeah. Or something.
Seems to be the hallmark of this tour. TIGHT!
Eddie botched last verse of Whipping horribly.
But that was IT.
Everything else was 150% and with nary a lyric sheet used.
Band never missed a. Note.
Fucking crazy how good (nay, GREAT) they are right now.
On FIRE.
Could not agree with you more having seen 5 shows of Leg 1
You guys were celebrities! This is Scott, got in line with you around 7:40, I was excited just to tell other people that I had seen your boys playing cards for half the day. Being that I was around their age when I started listening to PJ, I thought it was way beyond cool. Congrats again to ya: definitely not downhill for you, brother!
Thanks, Scott. Even though it was a long day, the boys really enjoyed the line activities and the cool folks that we met. I wrote a story about this experience and added this tag after seeing your post:
I was joking about the rest of my life being downhill now. With my amazing kids and wonderful wife, each day is a joy. I'm looking forward to the incredible things my boys continue to do and of course, seeing Kimble Dann grow up as I advance into my senior citizen days. Just seeing her smile and laugh is enough for me right now. I can only imagine all the joy she'll bring to us as she ages. (Maybe she'll make me pass out someday -- in a good way, hopefully.)
If anyone would like to read the full story, PM me and I'll email you the PDF. I think the story turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself...)
Great story. Thanks for sharing. I was thinking that it touched Eddie in a way that made him think about himself at that age and what it would mean to him to have his father take him to a concert that they both enjoyed as much as your boys and you did.
lowas3
Iowas3,
I believe that you are right. As we age, it becomes natural to see a child and begin to think, "Well, at that age I [insert thoughts here]." Also, I do think Eddie could see in their eyes the sincerity for which my boys hold their music and his words and felt compelled to do something special for them.
Can't tell you how moving all this is. I'm so happy for you, your wife, your kids ... and for Mr. Vedder, for finding such a connection in your sons. Congratulations!
<!-- e --><a href="mailto:jwilliams15@gmail.com">jwilliams15@gmail.com</a><!-- e -->
Thanks, J. Your heartfelt words mean a lot. We hope to see you in a show down the road. Thank you for reaching out to my family. (We wish we lived in such a great place as your area of Montana).
Loved reading Dane's story! So happy for you guys! And you know, what Eddie said about knowing they can play til they're 80 and still have fans... it honestly is so refreshing knowing that people your childrens' age are out there enjoying this band now, and they'll be able to pass the torch when they grow up and have children of their own!
One thing that stood out to me in Dane's account was how humble he comes across. Several times he mentions how grateful, thankful, and blessed he & his brother felt. Being a former teacher myself, and seeing first-hand how cruel and disrespectful a lot of kids can be, it gives me hope for the younger generation. You've raised some good, young men!
HesCalledDyer
I know how everyone becomes biased about their children. However, I know in my heart that I am biased for good reasons. My boys really are exceptional. I've lost count of the number of times that people will single out one of my boys that they know from a sports team or something similar and say, "There's just something special about that boy..." I was retrieving Danoh early one day when he was in kindergarten and the principal saw me and waved me over to speak with him. He said in a low voice (like it was a secret), "Hey, I don't know what y'all are doing with Dane, but keep it up. I've never met such a smart, talented, well-mannered child in all my years in schools. You and your wife should write a parenting book." The book would be pretty sparse because that is about 98% Danoh and 2% parenting.
I must share this because it happened just yesterday on our way to the PJ show in OKC:
We stopped at a Sonic to stretch our legs, grab a drink, and use the facilities. I was closing my door and saw that a fellow in an old beater truck across the way had opened his rear door and a small ice chest fell to the ground and burst open with food stuffs and empty wrappers spreading out all over the pavement. As I thought, "Poor guy," my boys, who were out goofing off after being cooped up in the car, hustled over to help the man gather up his food and trash. I looked at Kimmie and we just smiled. We didn't even need to say anything to each other. We just swelled up with pride.
Comments
My name is Heath and I am 9 years old. In Charlottesville the day of the concert, my Dad & brother went to JPJ Arena @ 4AM in the morning. My Mom, my sister Kimble Dann and I got there @ 8AM. We stood in line all day long until they let us in at 6:30PM. During the day they kept moving the line until we were hidden behind the building. Everyone was very nice and thought our hoodies & tshirts were cool (Thanks Dad!)
