Eddie Vedder April Fools tour
April 2, 2008 Vancouver, BC
By Gregory O.
Eddie Vedder’s highly anticipated April Fools tour kicked off April 2nd. A small and very personal theater was the setting for this special occasion and consisted of only Eddie and his basic necessities.
Eddie nervously delivered his first few songs of the night including “Around the Bend” from No Code before stopping to shed some light on how special of an evening this was for him, and for the 1800 eager fans in attendance. There is something about the first time you do or see something that ensures you are always going to remember the experience. In this case it was a magical first for Vedder and for his fans alike. Alluding to another memorable first, he announced that he was wearing the exact same Butthole Surfers shirt as he did the first time Pearl Jam took the stage together as a band. Being a notorious enthusiast of the ocean he especially liked the vertical placement of the word surfers.
The evening was compiled of songs from the soundtrack Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn, rarities from his band Pearl Jam and a various versions of songs written and previously performed by other great musicians. Mr. Vedder continually paid homage to a horde of musical influences and there wasn’t a soul in the audience that didn’t sing along to the Beatle’s “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” and to Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”.
Though Eddie mostly stuck to singing and playing he did take time to speak his mind about a few things. He spoke of current events and some simple but humorous events from his past. He gracefully mumbled monologues about trips to the hardware store and about his ukulele named Luke that was a better friend to him than some he had come across previously. His undisputed generosity and charm kept the crowd engaged between songs as he responded to comments and opinions made by various audience members.
You could tell that Vedder was getting a little antsy on his stool as he decided to crank things up with an enthusiastic rendition of “Porch” from Ten and a plugged in performance of Hard Sun to end the evening that was accompanied by opening artist Liam Finn on the skins. This was a magical evening from start to finish and will not soon be forgotten. Those looking to hear more hits from Pearl Jam can do exactly that when the band hits the road in early June.
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Nice one Gregory O….made me want to be at the show that’s for sure!