PEARL JAM CONCERT REVIEWS

The last seven to 10 days have been quite busy for me with the preperation for, and the actual trip to Philly. After a day of recovery it was off to the Garden for two Pearl Jam shows on Wednesday and Thursday evening. Pearl Jam is one of the rare live bands these days that does alot of improvisation in concert and they are known to throw in alot of obscure cover songs, so you never really know what you are going to get night to night, which has always been the beauty of seeing the band live. There were many memorable moments from the two shows, but it was the sight of a certain Boston sports celebrity joining the band onstage at the end of the second show, that will stick with me for a long time to come. More on that later. At this point I should add my usual disclosure that Pearl Jam is one of my favorite bands of all time so some may find my review somewhat biased. You've been warned.

The band opened Wednesday night's show with Release from Ten, their first album. The song is a bit of a a slow ballad, but it set the tone nonetheless. The crowd participation during the "Release Me" chorus, was a good way to get the sellout crowd involved. Severed Hand and World Wide Suicide from the new, self-titled CD followed, before the band ripped into Corduroy from Vitalogy. Among the memorable numbers from the remainder of the set included Love Boat Captain (an underrated track from Riot Act, Even Flow (of course), Wish List, Jeremy, and Gone (my personal favorite from the new disc). Even Flow featured an extended solo in which Eddie Vedder could be seen taking a breather. The long solo brought back memories from the band's early days playing smaller venues, when Vedder would climb to the top of a scaffloding or balcony, and stage dive into the crowd. Of course those days are long gone.

The first encore was very interesting, with the band going into accoustic mode for a Bob Dylan tribute (yet another example of the fact that you never know what you are going to get at a Pearl Jam show), with the track Forever Young dedicated to High School and College graduates. The band ended the set with Crazy Mary and Alive from Ten.

The band closed the show with the Neil Young favorite Rocking In The Free World, which has been a staple of their live shows for the past 10 plus years. With show # 1 in the books, we exited out the steamy Banknorth Garden and awaited Thursday night's performance.

Show #2 - Theo Joins The Band:

Thursday's show opened with Severed Hand from the new disc, Curdory, and World Wide Suicide. One thing that was noticable during show #2, was thefact that Eddie Vedder accompanied Stone Gossard and Mike Mccready on guitar much more than during Wednesday's show. First set stand-outs included Do The Evolution (which they did alot earlier than on Wednesday), Dissedent from Vs., and State Of Love And Trust, from the Singles Soundtrack.

The first encore was somewhat subdued as compared to Wednesday night, with Man Of The Hour ( which is probably the most underrated song in the entire Pearl Jam catalog), and Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, among the highlights. Black featured the crowd taking over the vocals for almost the entire second verse, as well as the ending chorus.

Towards the end of the 1st encore, I noticed that the area near where I was sitting on Wednesday was open ( first row balcony on the rightcorner of the stage). I moved there from my seat in the upper rows of the balcony, because the sound in the Garden is horrible the higher up one is sitting, and it always has been. With much better sound I was able to better enjoy Why Go from Ten and Indifference,( my favorite of all Pearl Jam tunes), and Drop The Leash from the band's second disc.

As the group began Rocking In The Free World, a curious "sixth member" joined the band on rythym guitar. Upon futher investigation this mystery guitarist seemed to have long red hair, was wearing sun glasses, and had much the same build as a certain executive from a local MLB team. As the song wound to a close, the glasses and the red hair (which of course turned out to be a wig), were discarded to reveal none other than Sox GM Theo Epstein sitting in with the band for the Neil Young cover. Times have indeed changed on Yawkey Way. Dan Duquette, or Lou Gorman (that would have been a scary sight) would never have been caught dead on stage with a rock band, much less Pearl Jam. As the song ended Epstein took a bow with the band, and retreated to his vantage point at the side of the stage. Eddie Vedder thanked Theo for his participation as the house lights came on. The show ended with Yellow Ledbetter, the classic B side from the Jeremy single. After the music ended and one and all exited the Garden, it was hard to tell what people were talking about more, the music or the sight of Epstein on stage. Yes it was a memorable show indeed.

