Hi Friends -
Welcome to this week’s newsletter. I continue to add to the newsletter email list. If you prefer to not receive my weekly awesomeness, feel free to unsubscribe. I spent a lot of time seeing live music and I didn’t share much of it on the social media. So I would love to share it here.
See the end of the newsletter for some reviews and pictures
Best Song Ever
“Caught a bolt of lightnin’; cursed the day he let it go”
There are so many ways I could go with my next post. I’ve just seen A LOT of music in the past week. Most importantly, I just saw two Eddie vedder shows and two Pearl Jam shows in the span of one week. I must pick a Pearl Jam song for my next song. But, which. There was so much goodness that I heard from them over the past week. Part of me wants to pick a new song. The new songs sounded amazing and made me love my favorites from Gigaton even more than I already had. I am sure I will include a new song on this list. There were many highlights. Yes, Given To Fly (weekend 1) and Why Go (weekend 2) were anthemic and awesome. But, they are always anthemic and awesome. A standout for me was Nothingman. There was just such a connection in the crowd singing along to this one. And, I’ll be honest, I shed some tears.
One of the many things that makes Pearl Jam work so well is that Eddie’s lyrics have the right level of relatability. They are specific enough that you know what he’s talking about and he’s happy to tell you what the song means/meant to him. But, they are vague enough that almost anyone can apply them to their similar situation. This song has been introduced in the past with a similar theme of: if you’ve got a great partner in your life, don’t fuck it up.
The imagery and lyrics throughout the song are some of Eddie’s best.
“Once divided, there’s nothin’ left to subtract. Some words when spoken, can’t be taken back. Walks on his own; with thoughts he can’t help thinkin’. Future’s above. But in the past he’s slow and sinkin’”
I love how you get immediately know this is about a breakup with lots of regret. His poetry implies such. We know that he is our protagonist and that he is feeling regret. We know that he is a person who spends a lot of his time with his thoughts.
“She once believed in a every story he had to tell. One day she stiffened; took the other side. Empty stares from each corner of a shared prison cell. One just escapes. Ones left inside the well.”
There are lots of different ways that you can take this imagery. Why did she stiffen? What changed? Why doesn’t she agree with him anymore? What is the shared prison cell? Kind of a choose your own adventure. I always looked at it this way:
They were partners. Partners fighting to make it through a shitty situation in life (the "prison cell"). And, they are exhausted and now that they've made it through this shitty situation they are not connecting anymore (the "empty stares"). And so one leaves the relationship. And the other one is left alone.
One of my favorite lines from the song is the next one. It doesn't just apply to relationships. It applies to life. Taken alone, this statement says a lot. Especially, hello, trauma.
"He who forgets, will be destined to remember."
Then, then the crushing chorus.
"Ooh, she don't want him (she don't want him). Oh, She won't feed him after he's flown away. Oh, into the sun. Ah, into the sun. Burn (burn), burn, burn."
Now it's clear. He left her. He walked away from the relationship. And he's lost all that she provided for him. It's clear, this person took care of the protagonist. And now, he's lost that safety and security. And because of that, he's flown into the sun. Without her safety and security, he destroys himself. And that is articulated in the final chorus.
"Nothingman. Nothingman. Coulda' been something, nothingman."
He could have been something in life. But, he lost the one thing that would enable that.
Consider all this emotion. All that's going on in this song. How its story is broad enough to connect with many people. And, then you get to sing along with a bunch of people who are connecting to the same song. Such pure awesomeness. Gives me the feels. Maybe you too.
Live Music Updates
Over the span of one week I saw 4 days of festivals and three separate solo shows, all in the LA area. Included in this was: Eddie Vedder closing a festival two nights; Pearl Jam closing a festival two nights; amazing festival sets by Caamp, My Morning Jacket, Brandi Carlilel, and more; and, an amazing solo set by Glen Hansard. Overall, just an awesome amount of music seen over the span of only 1 week.
Here are some highlights.
Eddie Vedder, et al. Eddie Vedder brought up an all star band both nights that just totally rocked. Chad Smith on drums was amazing. Unfortunately, I’ve got no pics of the whole band. But check out Eddie solo below.
Pearl Jam for two separate nights and two separate festival weekends. Man, I got amazing setlists. Heard some of my favorites. Got to scream, “Yeah fuckers, we still stand!” I got to go with my bff since middle school, Mark (I’ve seen 28 of my 31 Pearl Jam shows with him), and my good buddy Scott (our entire relationship is based on the fact that we’re both massive PJ fans). I watched reverentially, I danced, I sang, I scream, I cried, I made new friends (strangely, A LOT of them were from Iowa). In short: I lived. It was amazing. I am so grateful I got this opportunity.
Caamp. Probably my buddy mark’s best new discovery. The show was amazing. This is pretty remarkable since he didn’t play my two favorite songs of his, one of them, probably a top 10 song of my lifetime. Still awesome. I was so into it I didn’t take any pictures.
Brandi Carlile. I knew like one of the songs she sang. But, dudes, she can put on a show. I was for sure looking forward to her set. But, I still consider her set a “find.” I am a huge fan of her live and I can’t wait to see her again.
Glen Hansard. Wow. This was so what I was looking for and craving. So awesome. The connection in the audience and between artist and audience was deep and real. It’s the reason I see live music. Amazing stuff.
Hope your week is full of rock n roll awesomeness.