* EV Tour London 1 Fanviews Here 7/30/12 *

icemanap · July 2012

Absolutely spellbinding performance. Blown away. Agree with earlier comments that some people wouldn't let Eddie speak without whooping uncontrollably for no reason whatsoever. The camera rules were lax though as a guy standing on the wall next to my seat literally recorded the entire show on his camera with a security guard just in front of him, yet when they see a camera go off elsewhere, they may or may not have a word. Odd. But I am not letting these idiots spoil a night which was truly magical. Eddie got the songs spot on, Glen was a charming sidekick at times too. Porch, The End and Lurkin were PJ highlights, but I think the majority of the songs from Into The Wild and Ukelele Songs in a live capacity, especially Guaranteed, Society, Far Behind, Sleeping by Myself and the PA-less Sleepless Nights were major parts of this super show. Those who expect him to reel off nothing but Pearl Jam songs will be disappointed. Yes we got 10/29 and this was to be expected. But I still can't get over how good it was to hear his solo stuff away from the PJ arena. I actually think this was better than some PJ shows I have been to. Captivating stuff and I pray I get another opportunity to hear Ed in such a small setting again.

CrookedTom · July 2012

Just wonderful - His voice really puts you into a trance, and the whole show really brings home what a great singer/songwriter Eddie is. I must agree with the frustration regarding the idiots whooping and whistling over the quiet songs and when Eddie was trying to speak, really annoying. You have to respect the kind of show it is - Just listen to the music, and applaud at the end. Is it that hard? Some guys in front of me were high-fiving and jumping up and down when he went into any Pearl Jam songs - That's well & good at a PJ Gig but not at an intimate show like this.

Loved the setlist - I really think he could lose the Pearl Jam songs from the set, I thought the most spellbinding stuff was material from Into The Wild & Ukelele Songs + the cover songs. I didn't really need to hear Small Town & I Am Mine to be honest...Although saying that Lukin & Porch were terrific! It's just I would of traded them all for Don't Be Shy, I Won't Back Down, Picture In A Frame etc etc...

What a night...

Spags · July 2012

This is probably going to sound really insulting, which is not my intention at all, but I was actually amazed at how good Eddie is on his own. I've known for years that he has a fantastic voice and, despite two stunning solo albums under his belt, it really had to be seen to be believed. He is a wonderful guitar player and really great at telling stories that amble around and finish with a rewarding punchline. The story about communicating with the trees was genuinely funny and the intro to Small Town was the perfect setup. Loved every second, but the unplugged version of Sleepless Nights with Glen and witnessing Ed build Arc were magical highlights. Can't wait to take my wife along tonight.

big mick · July 2012

Great show!!!!!!! Loved every second! But and the but is big and there are 2, both audience issues.
Flash photography, if the guy asks you to stop then please stop, it was off putting for the rest of us too and the other problem was the constant shouting and whooping, Ed tries and talking and gets shouted down, its wrong.

Let's talk music, WOW! All and way, way more than I wished for, old PJ, newer PJ, Into The Wild, Uke Songs and some covers! What a treat, come back soon.

Otherwise I'm coming to America for the rescheduled dates this Autumn!

texasistheSTEVEN · July 2012

Whoever is in front row tonight, I'll pay you to hold up a board saying

"NO WHOOPS
NO CAMERAS"

tino_11 · July 2012

simonorton wrote:

It's all summed up for me like this. On Saturday, someone yelled out the end of Ed's story about happiness. (Whoever you are, you're a dick) Tonight - and I can't remember which song it was - we had this glorious contribution ...

"KEY CHANGE!"

...

This cracked me up

Seriously!? The girl who shouted out at Manchester was sat a few row behind me, I honestly can't think why you would think it would be a good idea to shout out like this.

Anyway, sounds like it was another great show last night. Was hoping for Setting Forth at Manchester, and you also got an awesome glow in the dark poster.

texasistheSTEVEN · July 2012

For the couple of negatives it was an incredible show.
So glad we finally got some solo shows as sfter the 2/3 US tours and the Oz solo tour I didn't think we would ever get one.