REFLECTIONS FROM A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER IN PHILLY

I have fully recovered from a very enjoyable and relaxing weekend down in Philly. We arrived home yesterday afternoon, and after a night recovering from some jet lag, I figured I would make my triumphant return to the "Blog World", and reflect on the vacation that was. Before I Proceed, I must give much thanks to Smokin Steve for being the gracious host that he always is. I am sure it is not easy to lug around five loud mouths from Boston for an entire weekend,
but Steevo always makes the Philly experience fun and enjoyable for us. The man puts much love into planning the trip itinerary, and has done so for as long as I have been making visits to Southeastern Pennsylvania, which I have done on and off since about 1991. Here are some picked up pieces from our memorable weekend:

I don't believe I have ever seen a more ingenious bar creation then the "Beer Tower" which we expreienced at Chicky's and Peete's near downtown Philly on Friday night. The tower stands about four feet and serves three easily with beer to spare. We got about three full beers out of it, and when I tell you that brew flowed like tap water, I am not joking. Being a fan of a good bar atmosphere and good beer, I must say that the brew we had from the tower was the best I have ever drank.

Allow me to sing the praises of Citizen's Bank Park. Steve had told me that the Phillie's new ball yard was a sight to behold, but until I actually set foot inside I had no idea how incredible the place is. We had tickets in the 400 level, but we never sat in our seats. We spent the entire game concourse of the first level, and it was by far the best sight line I have ever had at an MLB game. Prior to the game we stood overlooking the Red Sox bullpen as Jason Varitek warmed up Josh Beckett, and the feeling I got (at the risk of sounding dumb) was as if I was back 50 or 60 years ago with the "knot hole gang" as the groups of kids were known in big cities such as New York, that would peek through the front gate to get an up-close view of the game. This is the type of thing that you just don't get at Fenway Park. Yes, Fenway is very intimate and has some very good sight lines in its own right, but there are also a number of seats (especially the first and third base Grandstands) that are just uncomfortable. At Citizen's Bank Park the consourses are wide and some of the views are breathtaking.

While on the subject of food, sports, and beer I must give a shout out to Philly local "Smokin Dave" and the excellent tail gate party that he organized prior to the Sox/Phillies game on Saturday. Much beer, pork, chicken, and beef briscuit was consumed throughout the afternoon. Although lightly attended, I and my travelling companions had a great time. The party will be among many stories that I will be sharing with my friends and co-workers here in Boston. There are ways to do pre-game activities, and THERE ARE WAYS TO DO PRE-GAME ACTIVITIES. Smokin' Dave's throw-down deserves its proper place in the latter, BOLD FACE category.

I must commend the city of Philadelphia for its hospitality during the weekend. Despite the efforts of my friend's and I to gloat over the Patriots Superbowl XXXVIIII victory by wearing our Brady and Bruschi shirts, everyone we met in Philly was very nice. We spent most of the game Saturday talking to the locals at the park, and the people we met had nothing but good things to say about the Red Sox. Most said that they were rooting for the Sox in the 2004 World Series, and some stated that they have always wanted to visit Fenway Park. The whole experience made for a nice little "cultural exchange", much like the trips that I have made to Canada for Bruins games in the past. Despite the obvious geographical differences, sports fans really are the same no matter where you go.

