Eddie Vedder @ RiversideTheatre, Perth (01/04/11)

Sun 3rd Apr, 2011 in Gig Reviews

If Eddie Vedder makes a 25,000-strong stadium show feel like a pub gig; how does he go with a theatre show?

He answered that question with a night of debut solo work, cuts from seven of the nine Pearl Jam albums and covers that became his own.

Eliza-Jane Barnes left her Liam-Finn garage get-up back at Pearl Jam’s 2009 tour and instead packed a folkish frock as part of the duo that makes up Evil J and Saint Cecilia. Saint Cecilia aka Cecilia Herbert played the spice to EJ’s sugar as they looped ghostly harmonies, with eccentric guitar plucks backed by kooky drum machine dynamics. Early bass-heaviness was lightened, resulting in a pleasantly intriguing entrée tasted by a half-arsed crowd. The girls took the lack of interest in good humour and managed to turn a few heads, particularly with their oceanic single Silver Spoons.

The other half of the arse was well and truly whole by the time the clock struck nine. All 2500 peoples-worth of it; including the entire Longley family and a hassled-for-autographs John Butler with wife Daniella Caruana. Vedder wandered out with a bashful gait, indicative of a modesty towards the ovation that greeted him. Seeing the man in solo mode drove home just how much rock stardom and all its bombast is lost on him. It seems after all these years, even on his own tour, he is still reluctant to be the main draw-card of a band that he didn’t even start in the first place.

But too bad for him, because from the moment he journeyed into the opening D-chord strum of Long Road, the crowd was rarely without obsessive applause, whistles or cheers. The whistling eventually pissed him off:

“It’s going through my brain and down into my balls,” he quipped.

The punters were immersed in planet Vedder with a scattered stage arrangement of vintage paraphernalia, complete with a painted backdrop of all-American apartment buildings perfect for Shaft to chase crooks over. A roadie in a Sasquatch mask would later swap the backdrop for one featuring a dusty tent perfect for sideshow freaks.

Vedder’s affinity with Western Australia was as clear as Perth’s recent skies. And his humour was as dry as them. He named his ukulele ‘Luc (Longley) the uke’ in the hope it might feel a little bigger about itself.

“Luc was the first West Australian I met and it was a while before I met the next one, probably because we were scared that everyone here was a big as he was,” he mused.

He paid respect to Into The Wild author Jon Krakauer before saying he had just as much respect for Tim Winton.

“He’s certainly inspired my writing.”

And the most applauded comment of the night came as a prelude to the appropriately riotous Lukin:

“This ones dedicated to the Hyde Park Hotel, I miss it already and this song would have sounded good there.”

The No Code track saw Vedder’s intensity peak when it was coupled with Ten’s Porch. The pairing proved to be a lesson in how to create a rock show with an acoustic guitar and a stomp box.

His rhythm skills were impressive for a part-time guitarist as he switched between variously-sized four and six-stringers. Betterman got a light re-working and made a wheelchair-bound girl’s night as Vedder caught her eye for a few lines.

Covers of Little Steven’s I Am A Patriot (dedicated to conservation after a Margaret River and Ningaloo spiel) and Victoria Williams’ Pearl Jam-favourite Crazy Mary were the cream of a fruitful borrowed crop.

‘Elderly Woman’ had even John Butler singing along after he had looked to be attempting a low profile. He would eventually be brought to his feet along with the rest of the room following the incredible looped chants of Roskilde-tribute Arc. After motioning for the crowd to quieten, Vedder, bathed in darkness, took the crowd on a tribal trip and ended the first encore on an ethereal level.

But he brought them back to earth as the house lights came on and the night drew to a close with Rockin’ in the Free World and Into The Wild’s Hard Sun. It was the predictable closer but the rapturous room wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Set list
Long Road
Don’t Be Shy ( Cat Stevens )
Brain Damage ( Pink Floyd )
Sometimes ( No Code )
Throw Your Arms Around Me ( Hunters & Collectors )
Just Breathe ( Backspacer )
Millworker ( James Taylor )
Unthought Known ( Backspacer )
Better Man ( Vitalogy )
Can’t Keep ( Riot Act )
Light Today
Soon Forget ( Binaural )
No Ceiling
Guaranteed
Rise
The Needle And The Damage Done ( Neil Young )
Immortality ( Vitalogy )
Lukin ( No Code )
Porch ( Ten )

Encore:
Tonight You Belong To Me feat. EJ Barnes ( Steve Martin )
You Can Close Your Eyes feat. EJ Barnes ( James Taylor )
The Golden State feat. EJ Barnes ( John Doe )
Society ( Jerry Hannan )
I Am a Patriot ( Little Steven )
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town ( Vs )
Crazy Mary ( Victoria Williams )
Arc ( Riot Act )

Encore two:
Rockin’ In The Free World feat. EJ Barnes and Cecilia Herbert ( Neil Young )
Hard Sun feat. EJ Barnes and Cecilia Herbert ( Indio )