Saw one of my favorites last night here in a town I love. Eddie Vedder had not before been to El Paso. "Let me take this opportunity to say something I've never said before. Hello, El Paso," Vedder said at the top of the show. "I'm having one of those moments. It's one of those 'what the fuck were we thinking' moments. It's beautiful here." El Paso is a great city. A beautiful soulful city, deep and rich in history and spirit. A border town, a place from which to see with eyes both old and new. The venue itself is walking distance from this man-made border. In this setting Ed Ved gave the many faithful something special. He gave something like a two and a half hour gift of song. A set rich in treasures, up and down the catalog. Heady, earthy, weird. We were in the wake of Tuesday's hopeful election results and the good buzz was real. Energy was palpable. The many fine people there open, delighted, earnest. I was in the balcony, not nearly as concerned as I used to be that people see me cry. My cheeks riverbeds. It is a life, you know. It is something I can never fully grasp. I am humbled before it. It rings in my chest. It compels me. How can it not? Thank you, Eddie. The songs make me feel better and always have. More than better - they make feel stronger.

I should say I saw a couple of my favorites last night because Glen Hansard was there. Oh my. The set he delivered was a tour de force. Blew me away. (Glen's great bands include The Frames and Swell Season. And he is a lead in the film Once - one of my favorite films. If you have not seen it, I urge you to check it out. An ode to song. It is one of a few films I have seen in a theater and then felt compelled to return to a following day and experience theatrically again.)

Eddie and Glen playing together, as they did off and on all evening, was a head-lifting musical kinship. A lively duo. Two old hands at ease and purpose with one another. Fun and funny. Moving. Strong and bright on the chest.

Thank you, friends.

Eddie Vedder
The Plaza Theatre
El Paso, Texas
November 7, 2012

Setlist
"Waving Palms"
"Can't Keep"
"Sleeping by Myself"
"Without You"
"Broken Heart"
"More Than You Know" (1929, from "Great Day" and "Funny Lady")
"Wishlist"
"Elderly Woman Sitting Behind a Counter in a Small Town"
"I Believe in Miracles" (Ramones)
"Far Behind"
"Setting Forth"
"Guaranteed"
"Just Breathe"
"Rise"
"Long Nights" (with Glen Hansard on bass)
"The Needle and the Damage Done" (Neil Young)
"Off He Goes"
"Les Paul Uke"
"Unthought Known"
"Porch"
(encore)
"I Am a Patriot" (Steve Van Zandt)
"Immortality"
"Tonight You Belong to Me" (1929, covered by Frankie Laine and used in "The Jerk," with Melissa Ibarra on b. vox)
"Society" (with Hansard on b. vox)
"Sleepless Nights" (Everly Brothers, with Hansard, b. vox)
"Falling Slowly" (from "Once," with Hansard, lead vocals)
"Open All Night" (Bruce Springsteen)
"The End"
"Arc"
(second encore)
"Hard Sun" (with Hansard)

Thanks, Doug.