Set List: (both solo acoustic) I Am A Patriot by Steven Van Zandt,
The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

I have been a huge Pearl Jam fan for a long time and needless to say I went nuts when I found out that Ed was scheduled to appear at the event at UIC. I went to both the Alpine Valley and Chicago shows on Sunday and Monday and was pleased to learn from his speeches at the shows that Ed is as enthusiastic about Nader as I am.

I am involved in the Wicker Park Committee to Elect Ralph Nader and we tried to hand out fliers and sell tickets to the Nader rally at the show Monday night but the police were hassling us like no other. We ended up getting pushed inside and found ourselves behind some tables next to the voter registration ones. It was great to have the opportunity to talk to people about Ralph and his views at the concert and then getting to enjoy such an awesome show.

Contrary to what Ed said at the end of the show, the police would not allow us to sell tickets in or around the arena but we were able to talk to people about Ralph and encourge people to sign petitions to get Ralph into the debates.

Photo credit: Eric Christophersen

As I am writing this I have just returned to my dorm room from the super rally. It was a tremendous experience. All the speakers were great. Phil Donahue kick-started the event and gave a tremendous speech over Ralph's basic views on the issues; he is a great orator. Studs Terkel delivered a witty, well thought out speech over why a vote for Nader is not a wasted vote and after him Micheal Moore came out and introduced Ed. Ed came out and said that he was going to use his alloted to time to play some music. First he played "I am a Patriot." It really is a beautiful song and was very appropriate. After that he talked about how he has been trying to write a song for Ralph's campaign but in his song writing process he came across a song he thought appropriate and that he thought he could never top. He then noted he had the approval of the author of this song to sing it and started playing "The Times They Are A Changing" by Bob Dylan. It was a beautiful rendition and the crowd seemed spellbound. After that Ed quietly left and Michael Moore came out to give his speech. Before he started though he said that Ed's mom was in the crowd and asked her to stand up! I about sh*t a brick when a woman with blonde, kinda curly hair stood up no less than 10 feet from me! That was kinda weird and I couldn't help but look over at her fairly often for the remainder of the show. Mr. Moore gave an energetic, funny speech that really got the crowd worked up and excited to see Ralph speak. After about 20 minutes he handed it over to Mr. Nader.

Ralph gave about an hour and 15 minute long speech which basically detailed his and the green party's ideology and platform. It was very informative and inspirational. I am obviously a bit biased on this issue but I don't understand how anybody could NOT vote for Ralph, especially after they have heard him talk.

I think that these last three days, which have included the Alpine Valley show, the Chicago show and this Nader super rally were probably the funnest three days of my entire life.

Ben Welsh

P.S. If you live in Chicago and want to get involved with The Wicker Park Committee To Elect Ralph Nader please send an email to wickerparkfornader@hotmail.com