Eddie Vedder at Hammersmith Apollo (Night 2)

Eddie Vedder
Glen Hansard
Hammersmith Apollo, 7 June 2017
After the emotional nature of last night's show I really didn't know what to expect of Eddie's second night in London. Thankfully it was less sombre: I think a weight had been lifted from his shoulders after his difficult tribute to his friend Chris Cornell during the previous show. Obviously there were still sad moments but it was clear Vedder was using his music as a tool to heal tonight.
One man, who it is clear has been a big help to Eddie during this hard time, was his support act tonight, Glen Hansard.  He relates to us a terrible story, which I had never heard before, about a man who committed suicide on stage while Hansard was playing (he leapt from overhead at a concert in San Jose in 2010). He received a phone call at home a few days after it happened and it was Eddie Vedder - who he didn't know at the time - on the other end wanting to know if he was okay. They talked for an hour and then Vedder asked if he could call him the next day. They ended up talking every day for a week and a beautiful friendship was formed. "I just want to say it is very important to be on tour with him right now," Hansard told us. "There is a level of generosity that cannot be overstated." I'm glad that Eddie has Glen, it's nice to know he has such a good friend to rely on during this difficult time for him.
The rest of Hansard's set was similar to the previous night, once again singing an old Woody Guthrie protest song written about Donald Trump's father and adding some new lyrics that apply to The Donald himself ("what I wouldn't do if I thought I'd get away with it"), and heavily strumming his guitar and stomping his feet for the song Way Back. At the end he brought up a friend (Charlotte Blokhuis, who apparently is a Dutch doctor who also sings) to duet on a lovely version of This Gift.
When Eddie finally appears you can tell he's in a better mood: he smiles and seems like he actually wants to be there on stage. He then sings the saddest version of Long Road I've ever heard him play. It really feels like it's sung just for his friend Cornell. The lyrics "all the memories going round, round, round. I have wished for so long, how I wish for you today" hit me hard. Although written long before Cornell's death they seem to echo Eddie's words from the previous night about cherishing the memories he has of him. It's incredibly beautiful and moving.
He follows this with Dead Man Walking, which I've never heard him play live, and it was eerie and haunting. I don't know if choosing to play Neil Young's The Needle And The Damage Done was influenced by Cornell's alleged relapse but it felt oddly appropriate anyway.
He then goes through a selection of both Pearl Jam (Off He Goes, Wishlist, Can't Keep, Soon Forget) and solo material (Sleeping By Myself, Drifting, Far Behind, Rise, among others), switching back and forth from guitar to ukulele. He even brought out a banjo to perform No Ceiling, which sounded fantastic.
Elsewhere, he brought out the Red Limo String Quartet again to play the REM song It Happened Today from their very last album, which apparently Eddie sang back-up on, and it was so good it made me determined to revisit that record soon. He also asked if we wanted to hear a new song, which of course we did, and he played the track he wrote for the new Twin Peaks series called Out Of Sand.
I've heard him perform them before but it was still nice to hear him sing Cat Power's Good Woman and Bob Dylan's Masters Of War (which felt even more apt all these years on). He also played Fugazi's I'm So Tired on the pump organ. I'm sure if this too was a reference to Cornell, since his last words to his wife were apparently "I'm just tired", but with the final lyrics "It's all too crazy and I'm not sticking around" it really feels like it is.
Like the previous night, two of the biggest highlights were old Pearl Jam songs, Porch and Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, which once again had people on their feet and singing loudly and joyously along. But I think the best moment had to be when he performed Black with the string quartet. Everybody sang and swayed and it was a beautiful, hopeful moment of togetherness. Plus I don't think I've ever heard the song sound so good (well maybe back in 92, but that's just boasting on my part).
As before there were some duets too, first with Glen Hansard singing the Everlys' Sleepless Nights without microphones at the front of the stage. Then, Eddie brought on one of his heroes Simon "brother of Pete" Townshend to sing his song I'm The Answer (we amusingly add the lyrics, "what do you do if you can't get Pete? I'm the answer!"). 
Dhani Harrison is obviously still hanging out with Eddie while he's in London and comes out once again and they play The Clash's Should I Stay Or Should I Go, both on ukulele, with Ed ending the song by smashing the poor old ukulele on the floor (Dhani tells him "you would get in trouble in my house for doing that!" as his dad, George, was well known for loving, and giving out gifts of, ukuleles). Eddie gave the smashed ukulele to a girl in the front row and also gifted another unbroken one to a little boy in the audience.
When Hansard returns to the stage to sing Society with Eddie he warns, "don't touch my guitar!" as earlier he had told us that after Dhani let him play George's old acoustic guitar he had gone straight to Denmark Street to buy his own 1945 Takamine guitar. "Like I could fuck it up any more," Ed jokes back to him. 
The whole thing ends with all the players and guests and crew coming out on stage to help him sing Hard Sun and, even though we were told we would be kicked out of the venue if we took photos during the show, the crowd went crazy taking pictures (and I sneaked a few myself as you can see).
All in all, a wonderful, hopeful and joyful night. Thank you Eddie.
After we waited ages and ages to see if we could meet him. We were actually just about to go when someone came out and said Eddie was coming but we couldn't ask for autographs or take photos and he would just briefly come out and talk to each of us. I managed to get a hug, which was a nice way to end my two nights seeing Eddie Vedder live.
Glen Hansard, Dhani Harrison, Simon Townshend, Eddie and members of the Red Limo String Quartet at the end of the show

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