1st
Absolutely epic Pearl Jam show to herald the end of an era last night: The very last show at the Philly Spectrum, before it is torn down and gone forever. Pearl Jam is a-m-a-z-i-n-g, and Ed Ved is a force of nature, to be sure. But … The biggest star of the night? Neil Young, and he wasn’t even there. As the show drew to a close, Pearl Jam played “Rockin’ In The Free World,” releasing a sea of balloons and confetti from the ceiling, (colors on the spectrum) red, white and blue. It was kind of an overwhelming feeling to be standing down there feeling that song fall all over you, in the city of brotherly love, a birthplace of freedom, I’m pretty sure I heard the LIberty Bell ringing. And you know, as I took it all in, I found myself trying to imagine what it would feel like to be Neil Young, standing there, in that moment, watching that kind of celebration of a song that he wrote. It felt kind of like a ticker tape parade in honor of his songwriting genius. I wish he had been standing right next to me. I would have liked to have seen his face. See vid below, or here.