The guards started letting us in @ 6:20 but stopped the line before my mom could come with us. We were lucky and stood right in front of Eddie Vedder! My mom made it in and we stood & waited for 2 hours for the show to start. My back started hurting and I was hungry and needed to use the bathroom. Luckily the people behind us let my brother and me back in when we returned from the bathroom and to buy two hot dogs. When the concert started the music was awesome! We knew the words to all the songs PJ sang. And they sang Sirens which is my favorite right now. It took the place of Got Some which took the place of Oceans. As I write this Let The Records Play is becoming one of these favorites.
During the concert, Eddie kept saying cool stuff about us, like "these kids are smarter than me!" In the middle of the concert Eddie stopped everything and said maybe we could have our first taste of wine @ a PJ concert. My Dad, brother and I each had a sip of his wine. I did not like it.
The security guard came up to my dad and I wondered if we were in trouble. When we walked to the side of the stage I started to get nervous. I got to meet the band! I was super excited. They shook our hands and gave us some really cool stuff. Eddie noticed our shirts & checked out our concert dates. He thought they were pretty cool (Thanks Dad!).
After the concert we waited around and talked to some people. They were excited that we got to go on stage. They were so excited you would think they were the ones on stage! That security guard come back & took us down some hallways. I got nervous again. Next thing you know we are in Eddies VIP room! We shook hands and sat on the couch. He talked about his girls and how it was cool to be with family. My Dad gave Eddie a song inspiration and my Dad almost passed out when he agreed to check it out. We took a picture together and agreed to meet again someday! He gave everyone a hug. That was the greatest day of my life!
Awesome review!
11/20/11 San Jose, Costa Rica
10/18/13 Brooklyn 1
10/19/13 Brooklyn 2
10/21/13 Philly 1
10/22/13 Philly 2 (BREATH!!)
10/25/13 Hartford
10/22/14 Denver (BREATH!!!)
Lol. Good taste in songs, LTRP, even "real" fans are talkin smack about that one.
Can definitely vouch for your kids enthusiasm and integrity.
We were side stage and my girl must have looked at me half a dozen times that night, pointed at Heath & brother, and yelled in my ear, "those kids up front, they know the words!" .... I'd be all "yeah. Uh uh." And she'd be all, "NO! They know ALL the words! To ALL the songs!" ...
Funny a kids firs thought when tapped by security is "what did I do wrong?" Lol. You looked cute kid. Too cute. Hah.
Glad he sees it as the greatest day of his life. To be surpassed again someday, surely.
If I opened it now would you not understand?
http://m.newsadvance.com/the_burg/music ... l?mode=jqm
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
I like how your 12 yr old left out that he poured most of the wine down your 9 yr old's throat, but your 9 yr old is clear he did not enjoy it! LOL!
I was lucky to have a similar experience when I was a young teen with someone I had crazy respect for, and really it was a great foundation on which to have an attitude about most of life that "anything is possible", which is an excellent attitude to have. There was one experience that I went back to in my mind throughout high school and beyond, that always fueled my backbone and reminded me that I'm an ok person (or better than ok) when circumstances tried to make me feel bad about myself, and I hope for your boys the whole experience will be a great, positive touchstone to just build more great life experiences on top of.
And Dad, when Ed does write that song that you inspired, make sure to come back and tell us about it...
Eddie driving and not on the tour bus...... Seems really really odd?? Bill Clinton is an amazing man, I met him twice in Culpeper right before he got elected and a few years ago while he was shopping for his wife on Davis St! I was at this show and the Baltimore show too, but this show just had a different vibe and great set list!!! I've only seen them 5 times dating back to 1994 in Fairfax, Va and they still bring it like they did back in the day!! I love this band so much, can't wait to see them again soon!
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
no. not really.
goes back as far as the no code era and his monkeywrench shows.
if he really is driving from show to show.
may be just a vehicle used for getting around town during tour stops, though.
(ps - i'm not sure ANY of the band still ride IN the tourbuses from stop to stop, as opposed to charter jets)
If I opened it now would you not understand?
