Review #6: Ottawa

Attending Pearl Jam's concert in Ottawa wasn't a "smart" decision, either, especially since I should have been in class all day Friday. But by the time Sherkin and I were following a Ferrari Spider into downtown Ottawa, I was all-but-officially done with OISE/UT: my professors had been notified, my parents had been called (even though my dad, bless him, never passed the message on to my mom) and I'd already started making the mental adjustment to life without school. Plus, going to Ottawa offered the tantalizing prospect of popping the Pearl Jam cherry of one Talia Gusen...and really, when you're offered the opportunity to see your favourite band with so esteemed a fellow music fan as Talia, you really have no excuse not to take it.

So: on Friday afternoon, Sherkin and I found ourselves at the Rideau Centre food court with absolutely no plans whatsoever - we're talking no accommodations, one Ten Club ticket still unaccounted for, no real sense of when we'd be leaving the next day...really, apart from a vague plan to make it to Kanata in time for Ed's preset, everything was up in the air. Within five minutes of our arrival it started raining, hard, which essentially negated any ambition I had of wandering around downtown Ottawa. Instead, I killed time inside the Rideau Centre; at one point I ventured outside to photograph the capital, but was immediately chased back in by the downpour. Eventually, Sherkin and I came up with some sort of battle plan; we picked up Talia at her parents' house (who were about to host a pre-wedding party for Talia's cousin - I was actually greeted by a doorman), drove - literally - down the street to get Eric's friend Robyn (who claimed the spare ticket) and eventually made it to a random East Side Mario's in Kanata where we met up with Jon and Lindsay, who'd moved to Ottawa from Thunder Bay two weeks earlier. Confused? The gist: we got to the show in time to hear Ed play "Last Kiss".

Sleater-Kinney weren't as good as they were in Montreal - it would have been difficult, mind - but their set was notable for including "Steep Air", the one song off of The Woods I had yet to hear live. Plus, it featured Mr. McCready making yet another cameo appearance...honestly, is there anything better than Sleater-Kinney and Mike McCready covering Danzig? The stage, then, was set, and after last night's slightly disappointing show, I was looking for Pearl Jam to make amends.

To say that they did would constitute an understatement of epic proportions. When the band walked on stage - with Stone carrying an acoustic guitar and Boom assuming his place behind the keyboards - I was immediately confused...because yes, I'm at the point where I can identify what the band is going to play based on what guitars are being used. When Stone began strumming, my mouth dropped. I immediately yelled, "Ohmigosh...is this 'Wash'?!!" but didn't think it was possible. But it was: it was "Wash", and I was actually hearing it live. OH. MY. GOD. Instantly, all bets were off...and when Pearl Jam followed this up with "Go", "Hail, Hail", "Animal" (again!), "Brain of J." (first time I'd heard it all tour) and "Corduroy", it was clear that the gig was rockin' really fucking hard tonight.

During "Corduroy", something happened to Ed which seemingly nudged the show to another level. No one knows for sure what it was - speculation over at The Sky I Scrape is that he got an electric shock from his microphone - but everybody in the building witnessed Ed's reaction: he kicked his mic stand over, glared furiously over at the soundboard, started hammering his guitar with furious abandon...and in the process he pulled his bandmates onto a higher plane. Matt Cameron, for one, began hitting his drums harder than should ever be allowed; as the song built to its climax the rest of the band huddled around his drum riser and brought it all home in spectacular fashion. Just an incredible start to the evening's proceedings.

We were only getting started. After "Corduroy", Ed mumbled something into the mic' and then went right into "Immortality" - which, again, culminated with an incredible minute-long jam with Mr. Cameron pointing the way and then leading the band forward. When the song finished, Ed mentioned something about requests...and out of nowhere the opening riff of "In Hiding" rang through the Corel Centre. "In Hiding"! I'd been waiting over seven years to hear this one live, even though Ottawa was my eighteenth Pearl Jam concert (I only saw them once on the Yield tour, when they were alternating "In Hiding" with "Faithfull"; we got "Faithfull"). The verdict? It was just as glorious as I imagined it would be. "In Hiding", "Immortality", "Brain of J", "Wash"...I could only imagine what the Red Mosquito forum was saying. The thing is, the strangest moment was still forthcoming. After "In Hiding" Stone Gossard stepped to the microphone and announced that he was going to sing. The Ten Club sections went nuts; after Stone's histrionics in London it was probably only a matter of time until he finally took the microphone, and watching the man sing is always hysterical. Plus, I hadn't heard "Mankind" since State College.

Well, I still haven't heard it since State College...because Stone & Co. proceeded to shock the entire Pearl Jam fan community by pulling out "Don't Gimme No Lip" for the first time ever! A live debut! Unbelievable! Stone was bouncing around the stage like Richard fucking Simmons, and everybody around us was singing along with him. "Don't gimme no lip! Don't gimme no lip!" What a show we had on the go.

After this, there was really only one place for us to go: straight into "Even Flow". Tonight's version isn't as electrifying as last night's - in Montreal the band broke down the bridge until Matt Cameron was the only one left playing, then built it back up into the final chorus - but still served as a perfect follow-up to the madness of the previous three songs. Up next: "Green Disease", another shock (and another first for me, at least on this tour), before "Insignificance" brings us back down to earth (which isn't a criticism of the song - just isn't as big a shock as, say, the live debut of "Don't Gimme No Lip"). Eventually, "Rearviewmirror" brought the set to a delirious climax; whereas last night's version of "Porch" almost meandered towards the finish line, tonight's "Rearviewmirror" practically burned our eyebrows off. What a set.

Encore time, and alas, out come the stools. Then Ed and Jeff appear, Ed toasts Jeff (who responds by taking a mighty swig of wine) - and yup, "Bee Girl", another first for me and Sherkin. This was followed by the acoustic "Miracles", which to me works a lot better than its electric cousin...and then, out of nowhere, "Sleight of Hand" (first time I'd heard it since Toronto 2000), a soaring, ethereal version. "Crazy Mary" was outstanding yet again, while "Alive" brought the encore to a roaring conclusion. We're on fire tonight - this is easily a top-five all-time Pearl Jam concert for me.

Back for a second encore, which opens - gloriously - with "Given to Fly". Some Pearl Jam fans were grumbling about an apparent lack of variety to the Canadian setlists, citing "Given to Fly" as one of the main offenders. I would argue that the song should be in every setlist: it's genuinely a live monster. Then "Not for You", bringing a massive smile to Sherkin's face, and "Daughter" (sans tag) led to the evening's Sleater-Kinney ensemble. First up: "Harvest Moon" (which, again, robbed the Hamilton version of a little bit more of its sponteneity), followed by "Fortunate Son" and "Rockin' in the Free World". And then - naturally - "Yellow Ledbetter" to close, with smiles all around, the audience singing its heart out, before the band quit the stage for good. UNBELIEVABLE SHOW! Like, seriously: this was easily one of the best Pearl Jam shows I've ever seen. On our way out we ran into Emily's hero boyfriend Derek, who was winding up his own Canadian mini-tour; after exchanging incredulous words we filed out of the Corel Centre and into the midst of a torrential downpour.

So. After the show I retired to Jon and Lindsay's gorgeous new condo for Pogos. I don't remember falling asleep: I was absolutely shot. At that time, I had no idea how was I supposed to wake up the next morning, drive back to Toronto and see U2...but with images of Stone Gossard bouncing around the stage singing "Don't Gimme No Lip" still fresh, I wasn't too concerned.