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Pearl Jam Singer Eddie Vedder Performs, Jokes Through LA GigPhoto Credit: Getty Images
![]() LOS ANGELES — Within a few hours late Saturday, Eddie Vedder accepted a Golden Globe, fired his psychotherapist and demonstrated spot-on impressions of both Chris Rock and Matt Dillon. Needless to say, this was not your average concert experience. Pearl Jam's captivating frontman hit the Wiltern LG on the seventh stop of his 10-date West Coast solo tour — his first-ever outing sans band — and entertained the capacity crowd in every way possible. His playing (of several guitars, ukuleles, etc.) was damn near spiritual, his between-song banter was subtly hilarious and his voice … oh, his voice. At one point, as he ended his first encore, Vedder belted out his signature growls in all different octaves and looped them together into a magnificently eerie piece of music. If there's a better voice in rock, I don't know it. The set list itself was like an art show, moving in and out of emotions, themes, even periods of his life. Midway through he played a few Cat Stevens songs, from "Harold and Maude," just because it once inspired him. Vedder certainly knows how to cover a song, whether it's a faithful homage like the Beatles' "Hide Your Love Away" or Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down," or an inventive reworking like Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" of Indio's "Hard Sun." The latter, which closed his second and final encore, was an epic moment, thanks to opener Liam Finn's rolling drum work and Vedder's vocal attack on the chorus. Other highlights included Pearl Jam's "Porch," the haunting "Dead Man" (from "Dead Man Walking") and, well, pretty much the entire "Into the Wild" soundtrack, especially "Society," which he played with Finn and introduced as "his favorite song" from the movie. Of course, given Pearl Jam's reputation as a live act, the music was basically expected. What came as a surprise was the usually soft-spoken singer's telling of stories, many of which were culled literally from that day's headlines. "Apparently 240,000 people who vote for "American Idol" dial the wrong number each week," Vedder said. "Which tells me a lot of dumb people watch 'American Idol.'" When he was surprised mid-show and presented with his Golden Globe by one of the producers of "Into the Wild"- the Sean Penn flick for which Vedder wrote the music, of course —Vedder thanked the writers for going on strike so he could surf that day instead of get dressed up. Later, after an obnoxious fan continuously yelled out Pearl Jam requests, the singer said that was his psycho-therapist doing therapy on him. "But I don't need you any more, I'm fine," he said. "You're fired." The guy shut up. Oh, and then he did Chris Rock while recalling his last trip to the Wiltern (a benefit show with Beck, Dave Grohl and several comedians) and Matt Dillion while thanking Cameron Crowe for paying him "a much-needed $800" to give the actor a guitar lesson while filming "Singles" in Seattle. "What I'm trying to say is thank you Cameron," Vedder said to the director, who was in the house. "And I'm sorry Matt." And what I'm trying to say is, "Thank you, Vedder, and I'm sorry to anyone who has to miss this tour." —Corey Moss
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