For all the history in the Apollo I still think the gigs would have been better in the Union Chapel but I'm biased as thats on my side of London haha

facepollution · July 2012

Amazing show, full of so many great moments. I loved the songs he did with Glen Hansard, their voices sounded incredible together, particularly on Falling Slowly, and Sleepless Nights from the front of the stage with no PA! And we got an amazing poster, the pictures that have been posted don't do justice to how good this bad boy looks in real life!

My one and only disappointment is that we didn't get Long Road, but I'm just nit-picking now.

simonorton · July 2012

texasistheSTEVEN wrote:

Whoever is in front row tonight, I'll pay you to hold up a board saying

"NO WHOOPS
NO CAMERAS"

Am liking the idea. Just wish it wasn't needed. It doesn't work either ... I replied to someone last night who was tweeting the stream to say, hey rather than fiddling with your phone all night why not just - y'know - enjoy the gig ? It's a pain in the ass to others to be distracted by that all night.

The response ... ?

"Not my issue bud" A forwarding of the links above was later met with a 'Fuck off" -*sighs*-

That from someone who claims to be "An avid Pearl Jam follower". Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that partly about being cool to each other ?

CharlieP · July 2012

Hipthruster wrote:

Ed did make a comment very early on about the photgraphy and he decided to give different poses and made it very funny. I think that was around the second song in. The rest of the show just kicked off and was brilliant. He mentioned about this being the first time playing in Hammersmith Apollo with references to the Who. The place went bananas. But we were all there to witness Eds first gig in London and he was sincere, brilliant, talented and deserved every single standing ovation he got even from the outset.
I'll not forget tonights gig for a long time. Seen Pearl Jam 16 times including MSG (yeah that one) and Alpine Valley both nights. Its a beautiful experience seeing Ed solo and Glen is quite similar in style and compliments him. Glens voice is unbelievable and I still feel that he holds back. But man that boy can push it vocally.
Its very different to seeing Pearl Jam, very different. You get to see Ed being Ed and it was really cute seeing Olivia bring out his Uke and he gave her a kiss.
Cant wait to see him again tomorrow. Oh the song that he sang with Glen without mics was just unbelievable. You could hear a pin drop. Jesus they know how to put on a show. I had to try hold my breath so I wouldnt be noisy and everything for that song. Place went mental when it finished. Oh and for the woman who asked about Betterman. It was a new? uke version that I've never heard before. Different tones of singing too which was very interesting. Im a fan of the PJ one but it was lovely to hear it different. The Springsteen song was fuckin rocking. There should have been one more song though. Thats the only criticism I could give. The crowd wanted more. But its the first night so maybe tomorrow when they catch up on themselves from travelling we can rock out a bit more. Lukin was savage!
Its a wild wish but SOLAT would be triumphant tomorrow.

Yeah, It´s the 'new' Betterman! He also played it in Amsterdam. I believe the first time they did this version was Bridge school 2010, am I right?

Jackster · July 2012

Really Amazing night. My first time for Eddie Solo and It was even better than expected. People were ok, just the fact of the flashes during first song, but then 2 magic hours. I Wish i could have been tonight too, but completely impossible. I guess i will not see tonight setlist until some days later, i don't want to start crying watching what i miss.

Thank you, Eddie. And please, come back soon to Europe.

The Nothingman · July 2012

did he mentioned something about brazil? I heard he said something about planning to play here...

CloudDog23 · July 2012

The Nothingman wrote:

did he mentioned something about brazil? I heard he said something about planning to play here...

He mentioned Brazil in relation to "Lester The Traveller", and possibly in relation to random places to try and stop members of the crowd claiming they were from specific locations, he ended on "Hell" and people still cheered, to which Eddie replied "I thought i recognised you".

pdalowsky · August 2012

Another fantastic evening .....

Vedder is an absolute class act.

I knew it was going to be good. I just don't think I could imagine exactly how good. These nights are so special - just so happy he did make it to Europe

pdalowsky · August 2012

Oh and should definitely add :-

All hail Glen Hansard - a hidden gem. So happy to finally be on that page .... Off to shop at amazon

rtwilli4 · August 2012

This was a special night for me for several reasons.

