LIVE REVIEW: Eddie Vedder – Perth, WA – 8 Feb 2014

LIVE REVIEW: Eddie Vedder with Glen Hansard
Riverside Theatre, Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre
Saturday 8th February 2014
Reviewed by Melissa Harrison-Ward

With the announcement only days prior to the concert that Glen Hansard was supporting Eddie on tour I was a little excited….okay that is an understatement. I was like some teeny bopper sporting their first boy band crush. What a weekend we were going to have: Bruce Springsteen, Glen Hansard and Eddie Vedder, not a bad start for our first concert out together since 2009 (We do have a good excuse with the birth of three children in that time period, it gets hard to actually go out together).

Many of you may be familiar with Glen Hansards range of work whether it be his bands The Frames or The Swell Season, through to the critically acclaimed movie (and now Broadway hit) Once. His voice and guitar work are amazing, he really deserves a lot more attention for his incredible talent.

Glen is more than happy to talk to the audience, with a punter yelling out a request just after he started Maybe I Was Born To Hold You In These Arms, Glen’s response “Maybe I will play that, but I can’t right now I just started this one,” garnering a big laugh from the crowd. The banter runs throughout his set with another noteworthy moment at the start of Revelate. Asking the audience to quiet down and listen for a moment, as the audience went silent Glen then said “If you listen very carefully you can hear it ‘Bruuuuuuuuuce Bruuuuuuuuce’,” at which the audience cracked up, cheering the first of many Bruce jokes for the night. “If we hurry up we might catch the last five hours!” Not only a very talented musician but a very funny guy.

Next song up was Come Away to the Water, written for The Hunger Games soundtrack. No offence to the Maroon 5 fans out there, but seriously, what the hell is wrong with whoever’s idea it was to get Maroon 5 to sing it?! I guess that really does just some up what is wrong with peoples’ music tastes these days. If you can compare the two and be honest which one would have been better…and more suitable?

Lastly Glen asked up a friend who now resides in Perth, Johnny Barrett to take his last few minutes of stage time. Taking the guitar, Johnny played a lovely song called I Saw You, which was a welcome addition to the music we had heard. Left wanting more, a lot more, hopefully Glen will venture back to our side of the country soon to gratify us with his amazing music.
A short break and it was time to get back into the theatre. People with lab coats were tinkering around on stage getting everything ready, with one then addressing the crowd to ask, no, tell them politely that there was to be no photography, cameras, recording etc during the performance. Just enjoy the show. Something I wish was heeded by crowds at most events.

Eddie took to the stage to thunderous applause and cheers from the audience. I did note he seemed to be walking a little stiff and the first thought that came to mind was he must have got sore surfing all week (he has commented in the past how much he likes to spend some time in the south west of our fine state surfing and enjoying the amenities of the area). Moments into his cover of Walking The Cow Eddie proclaimed, “well I fucked that one up.” Cursing about how it’s not like he can ask the audience for help and that he could remember everything else bar the first verse, a voice in the crowd starts it off for him much to Eddie’s amusement, earning the champ a beer from Eddie’s stash, the first of many to go out into the crowd through the night.

It was not until his third song in the set that the crowd became noticeably enthused about the music, a favourite of most, Better Man. With a slight rearrangement the song dispersed any doubt about how this show would go. Introducing Speed Of Sound Eddie gave a shout out to his friend Luc Longley and that he was playing the song as an apology he owed to him. For what, is something only known by them.

The ukulele was bought out and you could just see his love and attachment of the instrument. Regaling the crowd with some more entertaining stories the mood was kept light making it all the more enjoyable. You’re True saw Eddie stop cursing out his nail and requesting a nail file from one of his lab coats. Mumbling while the audience could hear the nail file at work Eddie jokes to the crowd “I guarantee you that six blocks away, Bruce is not doing this” and with a big laugh and a whole heap of clapping he was back into the song to finish it off.

A change of backdrop to a makeshift camp site complete with realistic, yet fake, smoking fire, Setting Forth is played, pleasing the many who are there after seeing and listening to his work on Into The Wild – A movie you must see if you have not already!. Much to the appreciation of the crowd Glen Hansard comes back out to accompany on Long Nights.

A few songs later and a quick break see Eddie return to the stage for his encore. The pinnacle for me being the outstanding rendition of Hansard’s Falling Slowly, a song that just can’t be anything less that beautiful. Vedder and Hansard really do complement each other so well that you can’t help but wish for a whole album of them together.

What seems to be a staple of Pearl Jam, Vedder belts out Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World, bringing almost the entire theatre to their feet (yes I am looking at you, the three people sitting to the left of me that may as well have been in a coma for their complete lack of movement whatsoever. I mean who the hell doesn’t even nod their head to that song let alone get up and rock out?)

Glen joins Eddie again to finish the night with a very lively version of Hard Sun, which keeps the crowd on their feet and the smiles on their faces.

Thoroughly entertaining, amazing talent and beautiful music, Mr Vedder solo is one to put on your bucket list especially for those that have only seen him with Pearl Jam as it is a different experience to be had.

Set lists:
Glen Hansard
Love Don’t Keep Me Waiting
Maybe I Was Born to Hold You in These Arms
Revelate
Come Away to the Water
I Saw You – Sung by Johnny Barrett

Eddie Vedder
Walking the Cow (Daniel Johnston cover)
Picture in a Frame (Tom Waits cover)
Better Man
Wish list
Speed of Sound
Can’t Keep
Without You
Light Today
You’re True
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (The Beatles cover)
Driftin
Setting Forth
Far Behind
Guaranteed
Rise
Long Nights – with Glen Hansard
Just Breathe
4th of July (X cover)
Porch
Break in performance

Encore
After Hours (The Velvet Underground cover)
Immortality
Lukin
Sleepless Nights – with Glen Hansard (The Everly Brothers cover)
Society – with Glen Hansard (Jerry Hannan cover)
Falling Slowly – with Glen Hansard
Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young cover)
Hard Sun – with Glen Hansard (Indio cover)

 

Category: Live Reviews