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com/2013/11/c ... -flac.html
Pearl Jam bootlegs:
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
i'm happy to read the two boys accounts of the night.
so funny and adorable they thought they were in trouble when security came up to them.
although i've already said i'm jealous ..... if it had to be those two boys .... i feel better that they knew all the words!
you better, being up front and 'from the womb' and all!
that was SUPPOSED to be my first pj show.
stupid parents weren't as cool as these boys parents.
surreal. can anyone say 'surreal?!?!'
35 pj shows since 1996 and this show...
this show...
it was on another level.
this about sums up my experience in cville.
me and my tour partner, 5'3" annie, walked onto the floor of jpj arena at 730 and were stunned and amazed to see how few people were on the floor and in the teeny tiny ga area. like seriously, maybe 30 people. the rail was full from end to end, but maybe only 5 people deep in front of center stage. my jaw dropped. annie looked at me with a beaming smile standing right at center stage and she said 'lets get closer!' i was still feeling like wed already won some sort of lottery and i said 'no darling... lets go over this way <<<< a bit'. she obliged with a sigh of 'ohhhkayyyy' and we got in front of jeffs setup about 4 people deep. i looked at my watch. i looked at the upper rafters. 745. upper rafters 90% empty still. annie said 'u think thats a good thing or a bad thing?' i said 'dont worry... itll fill up' we stood there for a few minutes. no one was really even filling in the ga. i said to her 'i cannot believe we are 4th row'. i said 'we cant move'. she said 'ok'. i was worried thered be a flood of people and wed lose our epic spot as showtime grew closer. i heard a voice behind me and to my left, and i turned and looked and it was a familar looking dude. i said to him 'can u believe how close we are right now?!' he was dazed at his position on the floor. huge smile from him and completely nodding and agreeing with me. then annie looked over and said 'hey... we met u in the merch line in bmore!' and he looked at us and was like 'ohhh yeaaah!...we all struck out on the posters!' i said 'my name is jake. this is annie. he said 'im ryland'. so a few min later, a few of his buddys showed up. we all introduced ourselves. i was telling them my concerns for annie not being able to see. so it was nice to have a group of people looking out for my short touring companion. annie also made friends with a few other girls/women who were relatively short also and they were all talking about getting closer. being blocked by big guys. not being able to see etc. they totally took care of each other all night long. it was great to meet all the people around us. we really had no clue what to expect when the lights went down.
annie delcared 'i going to get a drink'
time blurred.
pit never really 'filled' in.
she cruised back in with wine and water.
i dont think she even had to say 'pardon me...or excuse me' to get back to our spot. THATS how mellow the pit was. she just WALKED back into 4th row between mike and jeff!!!
i had some water. gave the rest to ryland. who difinately needed it.
i saw a stage hand lay down the setlist on jeffs equipment and i said to annie, 'here we go!'
lights went down.
place goes balistic!
sorry to everyone who hates loud whistlers... but i didnt hold back during this show.
we knew pendulum would open...
the rest of the show was just a magical wonderful dream. it was absolutely perfect.
im not going to anyalyze every song, because they were flawless.
song after song was a 'oh my god!! no wayyy!' kind of feeling the entire night. we had an amazing group of people around us the whole night. everyone singing and screaming and yelling and jumping and dancing the entire show. it was absolutely surreal. ive never been apart of something like this. it felt special right out of the gate. any time someone blocked annie, there were people all around who were kind enough to move and keep her from having her view blocked.
annie is a documentary film artist and shes got some of the most amazing photos and videos from the entire night.
i couldnt blame her for wanting to capture all these epic moments because it may be the only time we'll ever be 4th row, so i never even told her to cool it with the camera. i will upload a link to all these pix and vids when i can. no one in the band, or around us looked even slightly irritated by our camera action either. which i was kind of expecting, but from our vantage, there wasnt THAT many people shooting, so i dont think anyone cared.
crowd was out of this world. setlist looks great on paper, but the feeling of joy and love and happiness was just emminatting from the pit. i was soaked with sweat after the first set so i was happy to see the chairs come out for the first encore. i could finally stop jumping, dancing, and screaming to cool off a bit.
so many many highlights on this night.
