Guitar Hero’s Last Gig
I have always enjoyed killing Nazis, eviscerating zombies, and scoring touchdowns on my PlayStation. It was all about the shooters and sports games… Until Guitar Hero landed. Honestly I wasn’t sure what to make of it. My six-string playing friends scoffed, and were completely frustrated when they tried it because, of course, it’s not like playing a real guitar. But cracking open the box of the first version of the game, and pulling out that plastic Gibson SG over my shoulder felt cool, felt like, man, now I can deliver the rock. And strumming along to the opening chords of “Iron Man” or “Smoke on the Water” gave me chills. For someone who was at the absolute zero of music ability, this was transporting.
Then I started playing and realized how much I sucked. The weakest part of my game was my pinky, the cause of my downfall many a time, particularly on the more intense fretting. The primary colors were tough enough—green, red, yellow, blue—without having to deal with that freaky orange. Still, battling through Joan Jett’s I Love Rock N Roll, Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out, Motorhead’s Ace of Spades and Ozzy’s Bark at the Moon not only allowed me to ride the subway with a bit of swagger, but also gave me a deeper appreciation for the inner workings of a song. Not to mention the power and nuance of the whammy bar.
I know there were a bunch of versions and variations, with Legends of Rock and Aerosmith and Metallica and all that. But there’s nothing like the first time, the very first time. (I think that’s from a Foreigner song. Were they ever in Guitar Hero?) It was something completely different—feeling a sense of accomplishment after achieving a new level not because, say, you wiped out slews of demon spawn, but because you had mastered a song. Even at the crudest level, that’s satisfaction of a different order.
So, goodbye Guitar Hero. Thanks for transforming our living rooms into Madison Square Gardens, and for making those of us who could never be a rock star, feel like one.
Why Pearl Jam matters
Its taken a week to wrap my head around Pearl Jam’s show at Madison Square Garden on May 21st - and to get my voice back to normal. Without a doubt, Pearl Jam always puts on an amazing show. Though not seeing them for several years (after seeing them a dozen times in a few short years with the exception of Eddier Veder’s solo acoustic show), maybe I forgot how incredible a group they are.
So…my thoughts on why Pearl Jam matters….
- Ed’s ever-present bottle of wine on stage to, you know, keep his throat from getting dry
- Tribute song, “I’m Open,” dedicated to Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States
- How Eddie still acts amazed when he stands on stage and lets the crowd sing “Better Man” to him
- The crowd clears out for bathroom breaks during a “popular radio song,” (ie “Daughter”) but no one moves when he stands on stage and talks to the crowd
- No matter how massive a Pearl Jam fan you are, you will hear at least one, possibly two, songs you don’t know
- No matter how massive a Pearl Jam fan you are, and how many times you’ve seen them in concert, you will hear at least one song performed that you have never heard them perform live before
- After doing this for twenty years, the band still brings it like its their first concert and keeps it going like it might be their last
- Because even though they will forever be linked by time and place, Pearl Jam is not Nirvana, which is a good thing for both bands
As incredible as the show was as a whole (I would have paid just to hear Eddie belt out “Neverman”), the show was stolen when Eddie invited Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses) out to accompany him on “Hunger Strike.” Watch that performance and sometime around 45 seconds into it Bridwell seems to realize what he is singing and who he is singing with. The only thing better than the look of awe on his face is the look of pride on Ed’s face.
Pearl Jam, Madison Square Garden, May 21, 2010
Main Set:
Corduroy, Hail Hail, Do the Evolution, Worldwide Suicide, Got Some, Breath, Nothingman, I’m Open (Dedicated to Howard Zinn), Unthought Known, Grievance, Amongst the Waves, Present Tense, Not For You/Modern Girl, Push Me Pull Me, Rats, Daughter/WMA, The Fixer, Why Go
Encore 1:
The End (w/ string quartet), Just Breathe (w/ string quartet), Slow Lukin (w/ strings), Black Red Yellow, Sweet Lew, Given to Fly, Spin the Black Circle, Rearviewmirror
Encore 2:
Wasted Reprise, Betterman, Black/We Belong Together, The Real Me, Hunger Strike, Alive, Kick Out the Jams, Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner
