Montessori Writer

As we all know, I have a thing for Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam - they make me happy.  We listen to contemporary music frequently in my classroom in the afternoons.  Today, we were listening to Jack Johnson In Concert.  Track 12 came on, which is his duet with Eddie Vedder, “Constellations”.  The song is just amazingly beautiful, gives me chills, often provokes a tear, and makes me terribly happy at the same time.

Because it was the end of the day on Friday, I started singing along and dancing a little bit while straightening the room.  The kids, who for some reason have been obsessed with whether or not I am married today, told me that I needed to “Marry that man” because he made me so happy.

Good kids - I have trained them well!

Alas, Eddie proposed to long-time girlfriend and mother to his two daughters, Jill McCormick, this week, so I guess that fated trip in Albany wasn’t stirring enough on his end.

So, the last post was created as we were sitting in the Days Inn in Albany, bored out of our minds.  I couldn’t find anything online that looked remotely fun, and I like to entertain myself, so I just wrote and played on the laptop all day.  Finally around 5ish, we emerged from the hotel room cocoon and headed downtown again.

Dinner was at a cute little Bayou cafe that played a lot of Pearl Jam music - both studio and random b-sides - as well as other fun Seattle music.  It made me happy.

We wandered down to the theatre around 7 pm.  We had to make sure that we looked at the tour buses, and dork that I am, I took photos.  It was kind of funny to look at the license plate that had been ripped off, even though the incident pretty much wasn’t funny (if you were in the EV crew).  I took a few of my other dorky pictures, such as the Pearl Street sign.  (If you knew me in college, you’d understand, let alone the significance of Eddie being in Pearl Jam).

I bought my second poster, and another t-shirt, and we settled in for Liam Finn.  I do love listening to him, and especially watching him onstage.  As my friend (and the guy in front of us) pointed out, he looks like Animal from the Muppets when he plays the drums.  I just don’t know that I would listen to him on CD, because it just wouldn’t be the same. 

The second night’s seats were Orchestra Level again, this time on the far left on the outer aisle.  We were in row F, which I believe actually put us about 10 rows back?  The advantage was, again being on the aisle, allowed for easy access to rushing up for the last song, “Hard Sun”.

The show was good (of course!!), but I didn’t feel as connected as I did the previous evening.  Lots of good music and covers, but please don’t ask me what he sang!  (Visit the tenclub website for a complete listing!)

After the show, we returned to our spot from the previous night, preparing to again wait a long time.  This time we wore sneakers and jackets and long pants, in preparation for waiting in cold rain.  It didn’t rain, but the time time flew, as we conversed with several other fans. Most notable was the man we dubbed “Random Hot Pearl Jam Guy”, as we never did find out his name, but enjoyed listening to all of his stories.  I love other Pearl Jam fans!

And then the moment we were waiting for.  Ed’s security guy came over and said that there would be no signing and no pictures with him, as there were just too many of us, just some handshakes, and we were more than welcome to take photos of him as he came around.

The crowd of 30 swelled forward, clamoring for pictures and a chance to shake his hand.  I was shaking, because I feared that I wouldn’t have a chance to do it again, as there were so many of us, and I couldn’t push my way up front.  I took photos with my phone (see above), and then he was close by.

I made eye contact and extended my hand.  He took ahold of it, starting to say his “Nice to meet you” line.  I said what I have always wanted to say:  “Thank you for the last eighteen years of my life.”  He paused, squeezed my hand, and said, “Wow……really?”  I said, “Yes, you have been a part of my life for the last eighteen years, and kept me going.  Thank you.”  He thanked me, finally let go of my hand, started to move on, but then stopped again, turned around, looked right at me, and said, “Stay alive.”

I turned to my friend with tears welled up in my eyes, absolutely thrilled that I had finally said what I have always wanted to say to that man.  And I started shaking again.

After he made his way through the crowd, he started heading to the other side to greet everyone by his bus.  But before he left, he again stopped, turned around, looked at us and said, “Sorry for all the f*ck-ups tonight, guys.”  I was one of the people with whom he made eye contact at that point, and I simply said, “It’s all good.  Don’t worry about it.”  We smiled, and he went away.

So, then we ran with RHPJF guy around the buses, just to go watch and listen to the other side.  I was a little jealous because people over there were actually able to reach out for hugs, but at the same time, the emotional exchange that I had meant more than the physical contact.  When all was said and done, RHPJF guy looked at me and said, “I feel like we have experience something profound together,” and gave us each a big hug.  He has literally been to double the number of Eddie and Pearl Jam shows that I have, but has never had the opportunity to meet him before.  Apparently he waited outside after a solo show until 5 am, and Eddie never came out.  So, I feel even more fortunate that I got to do it…..TWICE.

Ok, so this has absolutely nothing to do with Montessori, but it is the happiest thing that has happened to me in a long time!

My friend and I drove out to Albany yesterday to kick off Eddie Vedder’s solo tour at the Palace Theatre. I have been a huge fan of Pearl Jam for 18 years and always try to go as many shows as I can. Somehow, this trip seemed like it was going to be magical before it even started.

I’ve been having recurring dreams over the last several weeks about meeting Eddie. And then I panic, wondering what on earth I would say to the man who has helped form me and whose words and music help me get through whatever life decides to throw at me. My wise “big sister” told me to simply say “Thank you”. I won’t repeat what my father suggested……especially as I feared it would actually come out of my mouth……
We had the tickets for the second night of the tour, because my friend had gotten them the day they went on sale. She said that the first show was sold out, but I told her to not fear, because I would be able to locate some.

One night I had a very vivid dream that I had gotten two tickets to the Monday night show and then we had met Eddie afterwards. It was on a day off of school, so later that morning I decided to try my luck. I got two tickets on the aisle of Row K, right center orchestra.

We drove out yesterday, checked into our hotel, then found our way to the Palace Theatre in Albany. The show was amazing, even better than the two opening nights in Boston that I was at last year. I took the seat right on the aisle, and had absolutely “Hard Sun”, we all rushed up toward the stage. I think I ended up about 8-10 people back? I have never been quite that close before! But of course my stupid new camera wasn’t working properly and I couldn’t get any clear photos.

After the show, we hung out toward the stage, waiting for Eddie to appear. But the Nazi security guards kicked us out. We went out the side door near where I saw the buses. We stood right at the gate, closer to the “extra tour bus”. Apparently Eddie’s was the one in the back.

Surrounded by drunk, obnoxious loudmouths, and getting wet in the drizzling rain was highly annoying, but I figured it could make for an interesting story at some point. Then all of the guards took off running, because some schmuck decided to steal the license plate off of Eddie’s tour bus. He must have taken something else, as well, because they were searching a nearby grassy area with flashlights. A bunch of cop cars showed up and they had some frat boy in custody. Slowly, but surely, other fans were drifting away, until our number dropped to about thirty on either end of the bus lineup.

We were all joking around that this was actually some kind of clever diversion to help Eddie sneak out from the front entrance. Then suddenly, the one guy comes out, walks up to us quietly, and says, “He is going to come out. No photos, no signing, just hellos and maybe handshakes.”

And then there he was.

A strange quiet settled over the group of us as our musical god approached us. He we,nt from one person to the next, looking them straight in the eye as he grasped their hands, responding with a “Nice to meet you” or “Thank you” as the situation required.

Somehow I managed to stay calm, as I gazed into those gorgeous eyes and told my hero “Thank you,” then had him thank me in return. I can still feel his grasp on my hand, even though it has been 14 hours. I stayed calm as he walked away to greet the fans on the other side. Then as we turned around, the tears came, and perhaps a little hyperventilating?

Somehow we made it, starstruck, back to the car, laughing in complete disbelief. We somehow managed to make it back to the hotel room, and I was totally unable to sleep. Every time I would doze off, I would return to that moment and wake back up.

And so today, we have been sharing our good fortune with everyone. We keep talking about how exciting it was to meet him, how appalling it is that he is actually my height (when he seems so much larger than life), and are bored out of our minds as we anxiously anticipate tonight’s show.

But I don’t care, because I MET EDDIE VEDDER!!!!!