To make a long story short, my wife and I have battled and battled over the past few years just to be able to live in the same country. It's been a very difficult time for both of us, and as everyone does in diffucult times, I've often turned to music (PE and EV) to keep me going.

As of January '12, my wife and I are both working and living together in London. It's not my first choice of places to live, but we're together.

As my wife and I were locking our bikes up in front of the Apollo, I looked at her and said "I never would have thought that I would be able to ride my bike from my house to an Olympic Event, then ride home to for a snack and a beer, then get back on my bike and ride 10 minutes to an Eddie Vedder show." She looked back at me and smiled and said "London's not so bad eh?"

Other highlights were:

"Trouble" - a song I grew up listening to with my father on the way to school
"Elderly Woman" - One of my wife's favorites, this was her first show
Everything from ITW, especially "Society" and "Guaranteed" - those songs describe my life very well
"Hide your love away" - another one of my wife's favorites - her late father introduced her to the Beatles
"Falling Slowly" - GH and EV sound amazing together
"Arc" - such a cool way to end a show - really showcases Ed's voice

This wasn't my first EV show and I was also at London 2 last night. Every show is special, and I don't really enjoy ranking them. London 1 hit me pretty close to home though, as it reminded both my wife and I of our fathers and also gave us both some confirmation that all of our hard work has paid off. We are finally together and happy and a lot of that became realized on Monday.

burtschips · August 2012

This show was great, I loved it from Glen Hansard all the way through to Hard Sun.
I saw EV in Vancouver in 08 and it's really cool to see how the solo shows have developed... he's a much more assured solo performer now and seemed really at home in the Apollo.
I travelled down from Norwich had a few beers and met up with a mate for the show. I actually thought the crwod were in general very well behaved and respectfully enthusiastic, some of the comments here are a bit up-tight imho. Better behaved than when I saw Neil Young at the Apollo on his acoustic tour!
A highlight for me was the cover of Good Woman leading into the reworked Betterman and then Hide Your Love Away... I think there's a cool relationship between the songs, for me anyway, and Good Woman is an amazing song.
Second highlight was Open All Night into The End into Arc... woaaa... spine tingling really.
There were a couple fo guys in front of us from Copenhagen, one of them needed a piss from about half way through the first set, he was like a yoyo, kept getting up shuffling along hearing the next track turning on his heels and sitting back down, he just couldn't bring himself to leave the auditorium. When he finally did make it out after the first set he was gone a while!
Thanks Eddie for a great show, please head this way again as soon as you can.

janemathieson · August 2012

A night I had looked forward to for soooo long and I am so disappointed, upset, frustrated

Before anyone thinks that this is about the gig, the venue, etc, it's not

What I remember of the gig it was simply amazing.... Glen Hansard has such a beautiful lilt to his voice and Eddie's voice is hypnotically entrancing, the emotion he conveys through every song simply wells me up!

So... why am I so unhappy?

I made a huge mistake... I have Takayasu's Arteritis which has left me with heart failure and chronic fatigue to name just a few complications.... I was stupid enough to believe that I could cope with the gig after travelling up from Cornwall that day. Instead I crashed midway through Eddie's set, 1 minute fine, the next my boyfriend says my head was in my lap... I have no memory of it, I know he had to help me out to get some water on my face and raise my bp and heart rate... so after years of waiting and knowing that I will probably never have the opportunity to see Eddie solo again I have no real feelings....

We saw PJ at Manchester 2 and we travelled up the day before, I was tucked up in bed by 7.30pm, had a lazy day and coped (even though it took me over a week to recover!).

So I have learnt a lesson the hard way, the harshest way possible, feeling that I missed out on a gig I was "at" is almost worse than not having been there at all.

desolatejoy · August 2012

Jackster wrote:

Really Amazing night. My first time for Eddie Solo and It was even better than expected. People were ok, just the fact of the flashes during first song, but then 2 magic hours.

Thank you, Eddie. And please, come back soon to Europe.

