Eddie Vedder and the Earthlings finally made it to the The Magnolia. Originally scheduled for for Feb 15, the show date moved twice until finally landing on Sunday, Feb 27, 2022. This would be the tour closer and one great night of music. The Magnolia is a great, intimate venue which a capacity of 1,250, and for this show there wasn’t an empty seat anywhere to be seen. The Magnolia, formally known as the East County Performing Arts Center, underwent a huge renovation a few years back resulting in a venue with fantastic acoustics and great sight-lines (unless you are a photographer, then you are regulated to the far sides of the venue).
So on a warm Sunday evening I headed out to the Magnolia to cover Eddie Vedder and the Earthlings, a tour put on in support of Vedder latest solo album, Earthlings. As shows go , this one was really one for the books, with multiple tracks from the new album, some Pearl Jam greats and a slew of great covers. But first I need to touch on the shooting conditions because they were not ideal. There were quite a few photographers there to cover the show and this venue has no photo pit nor does it have space at the soundboard. The photographers were relegated to either side of the venue and warned not to get in the way of the paying fans. I chose stage left (house right) and hoped for the best. The venue staff and security, along with the tour security kept us all updated with the rules and regulations;lations and what could have been quite a nightmare was well managed and efficient.
First up was Glen Hansard, an Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor, and Oscar winner for Best Original Song. His set started out a solo act, then he was joined by fellow Earthling members, Chad Smith and Andrew Watt for a tune, before ending the set between the keyboard and guitar. I really enjoyed his story about a legendary Pearl Jam taper who was in the audience that evening with a couple of microphones attached to his hat. Maybe the recording of the show will surface at some point, that would a good thing.
Band:
Glen Hansard – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard
Chad Smith – Drums
Andrew Watt- Guitar
After a short break, Eddie Vedder walked out on the stage to huge applause and was joined by Glen Hansard for an acoustic version of “Society” (a Jerry Hannan cover that had snippets of John Lenin’s “Working Class Hero”) followed by the full band for “Drive” (R.E.M) and “Room at the Top” (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers).
At this point the photographers were escorted from the building to put gear away, but the show was just getting started. In all it was a 20 song setlist with a five song encore. This was a show for the ages. The set list covered new songs from the Earthling album including the first time “Good and Evil” was played live and of course a bunch of Pearl Jam songs thrown into the mix like “I got It”, “Lukin”, and “Porch”. The show closed with a five some encore set that included “The Waiting” (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers) “Give Blood” (Pete Townshead) and “Rockin’ in the Free World” (Neil Young) which saw Chad Smith on guitar and Anthony Lo Gerfo on drums (sorry, no photos allowed that late in the show).
Look forward to Pearl Jam out on the road in the coming months, but lets also hope that this group gets back together down the road because they really do rock.
Band:
Eddie Vedder – Vocals, Guitar
Chad Smith – Drums
Chris Chaney – Bass
Andrew Watt – Guitar
Josh Klinghoffer – Keyboard, Guitar, Vocals
Glen Hansard – Guitar, Vocals
SETLIST
1.) Society
2.) Drive (R.E,M)
3.) Room at the Top (Tom Petty and Heartbreakers)
4.) I’ll Be Waiting
5.) Timeless Melody (The La’s)
6.) Invincible
7.) The Dark
8.) Long Way
9.) Brother the Cloud
10.) The Haves
11.) Wishlist (Pearl Jam)
12.) Good and Evil
13.) Fallout Today
14.) Try
15.) Chad-O
16.) Rose of Jericho
17.) Mrs. Mills
18.) I Got Id (Pearl Jam)
19.) Lukin (Pearl Jam)
20.) Porch (Pearl Jam)
ENCORE
21.) The Waiting (Tom Petty and Heartbreakers)
22.) Give Blood (Pete Townshead)
23.) Dirty Frank (Pearl Jam)
24.) Isn’t It a Pity (George Harrison)
25.) Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young)
Alan Hess is a photographer based in San Diego, where he lives with his wife and two rescued boxers.
Alan is currently the house photographer for a large concert and event venue in Southern California where he photographs everything from major musical acts to ice hockey. When he isn’t out taking photographs, he spends his time writing books and is an accomplished photography educator and trainer.
Alan’s images have been published in a variety of places including news papers, magazines, websites, promotional materials, album artwork, and press releases. His clients include The Associated Press, Fox Television, FX Network, USA Network, Hasbro, Framus Guitars, Gibson, The Dead, Picture Group, Photoshop User Magazine, Steel Pulse, Ziggy Marley, and many more.
He is the author of sixteen photography and technology books covering everything from night and low light photography to multiple shot techniques. His books are sold around the world and have been translated in other languages including: Chinese, French, Polish, Japanese, Thai, and Italian.