An Ode to the Long Road

In exactly four weeks' time I'll be flying up to Thunder Bay for the start of my latest Pearl Jam adventure--and yes, the anticipation is already killing me. I still can't believe I'm less than a month away from seeing Pearl Jam at the Fort William Gardens; as I've stated here and on my other blog numerous times, if you'd have told me at last year's Boston concerts that the next time I'd be seeing Pearl Jam would be in my hometown I'd have laughed in your face. Back in July, when Bri and I went up to Thunder Bay for my friend Christie's wedding, we stopped off at the Gardens' box office to pick up tickets I'd ordered for my friend Ryan, and while we were there I felt...I don't know if "eerie" is the right word, but I'm also not sure if I can explain how strange it felt to be there. Between now and September 9 I'm going to attempt to properly articulate what this show will mean to me. Or maybe I won't--maybe trying too hard will actually cheapen the experience, which is the absolute last thing I want to do. I want this concert to be meaningful. Intuitively, I know it will be--it's live Pearl Jam, after all--but for me, this is a once in a lifetime event. Am I expecting too much? Possibly--but if you're getting that impression, it should only emphasize how truly excited I am for this show.

And while we're at it...as much as I doubt that members of Pearl Jam are scouring random blogs for setlist requests, if Mssrs. Vedder, etc. are currently reading these pages maybe I humbly request that "Long Road" open the Thunder Bay concert? The general consensus among Pearl Jam fans is that it will open the next show, in Kitchener (9/11)...but from a purely selfish perspective, I can't imagine a more appropriate opener for my hometown concert:

And I wish for so long...cannot stay
All the precious moments...cannot stay
It's not like wings have fallen...cannot stay
But still something's missing...cannot say

Holding hands are daughters and sons
And their faiths are falling down, down, down
I have wished for so long
How I'd wish for you today

We all walk the long road...cannot stay
There's no need to say goodbye

All the friends and family,
All the memories going 'round, 'round, 'round
I have wished for so long,
How I wish for you today.

And the winds are roaring,
And the skies keep turning grey
And the sun is setting,
The sun will rise another day.

I have wished for so long,
How I wish for you today.
I have wished for so long,
How I wish for you today.

"Long Road". Probably my favourite Pearl Jam song of all-time, although "Hard to Imagine" occasionally gives it a run for its money. (Right now, the big difference between the two is that I haven't ever heard "Hard to Imagine" live. So far I've heard "Long Road" twice, in Wantagh and Jones Beach.) But in terms of the Thunder Bay concert, its lyrical significance should be obvious...and for fear of launching into a biographical sketch and subsequently putting even more weight on this one particular show, I think I'll leave it at that.