Eddie Vedder @ NJPAC, 8/7/08

[my phone pics]

I had to remind myself on several occasions to blink. I didn't want to miss anything and I didn't want the night to end. After striking out twice for the NY shows, Newark and the 10c came through for me. 7th row orchestra. I read somewhere that these shows feel like a conversation in Eddie's living room and it's true, from the Q&A to the stories behind some of the songs. There are too many things to recap but one of the more memorable moments was listening to Eddie explain the origin of "Yellow Ledbetter" and then, curiously, he actually cut himself off after he seemed to get a little choked up. He also debuted a new song that he claimed to have written at 5 a.m. that morning, after a long night of boozing. During "Hard Sun," I turned around to see Tim Robbins with a big Andy Dufresne smile on his face rocking out with the rest of us . Last night, he was the second coolest guy in the building...

Set 1:
"Walking the Cow" (Daniel Johnson)
"Trouble" (Cat Stevens)
"Don't Be Shy" (Cat Stevens)
"Around the Bend"
"I Am Mine"
"Dead Man Walking"
"Sometimes"
"I'm Open"
"Man of the Hour"
"Unthought Known" (new)
"Driftin'"
"Masters of War" (Bob Dylan)
"Setting Forth"
"No Ceiling"
"Guaranteed"
"Far Behind"
"Rise"
"Small Town"
"Goodbye (You're True)"
"Soon Forget"
"Forever Young" (Bob Dylan)
"Porch"

Encore 1:
"Society" (w/ Liam Finn)
"Throw Your Arms Around Me" (w/ Liam Finn) (Hunters and Collectors)
(Q/A)
"Growin' Up"
"Lukin"
"Let My Love Open the Door"
"Arc"

Encore 2:
"Hard Sun" (w/ Liam Finn)

Image of last night's setlist (although it changed during the show)

[skyeriverwinter]