All the gripes about whooping & flash photography have been slightly exaggerated I think & i'd be in full agreement with the above quote.
Eddie handled the two issues really well with humour & a knowing cynicism especially at the start of his set with the "5 faces" he pulled, as well as later in the show seeing what countries he could get people to cheer for, ending with the question "Hell?" which of course got the biggest response of all!

The atmosphere was electric & I think the audience really did play their part to help build this, even as early as Glen's set, which was excitedly received (rightly so as it was a strong, impassioned performance). People have got to remember some fans had travelled hundreds of miles to be there so perhaps should be forgiven for being a little over zealous

(except for the guy who jumped on the stage at the very end to steal a memento - don't ruin it for us all buddy! :x That's just the sort of thing that could scare a camera shy man like Ed back into hiding...)

Anyhow...the show!
My friend & I hit a huge bit of luck getting 'upgraded' from seats in row Z to a pair in ROW A :shock: , apparently for nothing more than settling into what we thought would be our spot for the night nice & early!
We hurried down to find that the entire middle front row was filled with people that had been offered the same opportunity & it built an instant bond between us (hello to everyone, you know who you are

)

The front of the set had a good mix of material with only 2 PJ songs in the first 9 tracks giving it a much more personal feel than the arena band shows, like Eddie was taking us through his own favourite tunes. They sped along at quite a pace due to the songs short nature with highlights being Without You, More Than You Know & a crowd pleasing I Am Mine.

Before we knew it, with Ed's disarming anecdotes between songs, we were into the initial quartet of Into The Wild numbers which, with a change of backdrop brought a expansive, sunny mood to the Apollo as Glen joined Ed for Long Nights to round it off before going solo again on a beautiful Good Women.
A brace of love songs later though is where the gig really stepped up a notch as Lukin thumped along and with the crowd enthralled Ed led us on a stomp & clap-along acoustic version of Porch, everyone acting as a mass rhythm section dropping out at the more operatic vocal parts before joining back in to propel the song to its sharp end. :shock: SUBLIME! (I think I may have high fived someone at this point which I NEVER normally do, EVER! )

After a quick break Ed was soon joined again by Glen for a thoughtful Society and a heart wrenching Falling Slowly on which their voices seemed perfectly matched, my friend now gazing longingly at the pair content for seeing the song she thought Mr Hansard had left out of his solo set.
Another change of mood as Ed donned a summer hat and the lights dropped low as just a single spotlight on the floor in front of him gave off a glow like a midnight campfire. The Apollo fell deathly silent as the gentle pluck & poetry of The End saw Eds voice sounding at it's most vulnerable of the evening.

For the finale Ed & Glen cloaked in white lab coats were wholly visible as the house lights came up & Hard Suns repetitive chorus had the audience, by this point gathered at the front of stage, swaying & singing, smiles as round & sparkling as the great big ball of fire itself!

By the time I reached home that night I thought that was it. Over.
I would never have to go & see a Pearl Jam or Eddie solo show again.
It couldn't get better than that? Could it?...
Until the following evening & the news of the London night 2 set starts to appear! AMAZING! Oh to have been there... And that's the point, no matter how high you get on your PJ experience or near to the ultimate set list or version of your favourite song, maybe, just maybe, next time around they'll surpass all your expectations. Whether you've traveled hundreds of miles or come along for your first time you will be rewarded. And handsomely

aennil · August 2012

I don't why i haven't read all of your experiences of the concert before now.... but thank you, it has been great to hear that all of you guys enjoyed it as much as i did!

The funny thing is that in the memory of the concert i keep reliving, i have totally blocked out all the audience-woop'ing and -yelling and the cameraflashes. I had forgotten all about the guy sitting next to me, constantly taking pictures or typing on his phone, until i read your comments....
All i remember is Eddies voice, the feeling as if being in the middle of his livingroom while he just wanted to share some of his favourite songs with us on a regular monday evening, and the sound of the fingerpicking of ukeleles... is was truly amazing!

* EV Tour London 1 Fanviews Here 7/30/12 *

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*** EV Tour London 1 Fanviews Here 7/30/12 ***

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* EV Tour London 1 Fanviews Here 7/30/12 *