SAYING GOODBYE TO DOUG FLUTIE

Yet another mid-week post here, as I will be ripping it up down in Philly this weekend, with Smokin Steve and the gang, and thus will be unable to post on Saturday, or Sunday as I normally do. I am very much looking forward to getting out of water logged New England for some need R & R. I have been in training mode for the past few weeks, getting ready take in such things as Cheesestakes, Tasty Cakes (although those can now be found my area), and various other South Eastern Pennsylvania culinary favorites. After all, Philly is the junk food capital of the free world, is it not? Mr. Skalish also informs me that there will be a "Beef and Beer" on Sunday night, the proceeds of which go to the Lymphoma Society (all you can eat and drink for $25). Let me see if I get this straight: All of the food I can eat, and beer I can drink, and a very good charity is helped in the process? Only in America, WHAT A COUNTRY!!!!

The main reason I write today is pay tribute to one of my favorite athletes of all time, and one who I believe never got the proper credit in his all too brief time in the NFL. I speak of none other than the pride of Natick Mass, Doug Flutie. Old #22 (as he is known in New England), announced his retirement, among little fanfare at Patriots headquarters in Foxboro on Monday. There was not a huge media throng present to chroincle his thoughts, there was no "Stop the presses" coverage of his farewell press conference (of course much of that had to do with the fact that most of our region is underwater). What I saw of it seemed very impromptu, with Doug answering questions about his post-carreer broadcasting plans, while sharing some B.C., and CFL war stories. There were various members of the print and electronic media present, and from what I read, it lasted close to an hour. Still, part of me thought that the whole thing seemed rush and hurried. I have seen more in depth coverage when players such as Pedro Martinez have left town.

It have always believed that it is difficult for someone that was not living in the Boston area to fully appreciate Doug Flutie's talents. Many college football fans around the country have seen the films of him winning games, and throwing the famous Hail Mary in Miami, but unless you were here from 1981- 1985, one cannot fully appreciate the influence he had on football in this area. All of a sudden, when Flutie hit campus, College football mattered in New England. All of a sudden, power houses such as Alaabama, and Penn State were coming to the Boston area to play, and sometimes the Eagles were beating them. Media coverage, and national exposure for the program followed, as did wins and major Bowl appearances. Flutie's four years culminated with a trip to the Cotton Bowl in January of 1985 ( the eagles beat the University of Houston), and a Heisman Trophy for #22.

I have long said that the only good thing about the 80's were the Celtics winning three championships, and B.C. football when Flutie was Quarterback. Each week during their respective seasons, Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, Robert Parish (among others), and Doug Flutie would do things that were simply amazing, and a joy to watch. I remember vividly going to the old Foxboro Stadium (actually it was Sullivan Stadium at the time) in the pouring rain, with my Pop Warner team to watch B.C. take on the Crimson Tide of Alabama. I remember it was Bear Bryant's last year, and I also remember that the Eagles pulled out a close one in the 4th Quarter. It remains the only time I ever saw Flutie play live. B.C. games during Flutie's tenure at the Heights (as B.C's campus is known), were EVENTS, and I remember thinking how cool it was during my early teen years, that all of these big College Teams were coming to our area, and we were holding our own against them. By the same token, we all knew that the fallout would be dramatic once Flutie graduated, and it really is not at all surprising that they have not had a player since that comes to close to matching Doug in terms of stature, and his pure ability to win games.

Despite his success in college, it remains frustrating to this day that Flutie never got a fair shake in the NFL. Many blame his height for this, but I have long believed there were other reasons, and listening to Patriots Coach Bill Belichick expound on Flutie's talents at yesterday's press conference, it seems some of my theories were well founded. Flutie, like Vince Young today, had abilities and talents that would force teams to taylor their offense to fit his strenghts. NFL coaches being the creatures of habit that they are have always been reluctant to do this, due to the fact that many came out of systems, or "coaching trees" (the 49ers, and Giants, being two of the most famous examples), where there is a prescribed way of doing things, and coaches that come out of a particular system rarely deviate from the proven methods. This is one of the reasons why teams were reluctant to take Young, despite his athletic ability. Many coaches feel more comfortable with a classic "Pocket passer", and they are not going to change that line of thinking, no matter what.


