Velvet Revolver
The Police

... how was it?? Lucky bugger.

I reckon, given a bit more time and experience on a big stage, they're going to be a top, top live act. Saw them at Leeds last year and it was, as you point out, rather unpredictable and this adds to the whole rock n' roll thing. Saw them again at Rock City in Nottingham on their last tour too, I was right at the front, centre and again it was all very rock n' roll and energetic.

Maria! You havent posted for ages, where have you been?! I've been wondering about you!

As odd as that probably sounds ....

More experience on a big stage is right ... although they do stuff like the bassist doing odd things with his keyboard, they never really move off the spot and utilise the space properly

Pearl Jam :p at Wembley Arena last night .... absolutely immense show, despite me being seated I honestly think it was one of the best gigs I've ever seen. Great punk energy and spirit, and Eddie Vedder still sounds as good now as he did on record 16 years ago. What was especially cool was the final two songs, where the houselights were turned on ... felt like it was all just one big party!

The setlist was almost perfect too .... some unexpected greats like Immortality, Present Tense, State Of Love And Trust, and Inside Job ... in fact, the only thing stopping it being perfect was the lack of Black! Goddammit ... one of my favourite songs ever, and according to their website their third most played song, and after seeing them live twice I still haven't seen them play it! Grrrrrrrr! Ah well, maybe next time, whenever that'll be. Still reckon they should have taken out Parachutes and Bu4hleaguer (never liked that song) and replaced them with Black though!

Seriously though Pearl Jam fans, combine the setlists of the two times I've seen them, add Black, and you've got almost all their best songs right there ...

Reading 2006:
Set 1: Interstellar Overdrive, Corduroy, Do The Evolution, Animal, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Dissident, Even Flow, Sad, I Am Mine, Jeremy, Grievance, Wasted Reprise, Better Man, Save You, Blood, Rearviewmirror
Encore 1: Soon Forget, Given To Fly, Once, Crown Of Thorns, Comatose, Alive
Encore 2: Why Go, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Wembley Arena 2007:
Set 1: Long Road, Severed Hand, Grievance, Comatose, Given To Fly, Low Light, I Got Id, Faithfull, Green Disease, Marker In The Sand, Immortality, Down, Present Tense, State Of Love And Trust, Why Go, Save You, Porch
Encore 1: Inside Job, Parachutes, Crazy Mary, Do The Evolution, Alive
Encore 2: No More, Bu$hleaguer, World Wide Suicide, Rockin' In The Free World, Indifference

Ugh Walrus! What's up with PJ spending oodles of time overseas nowadays and don't grace us with their presence at all????? I am starting to have withdrawals..... :S

I did have a run-in (well not exactly) with Eddie Vedder a little while ago while waiting for the bus after work. It was rather surreal but got my blood pumping quite badly. I was looking around and wanted to point and shout: don't you see that guy? don't you see that guy? that's eddie you idiots!!! Well, I didn't cause I wore a suit and carried a laptop bag and client files and was playing 'normal' and shrieking when coming face to face with THE MAN is not what normal professionals do (I think). He walked out of an office building right in front of me in shorts, hooded sweatshirt big hair and big sunglasses. I just stood there and stared. :( Of course what really went on in my head was: "long haired guy coming out of the Morton building .... how odd .... clearly NOT a homeless guy .... looks quite familiar .... why is he staring at me? .... oh, because I am staring at him ... man he is old too ... he looks WAY familiar .... he is the only other person besides me that wears sunglasses in the rain ... must be a true Seattlite ... damn he looks familiar... should I know him? ..... GASSSSSSSP it's the Vedderman!!!!!! GASP it's the vedderman indeed! Then he turned around the corner.....

Anyway, I've been fine just incredibly busy with work. Thanks for asking Walrus!

It was quite good. That's about the best to describe it.


The Police was my first favorite band and Sting was my first massive crush at 13!! So, you can imagine what this meant to me. When I didn't get tickets for the first Seattle show I was crushed. When they announced the second show, I got tickets for $250 each - decided I can't justify that and didn't buy them. I had regrets after that, but there was this weird calm sense - just knowing I'll see them ... cause there was no way I wouldn't see my childhood heros.... It was meant to be... Time passed. More time passed and I started to realize that I am actually not going to see them. Two days before the show my ex calls telling me he was offered 2 tickets to see The Police. Without knowing what I was doing and before he finished his sentence, I yelled "I go. I go. I go. I go."..... He actually called to ask if it was ok for him to take our son to the show :S .... Long story short, I ended up going to see The Police with my ex-husband!!! Now you can REALLY imagine how much I wanted to see them ;)

As for the show: They played for over 2 hours and played well. Great light show but Sting most certainly carried the show and the band. I wanted to grab Stewart Copeland by the neck and yell: can't you at least pretend to be a rock star???? After the first song, Andy Summers had a fire red head and I was worried he'd have a heartattack before the show was over. There were none of the typical Sting jumps (though a couple of lame attempts) and obviously no new songs.

While I am eternally grateful for the chance of having seen them live and can honestly say I enjoyed the show thoroughly, it was clear that they were dated and I am afraid I am used to much younger bands. Age does mellow.

It was very much a re-union tour --- let's have one more great night for old times sake. But none of the punk, sponteneity, or freshness I imagine they brought to their fans 25 years ago.

The freaky part was the opening band: Fiction Plane. Fronted by Sting's son Joe. I walked into the venue towards the end of Fiction Planes act and didn't actually go to my seat to see them (had to get a couple of beers first, right?). While still in the hallway, I noticed the voice! Dad's voice. To a T. People were turning and asking if The Police were on yet cause it was totally Stings voice. I took a sneak peak at the stage (can't bring booze into the seating area) and was quite freaked. There was a trio with a tall skinny blonde guy on bass ... with his moves he was the spitting image of young Sting with longer hair. Identical moves to his Dads in younger days... The songs were grungy and powerful but not particularly memorable. I'll check out his album anyway...

Here is the setlist:

Message in a Bottle
Synchronicity II
Spirits in the Material World
Voices Inside My Head
Don't Stand So Close to Me
Driven to Tears
Walking on the Moon
Truth Hits Everybody
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
The Bed's Too Big Without You
Murder by Numbers
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Walking in Your Footsteps
Can't Stand Losing You
Roxanne
First encore:
King of Pain
So Lonely
Second encore:
Every Breath You Take
Next to You

What u were doing in bus stand? lol. Thats amazing to come across Vedder. :)

I take the bus every day to and from work :)