Scattered musings from Friday - Eddie Vedder, phenomenality galore

Few musicians can evoke such emotion in me as the exquisitely talented Mr. Eddie Vedder. My adolescent crush of sixteen-plus years has turned into full-blown respect and admiration. On Friday, Chris, friends & I had the opportunity to witness Mr Vedder's solo performance at the Chicago Auditorium Theatre.
I try to see him every year, but last year missed his Lollapalooza performance. Last show I saw was Summerfest 06/29/06 - a wonderful double-header with Tom Petty. I remember clear as day feeling tingly when he said to the audience: If you love somebody...tell them. Tell them today, tell them tomorrow, tell them every day in case it's the last time you ever get to speak to them.
I try to live by that, so I found it incredibly sweet.

As is the norm, Mr. Vedder spoke of the realities of war. He pointed to Thomas Young in the audience, a young Iraqi war veteran who's returned home partially paralyzed and unable to walk. Ed vented about a message he got the night before, something to the effect of "save your antics for an anti-war rally". He replied by introducing Young, raising awareness and respect for those who fight for our country, and personally making me grateful for my ability to be free, to walk and move freely every single day. At one point, around halfway through the show and while the rest of the stage was dark, he joked about not endorsing any particular presidential candidate. He was still talking when two stagehands walked behind him proudly displaying an Obama '08 banner. Most of the crowd began to cheer.

Acoustics were excellent, despite our first balcony seats and a few rowdy attendees. Chelios showing up with the Stanley cup in hand got some (inebriated) Red Wings fans a little out of control. It's always a shame when people think that yelling irrelevant idiocies during concerts is cool. Shame on you Sherry from Detroit! Even Eddie told you to shush.

Worth noting is what an exceptional guitar player he's grown to be. With perhaps biased ears, I can honestly say I am more and more impressed as time goes by. His voice was always what had captivated me, but now I'm drawn to his guitar-playing just as much. His great skill was demonstrated beyond the obvious during this solo performance. His rendition of Let my Love Open the Door was superb as was his unfortunately interrupted attempt of Floyd's Brain Damage. I'm still not sure why he stopped so soon - lost concentration, intense fan screaming, a combination of both? I get it that people were yelling "Floyd rocks!" during this, but "Go Red Wings?". Come on! Of course I won't pretend to understand the intricacies of a die-hard sports fan. Nonetheless, I was disappointed that he stopped playing mid-song, because he was doing a superb job thus far. I seriously wanted to wring the necks of everyone screaming. Note to self: screaming idiots is more the norm than a rarity at concerts. I think I'll splurge on box seats next time.

One of my personal highlights was his version of Blackbird, being a Beatles fan and a personal fan of this particular song myself. His rendition was beautiful beyond words. He segued to it with a story about growing up with many foster brothers and sisters of all races and ages. He evoked the audience's emotion by mentioning how it makes him think of people running in the streets,civil wars & black rights movements. And so the song began. He had the audience partake in making bird noises, which lightened the mood a bit towards the end of the song. But it was afterwards that he shared his message of hope and clear candidate choice: this is our time, he said, if Obama gets elected, we have a chance to turn things around. Not only that, but perhaps it'll mean that America has finally gotten past its skin color, and so our country can head to a much better place. I sort of took it as if the act of the choice itself would be as grandly evolutionary as the result. It was alltogether my favorite part of the show.

ARC almost made me cry happy tears, such as the ones by Elderly Woman and Hide your Love Away. I was filled with energy during Rise and Porch. Wishlist made me dance a little. And for a while, I wished I was a Cubs fan, when he sang the song he wrote for them - Someday we'll go all the way. Chris & I agreed this is a song that would make a true fan cry. So good.

In the audience, none other than Mr. Sean Penn, John Cusack, and Chris Chelios.


Setlist:
Sometimes, Trouble, Girl From The North Country, I Am Mine, Dead Man, Brain Damage / Masters Of War, Setting Forth, Guaranteed, No Ceiling, Far Behind, Rise, Soon Forget, I'm One, Drifting, Hide Your Love Away, Small Town, Can't Explain, Porch

1st Encore: Growing Up, Blackbird, Throw Your Arms Around Me, Society, Someday We'll Go All The Way (Cubs Song), Wishlist, Lukin, Let My Love Open The Door, Arc

2nd Encore: Hard Sun- with Sean Penn and John Cusack joining him on backup vocals on stage!

I know people were recording this; if I can find anything, I will absolutely share it. If you can, I will be eternally grateful! All in all this was one of the best performances I have had the pleasure of experiencing, and I hope to again, soon.
Peace.

V
--
I knew all the rules but the rules did not know me - Guaranteed

Summer's slippin' by

I can't believe how fast summer is slipping by. My mom has been in town and came with us to the farm last week. She liked it. It was a nice experience since there is nothing like this available where she lives.
Today we got plenty of good looking tomatoes: red, yellow and miscellaneous green "bonus" ones Steve threw in my bag. We also got fresh garlic and basil. This all calls for a homemade spaghetti sauce! Maybe even an eggplant parmesan since the eggplant is looking great this week. I'll be making it later because I'm presently quite enjoying my mom's cooking :)
We've also been getting patty pans, which are adorable looking members of the squash family.

I "borrowed" this picture to give an idea of their appearance. They are often hollowed and filled with a delicious stuffing, which is what I think I'll do as well.
We are still getting fresh cucumbers, lettuce, chard greens, and cauliflower; new this week are green and yellow peppers, which look great!
I can't praise this enough; joining a CSA is *the* way to go. The veggies have all been so flavorful thus far and I feel good knowing everything is organic and my money is not only well-spent but also stays local.