Flutie's NFL carreer never seemed to get off the ground. No matter what team he was with, and no matter how many game he would win, it seemed like he always had to look over his shoulder, and the rug almost always got pulled out fomr under him. His pro career actually began in the upstart USFL, where he starred onthe New Jersey Generals, with Herschel Walker in the backfield. After the league folded, it was off to the Chicago Bears, where Coach Mike Ditka made him fight for playing time along with such NFL "legends" as Mike Tomczak, and Jim Harbaugh.

In 1987 Doug was picked up by the Patriots during the NFL Players strike. He was named the starter in 1988, nnd espite the fact that we went 6-3 as a starter (including a last second win Vs. Indy in which Flutie won the game on a 13 yard TD run), Tony Eason (who had not played a game since 1987 due to a severly injured shoulder) got the start for a divisional playoff game at Denver in January, 1989. The results of the decision were predictably horrible, and Flutie's tenure ended following the 1989 season.

From there it was off to the CFL where he won three Grey Cups, while playing for the Toronto Argonauts, Calgary Stampeders, and the British Columbia Lions. His 466 completions, and 6,619 passing yards in 1991 are still league records. After the 1997 season, Flutie returned for another curious tour of duty with the Buffalo Bills. Despite the fact that he has a winning record as a starter, he was forcedto shar playing time with the "Future Hall Of Famer" Rob Johnson. The battle for the coveted starting position turned very personal between the two, and things hit the ultimate low when despite a winning record, Johsnson started over Doug in the famous (or infamous depending on your perspective) "Music City Miracle" game Vs. Tennesse in January of 1999.

After Buffalo it was off to San Diego, where things started off well, until Drew Brees was drafted, and Flutie was quickly thrust into the backup role yet again. Of course his career came to a close after on last tour of duty in New England, serving as Tom Brady's backup. Our lasting image of Doug will be the dropkick, during the New Years Day game vs. Miami. Flutie stated from the beginning that he knew what to expect upon returing to Foxboro but despite that, there were still times last year during some blowouts where I wondered, "why aren't they putting Flutie in?". His stay last year also seemed a bit awkward at times, and Doug admitted as much in his farewell press conference. Despite the fact that his pro career seemed incomplete, Doug's influence lives on at the campus of B.C. as well as through his legion of fans that he will always have in New England.

SOME QUICK THOUGHTS AND QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Just a quick post today due to the fact that we are getting killed at work, due to the fact that torrential rain has been falling throughout New England since Thursday evening, and will continue right through Tuesday. For those that don't know, I am a traffic reporter by trade (actually I a traffic information Manager, but Traffic reporter sounds better), and once heavy rains come in, all of the roads in our area go straight to Hell. So far, we are over 15, 000 calls to our syestem, which is unreal for a Sunday at this time of year. Most of the calls are from frantic people, wanting to know if th roads theywant to travel on are passable. So far the roads are holding up okay for the most part, but if this keeps up, we could have some big problems to start he early part of the work week.

- It is true that you never know who is reading these blogs. I got an E-Mail from a guy who runs the official Pearl Jam fan site the other day. He saw my review on the new disc and was impressed with it. When I go the two shows in Boston in two weeks, my reviews of those shows will be posted on that site, in addition to this blog. Pretty cool if I don't say so myself. He also forwared me some very cool audio links. Mnay thanks. Here are the links to what he sent me:



http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/
PEARL_JAM__EPK_HI.mov
http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/
PEARL_JAM__EPK_MID.mov
http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/
PEARL_JAM__EPK_LO.mov

REAL PLAYER
http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/
PEARL_JAM__EPK_HI.ram
http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/
PEARL_JAM__EPK_MID.ram
http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/
PEARL_JAM__EPK_LO.ram

WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER
http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/
PEARL_JAM__EPK_HI.asx
http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/
PEARL_JAM__EPK_MID.asx
http://media.bmgonline.com/jrecords.com/pearl_jam/video/

