For one night, London was undisputed champion of the rock ?n? roll world.
With U.S. superstars Pearl Jam and 9,700 intense, happy fans jamming Budweiser Gardens Tuesday night, there could not have been a better rock concert anywhere.
How good was it? How strong an experience?
?Shall we continue?? frontman Eddie Vedder asked innocently well into the night. Somewhere on the way to Chicago, PJ may still be continuing. Here?s a little of what happened over almost three majestic hours.
An epic cover of band ally Neil Young?s Rockin? in The Free World could have made a spectacular finale ? as it did here in 2005. So could an overwhelming Alive, or a rapid-fire Evolution, or a crowd-choir version of Daughter. All could have been worthy ends to Pearl Jam?s London visit.
Tuesday, there was even more.
The 30-song night closed with a quieter, but still intense, note and Indifference. Three classics more than 2? hours into a show that will be remembered as the year?s best and should be a contender as the venue?s best ever.
That was one acoustic-styled, tender moment on a night when Vedder, guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, drummer Matt Cameron also thundered with Even Flow and other hits.
And how about their sweet cover of J.?Frank Wilson?s 1964 hit Last Kiss as the band turned to serenade hundreds of fans seated behind the stage. Not many bands can make that weeper and a Neil Young anthem work on the same night.
?You?ve been very good to us .?.?. thanks very much everybody,? Vedder said late in the night.
Before the first hour was up, the band had blitzed through its new single Mind Your Manners with such punkish fire, Vedder?s microphone malfunctioned for a moment or two (see video below).
Massive singalongs marked the early going after the opener, Present Tense. The huge fan choir was encouraged by the charismatic Vedder and pretty much carried the third song, Elderly Women Behind the Counter in a Small Town.
The band arrived at Budweiser Gardens last Friday and could be heard rocking the empty venue on the weekend.
Tuesday?s show is one of just two for Pearl Jam this summer. Friday, the band plays Chicago?s Wrigley Field. In the fall, there are more North American dates.
There has been speculation Pearl Jam chose the Bud for its lone Canadian stop because the band had fond memories of its 2005 concert at the then-John Labatt Centre.
?I?ve heard that they liked the venue,? arena general manager Brian Ohl said Tuesday as the concert ? much envied across North America ? rocked on.
The frontman also had a greeting for the fans, using a bit of The Clash?s London Calling before the band switched into its hit Corduroy.
Tuesday?s concert started about 30 minutes late, as thousands of fans lined up outside and waited to get to their seats.
Once the band hit the stage, it was non-stop electric uplift.
The concert?s energy and magic came from the band and its back-and-forth love with such fans as a Canadian sailor who?d come from Halifax for the show.
?Their music brings me home,? said Petty Officer First Class Scott Mason, who was on his feet the whole night.
So was everybody on a night when Pearl Jam and its fans truly reached the peak together.
Here's the full setlist:
1. Present Tense
2. Nothingman
3. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
4. Corduroy (with London Calling)
5. Mind Your Manners (live debut)
6. Got Some
7. Given to Fly
8. Sad
9. Alone
10. Even Flow
11. I Got Id
12. In Hiding
13. Lukin
14. Not for You ( with Modern Girl)
15. Black
16. Porch
Encore:
17. Last Exit
18. Last Kiss
19. Parachutes
20. Man of the Hour
21. Just Breathe
22. Daughter
23. Unthought Known
24. Do the Evolution
Encore 2:
25. Smile
26. Brain of J.
27. Better Man
28. Alive
29. Rockin' in the Free World
30. Indifference
james.reaney@sunmedia.ca
Twitter.com/JamesatLFPress
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