Love Is Stronger Than Witchcraft
I had a nice weekend in the Queen City, chillin' with past and present members of the Backup Plan and the Knights of Infinite Resignation. The main event, though, was the Pearl Jam/Robert Pollard concert at U.S. Bank Arena Saturday night.
I like Pearl Jam, but I'm not super-into them or anything. I have copies of Ten and Vitalogy that I got back in the day, and I picked up their new self-titled album a few weeks ago (it's actually pretty good ... but, to prove my point, it was my first time buying a Pearl Jam album in 12 years). The real reason I wanted to go was to see ex-GBV front man Bob Pollard. My "fandom" of Pollard is the opposite of my "fandom" for Pearl Jam. I think I have copies of almost everything Guided By Voices released between 1994 and 1997 (no small feat -- we're talking somewhere around 20-30 releases, probably), and I saw GBV live around 20 times (I lost track at 12 or so ... one day I'll sit down and figure out the official number). Predictably, I missed the first part of Pollard's set. Backup Plan bass player Mike and I tried to park in the nearby lot (which he has a pass for), but they wouldn't let us park, because they said there was a wedding at Paul Brown Stadium. I was this close to asking, "Who the hell would want to get married where the Bengals play?" I didn't, though.
Anyway, it took us another 20 minutes to find a parking spot, so we only caught the last four songs of Bob's set. I did get to hear "Game of Pricks," though, so I was happy. He closed with "Love Is Stronger Than Witchcraft" (hence, the title), which rocked. It was weird seeing Pollard in an arena, though. I guess I had always thought GBV was one of the great arena rock bands that never made it out of the larger-club circuit, but maybe I was wrong. I think part of Guided By Voices/Pollard's appeal is that sort of "Everyman Rocker" quality, where you feel like (rightly or wrongly) the band on stage is just like you, and that they're singing with you. That kind of appeal is enhanced in a more intimate setting, where everyone's shoehorned in spilling beer on each other, and where the singer can hear the requests (and heckles) coming from the guy in the middle of the crowd. Pollard doesn't have the magnetic, transcendent personality that an arena rock front man (e.g., Eddie Vedder, or someone like David Bowie or Roger Daltrey or Robert Plant or ...) has to have. He's just an average guy (with basically unparalleled talent for writing great songs with even better melodies) drinking a beer and singing. I guess after 10 years or so of seeing GBV play to packed clubs, it was weird seeing Pollard on stage in a half-filled arena playing for people who mostly have never heard of him. From where I sat (probably about 125 yards away), it seemed like he was a bit uncomfortable, looking down at the stage floor a lot and avoiding any between song banter. Maybe he was nervous, maybe he was (relatively) sober, maybe a little bit of both and some other stuff thrown in. Either way, it all sounded good, just kind of out of place. It was still worth my $60.
Pearl Jam, on the other hand, had the whole sold-out arena hanging on every note. The band was in good form, banging out one song after another. Highlights for me included the hits ("Evenflow," "Alive," "Betterman," "Corduroy") and some of their "lesser known" earlier stuff (like Vitalogy's "Last Exit" and "Not For You"). Some of the newer stuff (off of their last couple of albums), got a little tedious for me, but, like I mentioned earlier, I haven't heard much of anything they've done between Vitalogy and Pearl Jam. It also didn't help that the arena cut off beer sales thirty minutes after Pearl Jam took the stage, a full HOUR AND A HALF before the show was over. See why I give Cincinnati a hard time?
Anyway, one thing I like about Eddie Vedder is that he does seem to genuinely care about using his platform to do something good (as opposed to using his platform to make himself look good ... Bono, I'm looking your way (in a joking way, I think)). He took the time to give a quick announcement regarding the search for Brian Shaffer, he talked about the 1979 tragedy that took place the night of a Who concert at the arena (which, tangentially, also inspired my favorite episode of WKRP in Cincinnati), and he gave a good monologue on why Rolling Stone sucks. The band also seemed to geniunely appreciate Pollard, and acknowledged him multiple times during the set. I guess that partly falls under the category of respecting one's elders (Pollard's getting perilously close to 50), but still it was a nice gesture. Vedder even joined Pollard on stage for the final part of "Witchcraft," but that was nothing compared to the last song of the evening, when ...
... BOB POLLARD TOOK THE STAGE TO PERFORM "BABA O'RILEY" WITH PEARL JAM!!! That was amazing. 20,000 people singing along as Vedder and Pollard traded lead vocals on the Who's classic. It's kinda tough for me to say it, but this version outshined even the live Guided By Voices version with Doug Gillard on lead guitar, which I got to hear a few times. Words really can't describe it. It was the best concert moment I've experienced in the past year, and that includes an entire Silver Jews concert that I waited 10 years to hear.
So yeah, $60 was easily worth it for four Pollard songs and Pearl Jam/Pollard on "Baba." Pearl Jam still knows how to rock. And even though it was weird seeing Pollard in a situation where there were more people waiting in line for beer than actually in the seats listening, if four or five people discovered Pollard and GBV at the show Saturday night, or even if a couple people say to themselves, "Gee, Eddie really liked that old dude, I should check him out," then I guess it was all worth it.