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"It's very humbling, almost a culture shock. Basically, you have no respect and you don't deserve any."
- Patriots 1st round draft pick Laurence Maroney on his first practice at Patriots mini-camp

" I don't think it's legitimate. What he could have done without performance-enhancing drugs -- which he hasn't been proven guilty of [using], which I'm not buying -- you can maybe take what he had done in his prime, before his head started growing at an enormous rate, and just make those projections. Say that, 'This is what he could have done.' Maybe it's 550 home runs. I don't know. It definitely wouldn't have been anywhere close to 700."
- Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Cory Lidle on Barry Bonds

"Expect torrential rain to continue right through Monday, with really no letup in sight until Wednesday."
- Channel 7 Boston Meterologist Chicage Windler

PEARL JAM CD REVIEW

It is pretty rare to see a mid-week post from me but with a little bit of down time, I figured I would post a review of Pearl Jam's new self-titled CD which was released last week. Album releases really heat up at this time of year (second only to the September to December "fall release" season), and the new disc does not dissapoint. Although not the MTV Commercial poster children they used to be, what I have always admired about the band is that they do things their own way, and are not afraid to speak out on certain issues. Yes, they did fight what turned out to be an unwinnable war against Ticketmaster, but atleast they tired to fight the monster. I still believe to this day that if more artists got involved then possibly, the result would have been different. Instead, noone else got invloved, and concert-goers must pay upwards of $300 to see band such as The Rolling Stones, and Madonna.

There has always been a werid sort of irony in Eddie Vedder's song writing, and he had admitted this. When he and guitarist Stone Gossard wrote the song Better Man for the 1994 release Vitology, they only intended it to be a track that dealt with the issue of a woman trapped in an abusive relationship, and her fear of moving on. It turned out that the song contained some eery similarities to O.J. Simpon's stalking of his ex-wife (who he was of course accused of murdering). Similarly, over the past several years the band has performed and untitled song live, in which the subject of the composition fears something terrible is about to happen to him (or her) and others, and is calling his loved ones one last time to say goodbye. As it urns out, this song is eerily similar to many of the last calls that the victimes of the 9/11 attacks made to their loved ones. As a result, the band has made the song into a September 11th tribute, and it is now a regular staple of Pearl Jam's live performances.

Pearl Jam waged a similar battle to that of the Ticketmaster "war" against MTV. To protest the fact that the station starting playing less Rock, or music of any kind for that matter in the late 90's, the band put out a hilarious video for the song "Do the Evolution" from their 1998 release Yield. In this video, the only imgage seen is that of a group of five cartoon stick figures (representing the band) dancing and playing instruments during the song. This so infuriated the powers that be at MTV, that the video was pulled after only a few airings, and the band has not released a single video since. This has probably cost the band some exposure and album sales over these last several years, but as in the Ticketmaster fight, someone has to take a stand. It for these reasons , as well as the fact that I love their music, that make Pearl Jam are one of my favorite bands of all time. Having said that, I realize that this review may seem biased to some, a few co-workers of mine included, but so be it.

In contrast to their last few releases, the new disc has less "Jamming" and soloing, in is very heavy in lyrical content, especially ofthe protest variety. It can safely be said that most of the album is a protest against many Bush Administration policies, especially the war in Iraq. The band has used Bush as a dart board before (and righfully so), such as with their 2002 song Bush Leaguer, but this time the criticizm is more pointed. In songs such as the single World Wide Suicide the band makes thir feelings known with lyrics such as: "Medals on a wooden mantel next to a handsome face/thatthe preident took for granted/writing checks that others pay."

The band tackles the issue of the fight against terrorism in the song Marker In the Sand. On this track Vedder sings: "Now you've got both sides/claiming killing in God's name/But God is nowhere to be found, conveniently." My personal favorite track on the disc is Gone, a strong ballad-type song, with great vocals by Vedder. This song evokes previous strong compositions such as In Hiding, and Faithful from Yield.

