Into The Wild Review
Nice to see some good press (besides the unruly fans jibe) in a hometown rag. Where's the love for Seattle, eddie?
http://seattleweekly.com/2008-04-16/music/where-the-wild-things-are.php
Where the Wild Things Are
Don’t blame Eddie Vedder for his unruly fans.
By Hannah Levin
April 16, 2008
Call of the wild: Vedder at the Wiltern Theater.Former Sleater-Kinney guitarist and current NPR blogger Carrie Brownstein recently wrote a post entitled "Save Me From Your Followers." The much-commented-upon entry mused about the unfortunate effect that an artist's badly behaved audience could have experiencing a live show. "The fans might not change your love for the bands themselves, but the way fandom of certain artists manifests itself can seem less like an innocuous gathering of like-minded people and more like an elitist, annoying tribe," she wrote.
While elitism wasn't precisely what colored the air at Hollywood's Wiltern Theater last Sunday, the feverish energy of Eddie Vedder's devoted followers did occasionally mar what was otherwise a sweetly somber and often touchingly impassioned performance. Just one song into his two-hour-plus set (the second of two weekend shows on his first-ever solo tour), the Pearl Jam leader cautioned the wily crowd, "Don't get overly rambunctious like people last night. I'm a father now—when people start yelling things out I feel like saying 'Use the magic word'! I'll use the magic word—let's just shut the fuck up, please." His tone was humorous and light, but his irritation was apparent—and rightfully so. When you're trying to create intimate ambience while performing a generously lengthy set in a relatively naked fashion (his signature rich, resonant baritone was accompanied only by sparse instrumentation, primarily guitar and occasional ukulele), having some yokel bellowing out "Eeeevennnnfloooowww!" in the background is just a drag. Why super-fandom translates into reprehensible manners is a mystery to me.
Disrespectful peanut-gallery antics notwithstanding, Saint Vedder really delivered to his fans, surveying a wide selection of his film sound track work (Into the Wild, Dead Man Walking, Body of War, I Am Sam), and a cache of classic and quirky covers (Tom Waits' "Picture in A Frame," Daniel Johnston's "Walking the Cow"). The expected special guests surfaced towards the end, with former Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons and groove-carving folk popster Ben Harper joining him on a rousing version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Frankly, even if Vedder or Pearl Jam's recorded output isn't your jam, the guy is an undeniably powerful performer, and his heart and politics are clearly in the right place.
http://seattleweekly.com/2008-04-16/music/where-the-wild-things-are.php
Where the Wild Things Are
Don’t blame Eddie Vedder for his unruly fans.
By Hannah Levin
April 16, 2008
Call of the wild: Vedder at the Wiltern Theater.Former Sleater-Kinney guitarist and current NPR blogger Carrie Brownstein recently wrote a post entitled "Save Me From Your Followers." The much-commented-upon entry mused about the unfortunate effect that an artist's badly behaved audience could have experiencing a live show. "The fans might not change your love for the bands themselves, but the way fandom of certain artists manifests itself can seem less like an innocuous gathering of like-minded people and more like an elitist, annoying tribe," she wrote.
While elitism wasn't precisely what colored the air at Hollywood's Wiltern Theater last Sunday, the feverish energy of Eddie Vedder's devoted followers did occasionally mar what was otherwise a sweetly somber and often touchingly impassioned performance. Just one song into his two-hour-plus set (the second of two weekend shows on his first-ever solo tour), the Pearl Jam leader cautioned the wily crowd, "Don't get overly rambunctious like people last night. I'm a father now—when people start yelling things out I feel like saying 'Use the magic word'! I'll use the magic word—let's just shut the fuck up, please." His tone was humorous and light, but his irritation was apparent—and rightfully so. When you're trying to create intimate ambience while performing a generously lengthy set in a relatively naked fashion (his signature rich, resonant baritone was accompanied only by sparse instrumentation, primarily guitar and occasional ukulele), having some yokel bellowing out "Eeeevennnnfloooowww!" in the background is just a drag. Why super-fandom translates into reprehensible manners is a mystery to me.
Disrespectful peanut-gallery antics notwithstanding, Saint Vedder really delivered to his fans, surveying a wide selection of his film sound track work (Into the Wild, Dead Man Walking, Body of War, I Am Sam), and a cache of classic and quirky covers (Tom Waits' "Picture in A Frame," Daniel Johnston's "Walking the Cow"). The expected special guests surfaced towards the end, with former Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons and groove-carving folk popster Ben Harper joining him on a rousing version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower." Frankly, even if Vedder or Pearl Jam's recorded output isn't your jam, the guy is an undeniably powerful performer, and his heart and politics are clearly in the right place.
deep, deep blue of the morning
gets to me every time
gets to me every time
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