Set List: Last Kiss (Ed solo), Better Man, Watch Outside by Mono Men, Driven To Tears by The Police, Running Out Of Time by Dead Moon, I'm Not Ready by Bernie Torme, Love/Building On Fire by Talking Heads, I Am A Patriot by Steven Van Zandt (faster punky version)

Jennifer Garson:
When I first heard that Eddie Vedder would be appearing at the "Chicago" (mysteriously in Wisconsin?) concert of the Tibetan Freedom Concert, I was interested, but not banking on going. I hadn't been (by choice) to a festival concert since Lollapalooza II and my recent memories of all of Alpine Valley's misgivings (bad sound, hard to get to, mud) from the Yield tour were too fresh in my mind. But, as most people reading this review know, Pearl Jam happens. So after seeing an awesome Three Fish concert here in the real Chicago (in Illinois for all those wondering) and hearing a rumor that Jeff might crash Ed's set, my fever began to rage. And to make a long story short, I found myself driving on a two-lane highway through the torrential rain yesterday to quell my symptoms.

While Ed's set was a mere eight songs, and Jeff was a no-show, the trek was beyond worth it. Ed's brief and early performance set a pretty disjointed and unenthused crowd in motion. Eddie took the stage at about 3 in the afternoon, before the rain and dark skies relented, and somehow managed to get people on their feet and having a great time in only a way that Ed could. After playing a guitar plus crowd-clap version of "last kiss," Ed told the crowd that since it was just him, he needed a bass player and a drummer. Then, Mr. Prankster himself "selected" the two members of C Average from the crowd and asked them what songs they knew. John and Brad from C Average really hammed this bit up. Brad was hugging Eddie like he was a huge fan. It was beyond hilarious. The "newly formed" group then swept into a pretty good version of "better man," the highlight being Ed's great hold of the last "man." Mr. Vedder was in great voice.

Ed then told the crowd that this was an experiment, but he thought they sounded pretty good and that they were just going to "make it up as we go." They played two more songs. (The first had a chorus of "watch outside.") And finally, Ed let the joke go. He told the crowd that he was "just fucking with you. we've been practicing. but, living in america we're all used to being lied to, right?" They played two more tunes with Ed doing some serious guitar work and continuing to sing great. It was clear that he and John and Brad were having a great time of it and playing songs they loved. Before the seventh song, Ed commented, "we're going to play another one you probably don't know, but feel free to enjoy it." (He's right. I didn't recognize it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.) Next came the highlight of the performance for me. They rocked into a fast version of "Patriot." Perfect sentiment for the cause and Townsend windmilling by Ed. This raucous version was not like the solo that Ed played in Denver, but a hard-hitting one that was a nice closer.

Elated, and wanting more, I thought I had seen the last of Ed for the day. There were other great bands on the bill to enjoy, but naturally, I had hoped for more and was a little disappointed that the Jeff rumor was false. So, just to make sure I was utterly convinced that coming was worth it, I got another surprise from Ed. Right after Live finished their performance, Eddie walked (surrounded by security, but still!) through the crowd(!) towards the main house where the petitions and information tables for Milarepa were. (Probably five feet from me.) Now, anyone who's been to Alpine Valley knows that this is no easy feat. Despite the steep hills, there were throngs of people everywhere, and it was really risky for Ed to do. But, I guess he just wanted to see who was there and see if people were enjoying themselves. I didn't get to talk to him, because of the stampede that started once people realized it was him, but the experience was still lasting and made me appreciate Ed's work there even more.

Megan Jones (delafarine@gurlmail.com):
Hey, I just wanted to say I was at the Tibetan Freedom Concert and the highlight of the day had to be Eddie Vedder's performance. Also, I was on the edge of the lawn when he decided to take a stroll up the hill with security and I must say, Eddie's new look is great...a little fragile, perhaps, but great. Of all the performances that day (I did miss Run DMC and the Beastie Boys), Eddie seemed to be one of the most sincere. I sat near a crowd of kids that seemed to find humor in insulting the monks all day...this was very upsetting. The artists who participated in these concerts are to be admired and respected for the message they send. Thank you.

Saad A. Yusuf (Vytalogy@aol.com):
I was at the Tibetan Freedom Concert on June 13, and since everyone else has gone over Eddie's antics, I just thought I'd send in something about the concert as a whole. Eddie's set was the best daytime set I have ever seen. Eddie is a master showman, and before he came out, the crowd was completely dead. So what does Eddie do with his first song?? Not only does he play his most popular song out at this moment, he makes it a fan participation song! By telling the audience to provide the beat and even correcting us by fixing the pace of our clapping, he totally got the audience into the act. Then of course he pulls the stunt by asking someone from the audience to play bass and drums for him (I think he may have got that from Pete Townsend, who pulled a drummer out of the audience when Keith Moon passed out in the middle of a show). Of course he was just "fuckin" with us and the guys he pulled out of the audience (C-Average) "had been rehearsing" before the show. Of course he did have most of the audience fooled when Ed gave very careful instructions to the band to not come in until the 2nd half of Better Man, then of course the drummer started tearing it up and playing the song perfectly, which kinda blew their cover.

The highlight of the entire day, in my opinion, was not Eddie, even though this is coming from a HUGE PJ fan. Since his set was during the day, it didnt have the intensity, nor did he have the complete focus of the audience that he would have had at night. Rage Against The Machine definitely took the cake for the best performance. By playing stuff from their 2 previous albums, their new song "No Shelter," and another new song from their upcoming album, they turned the crowd into a frenzy. When fans in the pavilion looked back into the lawn, all they could see was a massive swirl of humanity. The entire front half of the lawn turned into a raging no holds barred moshpit! Rage definitely had the best set of the day.

After Rage and Eddie, Live put on a great effort. Playing almost all their popular songs (Lightning Crashes, All Over You, I Alone, Lakhini's Juice....etc) they really got the crowd's full attention. Ed Kowalczyk was all over the stage dancing, moving, and gyrating like a madman, the guy really had a tremendous stage presence. Live lived up to their reputation of being a great "live" band!

The concert really hit a low point when Blondie took the stage. I really dont know what they played, but let's just say they were so awful, theirs was the first concert I have ever fallen asleep at. Tracy Chapman was good, for those who like that kind of music, didn't do much for me though. Run DMC put on a great show and definitely lived up to their reputation as the "kings of hip-hop"!

The biggest disappointment to me personally were the Beastie Boys, the guys who actually threw this huge party. Instead of sticking to their hip-hop roots, they really got into their alternative side and played some of those songs. These guys are rappers by trait, and should leave the instruments to guys who can actually play them. They did salvage the set at the end sort of by playing some of their hit songs like "So Whatcha Want", "Intergalactic", and "Sabotage." But they were definitely a let down for being the last band to come on.

So that, my fellow Pearl Jam fans was the Tibetan Freedom Concert in a nutshell. Oh by the way, just before Eddie came out, the torrential downpour of that morning had just stopped, and it didn't rain again until a little bit after the concert had ended that night. Fate? Destiny? Coincidence? Is Eddie blessed? you guys make the call!

Saad A. Yusuf
University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign
Oak Brook, IL (hometown)