My friend & I hit a huge bit of luck getting 'upgraded' from seats in row Z to a pair in ROW A, apparently for nothing more than settling into what we thought would be our spot for the night nice & early!
We hurried down to find that the entire middle front row was filled with people that had been offered the same opportunity & it built an instant bond between us.
The front of the set had a good mix of material with only 2 PJ songs in the first 9 tracks giving it a much more personal feel than the arena band shows, like Eddie was taking us through his own favourite tunes. They sped along at quite a pace due to the songs short nature with highlights being Without You, More Than You Know & a crowd pleasing I Am Mine.
Before we knew it, with Ed's disarming anecdotes between songs, we were into the initial quartet of Into The Wild numbers which, with a change of backdrop brought a expansive, sunny mood to the Apollo as Glen joined Ed for Long Nights to round it off before going solo again on a beautiful Good Women.
A brace of love songs later though is where the gig really stepped up a notch as Lukin thumped along and with the crowd enthralled Ed led us on a stomp & clap-along acoustic version of Porch, everyone acting as a mass rhythm section dropping out at the more operatic vocal parts before joining back in to propel the song to its sharp end. SUBLIME! (I think I may have high fived someone at this point which I NEVER normally do, EVER! )
After a quick break Ed was soon joined again by Glen for a thoughtful Society and a heart wrenching Falling Slowly on which their voices seemed perfectly matched, my friend now gazing longingly at the pair content for seeing the song she thought Mr Hansard had left out of his solo set.
Another change of mood as Ed donned a summer hat and the lights dropped low as just a single spotlight on the floor in front of him gave off a glow like a midnight campfire. The Apollo fell deathly silent as the gentle pluck & poetry of The End saw Eds voice sounding at it's most vulnerable of the evening.
For the finale Ed & Glen cloaked in white lab coats were wholly visible as the house lights came up & Hard Suns repetitive chorus had the audience, by this point gathered at the front of stage, swaying & singing, smiles as round & sparkling as the great big ball of fire itself!
By the time I reached home that night I thought that was it. Over.
I would never have to go & see a Pearl Jam or Eddie solo show again.
It couldn't get better than that? Could it?...
Until the following evening & the news of the London night 2 set starts to appear! AMAZING! Oh to have been there... And that's the point, no matter how high you get on your PJ experience or near to the ultimate set list or version of your favourite song, maybe, just maybe, next time around they'll surpass all your expectations. Whether you've traveled hundreds of miles or come along for your first time you will be rewarded. And handsomely
Hammersmith Apollo @
- London @
- Mon 30 Jul 2012 @
Setlist: Walking The Cow-(Daniel Johnston), Trouble-(Yusuf Islam), Can't Keep, Sleeping By Myself, Without You, More Than You Know-(Rose, Eliscu, Youmans), Broken Heart, I Am Mine, Brain Damage-(Waters), Dead Man, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Setting Forth, Far Behind, Guaranteed, Rise, Long Nights w/ Glen Hansard, Good Woman-(Chan Marshall), Better Man (high string version), You've Got To Hide Your Love Away-(Lennon, McCartney), Lukin, Porch, Unthought Known, Society w/ Glen Hansard-(Jerry Hannan), Sleepless Nights w/ Glen Hansard-(Boudleaux Bryant, Felice Bryant), Falling Slowly w/ Glen Hansard-(Hansard, Irglová), Open All Night-(Bruce Springsteen), The End, Arc, Hard Sun. @
Opening act(s): Glen Hansard @