'the end' had me welling up with tears as ive got an all too familiar tragic story of losing a dog with cancer.
still rips me apart to this day.
impossible to remember all the highlights because it just felt like an unbelieveable dream.
i loved seeing the wheelchair dude cruise by us and get on the rail.
it was awesome to see him and mike exchanging gifts.
it was cool to see eddie switch out lightning bolt hats with the dude on the rail to our left.
i loved seeing the kids on stage...getting wine...learning they all met the band...what a dream!
stories for a lifetime from charlottesville!
my highlight of the night no doubt...
ive worn my Montana State shirt to several shows hoping to get jeff to acknowldege it and it finally happened.
during alive, after mike walked right next to us in the pit, he got back on the stage to finish the jam with jeff. they were jamming out and i was watching their fingers and hands destroying their guitars and i noticed jeff was staring at me in the eyes. i held up my tshirt a little bit off my chest and jeffs eyes got big. he got a big smile on his face. he tilted his head a bit. raised his eyebrows. and gave me a shrug and a huge smile. sort of like a 'wellll... okayyy'. i couldnt believe it. i turned to annie and said 'did u see ? did u see? did u see that??! jeff saw my shirt!' she said 'i know!!! i saw!' with a huge brimming smile. the rest of the show, i was in another world.
it was like a dream. i swear. it couldnt have been any better. unless we got to shake eds hand and drink some of his wine and say 'thank you' personally, of course. the amount of eye contact was so cool to see from ed mike and jeff. by the looks on their faces, they were all blown away by the crowd. they looked super suprised and impressed by us. it was THE perfect crowd.
once little wing started, i looked to my buddy behind me and said 'if they play the whole thing, u better get me some tp!' he just laughed at me. ive heard pj do little wing clips before live, but never the whole thing in person. needless to say, i did not need any tp. i just had to remember to keep picking up my jaw from off the floor for the first few minutes of the song. then i had to snap back and realize what was happening in front of me and savor every second of this magical experience. i knew it was going to be immpossible to top this song. or anything else to top this night.
this was the best show for me ive ever seen. ive seen many unbelievable shows, but this one pushed its way into the top tier. every song flowed so well into each other and just got on top of the last one. perfectly mixed setlist. it was rediculous. i never thought id witness them THIS good....from ten feet away!
thank you pj for still ripping peoples faces off on a nightly basis. im extremely lucky to have see this show from the viewpoint i had and i did not take one second for granted! we represented the pit sooo fucking hard! thanks to all the cool people in the pit by jeff and mike. it was an unforgettable experience. even the strangers were all nice wonderful happy faces. there was no bumping into anybody. no pushing. no shoving. no arguments. no accidental elbows to the eyes. everyone had plenty of space to express them selves, which was remarkable. no unwanted sweaty idiots acting like fools. no self entitled attitudes of 'lets push our way up front' from anyone. no obliterated drunks acting like jerks... i loved every second of this show...except the small problem during the start of Down, which we really couldnt see, and it seemed to end quickly and calmly. even the fuck up at the end of Whipping was funny. i didnt even realize what went wrong....
'stories and memories for a lifetime'
thanks,
jake
1998 - DC RFK Stadium, Virginia Beach, Columbia Maryland, DC Constitution Hall
2002 - Seattle Key Arena I+II
2003 - Raleigh, Charlotte, State College, Bristow, Camden II
2004 - Asheville
2006 - Boston II, Camden I+II, DC
2008 - Virginia Beach, Camden I+II, DC
2009 - Philadelphia I, II, III, IV
2010 - Bristow
2013 - Philadelphia II, Baltimore, Charlottesville, Charlotte
2022 - Camden
He may/could be driving locally but I know for a fact(its my industry) that they were using a chartered plane to get between gigs...For example they stayed in Baltimore after that show and flew to Charlottesville on Tuesday afternoon. All of the buses on this tour(so far) are for the large road crew they are using for the stage, lighting guys above the stage, sound guys, video guys, etc.
Heath...I didn't think it was gonna happen BUT I'm right there with ya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTwR1Ak3uq0
Worcester (both nites) had 7:30 as a ticket time, but they didn't hit the stage until 8:27.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZdcauiB3Q4
VideoGremmie always posts damn fine audio I find. And the video here is amazing. I'm sure he's on here somewhere but I am not such a pro on the boards.
6 years since the last performance Nov 2006 in Australia. And a CRUSHING PERFECT delivery. They must rehearse or something.
Seems to be the hallmark of this tour. TIGHT!
Eddie botched last verse of Whipping horribly.
But that was IT.
Everything else was 150% and with nary a lyric sheet used.
Band never missed a. Note.
Fucking crazy how good (nay, GREAT) they are right now.
On FIRE.
If I opened it now would you not understand?
eddie swinging on the light and then falling...never missing a beat
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gtodu4efxcnivvq/IMG_2144.MOV
1998 - DC RFK Stadium, Virginia Beach, Columbia Maryland, DC Constitution Hall
2002 - Seattle Key Arena I+II
2003 - Raleigh, Charlotte, State College, Bristow, Camden II
2004 - Asheville
2006 - Boston II, Camden I+II, DC
2008 - Virginia Beach, Camden I+II, DC
2009 - Philadelphia I, II, III, IV
2010 - Bristow
2013 - Philadelphia II, Baltimore, Charlottesville, Charlotte
2022 - Camden
I'm loving Stone's SMIRK.
heres a little over two minutes of MOTHER
https://www.dropbox.com/s/by9uz309mhjnnic/IMG_2132.MOV
1998 - DC RFK Stadium, Virginia Beach, Columbia Maryland, DC Constitution Hall
2002 - Seattle Key Arena I+II
2003 - Raleigh, Charlotte, State College, Bristow, Camden II
2004 - Asheville
2006 - Boston II, Camden I+II, DC
2008 - Virginia Beach, Camden I+II, DC
2009 - Philadelphia I, II, III, IV
2010 - Bristow
2013 - Philadelphia II, Baltimore, Charlottesville, Charlotte
2022 - Camden
I loved Thumbing and Sad....unreal delivery of those...
Thanks, Scott. Even though it was a long day, the boys really enjoyed the line activities and the cool folks that we met. I wrote a story about this experience and added this tag after seeing your post:
I was joking about the rest of my life being downhill now. With my amazing kids and wonderful wife, each day is a joy. I'm looking forward to the incredible things my boys continue to do and of course, seeing Kimble Dann grow up as I advance into my senior citizen days. Just seeing her smile and laugh is enough for me right now. I can only imagine all the joy she'll bring to us as she ages. (Maybe she'll make me pass out someday -- in a good way, hopefully.)
If anyone would like to read the full story, PM me and I'll email you the PDF. I think the story turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself...)
Iowas3,
I believe that you are right. As we age, it becomes natural to see a child and begin to think, "Well, at that age I [insert thoughts here]." Also, I do think Eddie could see in their eyes the sincerity for which my boys hold their music and his words and felt compelled to do something special for them.
Thanks, J. Your heartfelt words mean a lot. We hope to see you in a show down the road. Thank you for reaching out to my family. (We wish we lived in such a great place as your area of Montana).
I know how everyone becomes biased about their children. However, I know in my heart that I am biased for good reasons. My boys really are exceptional. I've lost count of the number of times that people will single out one of my boys that they know from a sports team or something similar and say, "There's just something special about that boy..." I was retrieving Danoh early one day when he was in kindergarten and the principal saw me and waved me over to speak with him. He said in a low voice (like it was a secret), "Hey, I don't know what y'all are doing with Dane, but keep it up. I've never met such a smart, talented, well-mannered child in all my years in schools. You and your wife should write a parenting book." The book would be pretty sparse because that is about 98% Danoh and 2% parenting.
I must share this because it happened just yesterday on our way to the PJ show in OKC:
We stopped at a Sonic to stretch our legs, grab a drink, and use the facilities. I was closing my door and saw that a fellow in an old beater truck across the way had opened his rear door and a small ice chest fell to the ground and burst open with food stuffs and empty wrappers spreading out all over the pavement. As I thought, "Poor guy," my boys, who were out goofing off after being cooped up in the car, hustled over to help the man gather up his food and trash. I looked at Kimmie and we just smiled. We didn't even need to say anything to each other. We just swelled up with pride.