Friday night, Johnny and I went to one of MoveOn's Vote for Change concerts with Pearl Jam and Death Cab for Cutie. The series of concerts featuring all sorts of artists (from the Dixie Chicks to Jurassic 5) from MoveOn is designed as a way to reach scores of voters the swing states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Florida. The different groups hit different parts of the same state on one day before moving onto the next swing state. Last night was the first day of concerts. While the concept of reaching undecided voters in these states with some great music is great, you have to wonder if the people are coming for the bands or for the political message. I'm not one to argue that changing one voter's mind doesn't matter, but you kind of wonder if hearing a musician talk about it will really have an effect. The great thing is that - at least at the concert I was at - Pearl Jam was really encouraging people to vote without being too partisan. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Pearl Jam was really encouraging people to vote and was slightly partisan, but never mentioned who they were going to vote for or a candidates name.

As the last time I went to a Pearl Jam concert, they were again awesome. Johnny was saying how Pearl Jam has the some of the greatest fans - and with the response and crowd participation in their concerts, it's really hard to argue with.

While I expected some politicking, the best line of the night was Eddie Vedder's message for undecided voters. Something along the lines of "People that are undecided are stupid and I have the perfect example. Mullets. Long or short, make a decision." Simple, no?

A few random notes/thought about the night. Reading is a bitch to get to. The police there also don't know anything about directing traffic. Talk about making a town a pain in the ass to get to. Tim Robbins is a pretty bad singer and dancer (not that I'm one to talk), despite not really being able to hear him. When he came on stage, I thought I heard a few "Stuyvesant! Stuyvesant!" chants.

After the concert was over, Johnny and I made the best concert exit ever. Our car was parked on the 5th level of the parking complex, but the exit for the lot happened to be across from the arena and the entrance happened to be right next to our gate. Because JK is such an astute PJ fan, he knows they end with Yellow Ledbetter. After hearing the song, we bolted to the car and we were out in less than 5 minutes. Best exit EVER!! Why the rush? We had an appointment with some casinos in Atlantic City...

Posted by tien mao in Concerts/Music at 3:00 PM