In summation, this new release probably will not go down as their most commercially successful work, but the band has long ago given up trying to be everyone's vision of a "corporate friendly" rock band, and simply plays for their fans, and that is as it should be.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER/ QUOTES OFTHE WEEK

My father always used to say there are three types of questions in the world: ones that are easily answered, ones that can't be answered (also known as rhetorical questions), and ones that noone wants to answer. In today's exercise, we will tackle some questions from the latter two categories. I always get a kick out of pondering these little life mysteries, as I look at the world through my (sometimes) cynical lense. Most of these are strictly tounge-in-cheek, but if anyone can enlighten me with the answers to these conundrums, feel free to post your theories. Who knows? Maybe we can set up a contest for whoever has the best, or most creative answers. Anyway, without further ado, here we go:

- (This is one we always get a kick out of asking at work): How is it at all possible for someone to mistake a roll-over accident for a broken down vehicle? - Anyone with the answer this one, please forward it to the Massachusetts State Police, because they would love to know the answer as well.

- What did Jehovah's Witnesses witness that everyone else didn't?

- Why do middle age guys that are losing their hair almost always have Pony Tails? (Just shave it all off man!!!)

- (Courtesy of Denis Leary): When will women realize that the reason the lines for the ladies room are so long is because THEY ALL GO TO THE BATHROOM TOGETHER???

- Where does Mel Kiper Jr. go, and what does he do in the eleven other months out of the year when there is no NFL Draft?

- Also, where do Donald Fehr (head of the MLB Players Union), Randy Levine (MLB Player's Union Attorney), Gene Upshaw (head of the NFL Player's Union), and Bob Goodenow (NHL Player's Union head), go and what do they do when there are no Collective Bargaining Agreements to negotiate?

- Why do most of Michael Jackson's STUPID songs contain the exclamations "hee hee", and "shamon", and what do said exclamations mean?

- While on the subject of music, has David Byrne of the Talking Heads ever written lyrics that make sense? And while we are on the subject, can someone decipher these lyrics for me:
" Psycho killer..ces, cesse fa, fa, fa, fa, fa, fa, fa, fa ,fa..better run, run, run, run, run run away?"

- How could any parents possibly named a child Tanyon Sturtz?

- Many tree's leaves sprout in the same color as when they fall off, so why don't "leaf peekers" rush out to see the foliage in springtime as well as the Fall?

- Exactly at what time did characters such as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny get mistaken for having something to do with the actual meaning of their respective holidays?

- Why is it that people who try to get through the 8 Items or less line with 15, 20, or more items, will always apologize to the cashier, and not the people behind them that they are holding up?

- Why are most Dunkin Donuts located in places that make them nearly impossible to get in and out of?

- Why do people always look to the ceiling and sigh, when it is announced over the speaker at a subway station that there are delays in service?

- (Similar question): Why do the same people waiting for a subway train, always look to the west for an eastbound train, or to the North for a southbound train, and vice versa?

- Why do people calling in traffic information always begin their statements with: "Yeah, hi..I don't know if you have this yet...?", or "I just wanted to let you know..."?

- (Similar question): How does one "sail smoothly" on a highway?

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"Medals on a wooden mantle, next to a handsome face
that the president took for granted, writing checks
that others pay."
- Pearl Jam - "World Wide Suicide", from their new,
self titled CD

"Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women across the country."
President Bush - Sept.6th, 2004

"I repeat, personal accounts do not permanently fix the solution."
- President Bush - March 16, 2005

" We look forward to hearing your vision so we can do more better on our job."
President Bush - Sept. 20, 2005

"I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English."
( YEAH, INCLUDING OUR "PRESIDENT"!!!!) - President Bush - April 28, 2006

"We are looking at every aspect of this...we are just at the beginning of our investigation."
- US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, announcing the arrest of four contractors from Bechtel, Parsons on the charge of knowingly providing the Big Dig with defective concrete