So Much to Say
It's Wednesday, September 7th and I'm three days removed from the Pearl Jam weekend. I think post-PJ depression is starting to set in finally. I would gladly take that over the post-Rochelle depression I've been experiencing since watching her walk into security yesterday at Port Columbus.
The weekend itself was quite the experience that it had been billed as. We left in my little Mazda 3 at six in the morning, hell bent for Wisconsin. I hadn't anticipated driving Snowball on this trip, but she was somehow up for the task. Drama ensued as we had to hunt down a mechanic in a small know-nothing town in Indiana to fix random noises that were coming from the engine block. It turned out to be a loose piece of plastic and was fixed quickly with a plastic tie and a few holes drilled into the chassis. Still, it was a very stressful morning for the both of us. The thought of being stranded in Indiana was not a pleasant one, despite the nice things that John Mellencamp says about the little pink houses.
After spending several hours in horribly slow traffic, we managed to crawl through Chicago and ended up checking into our hotel in New Berlin in the afternoon. Rochelle and I spent some alone time together and then sauntered off to pick up our tickets and continue to the pre-party in Lake Geneva to spend a few hours helping out and meeting fellow Jammers.
Saturday, we spent some much needed rest time doing absolutely nothing. We were fascinated by the automatic pancake machine at the hotel's breakfast bar. They also had the most amazing Cinnamon rolls. Ro and I spent some time in the jacuzzi, had a great jammer get together and BBQ at a friends rental house, and then got ready to see the show. The weather conditions were awful. It rained during most of the sets, although it dried out a little bit during PJ's set. We were up above the 10 Club lawn in the fan club tent. It was nice and relaxing, since we weren't going to have a good view of the stage anyway. The band played a great set, culminating in the much anticipated Temple of the Dog reunion. Cornell sounded amazing. I was truly impressed, but at the end of the night, too tired to fully appreciate it.
We skipped town during the closer and made it out of the venue way before most of our friends. There's something about a clean, freshly made bed.... so inviting.
Day two started a bit earlier. We made it back to the venue to see some of the side acts play and take some pictures. There was an excellent PJ museum with tons of memorabilia from the band's 20 year career. It was quite worth the two plus hour line. Later we found our seats in the pavilion. They weren't front row center but still we had an excellent view of the stage on Mike's side.
The band opened with Wash. I've never liked Wash too much as an opener myself. If I were to pick something slow to open with, I would chose Release or perhaps Sometimes. But I suppose we all have our preferences, right? The band rolled through a slew of hits before playing some more obscure numbers like Pilate and Leatherman. They brought back the "It's Okay" tag from Jones Beach 2000. I've always loved that tag... it's so encouraging and hopeful. I also was very happy to hear Unthought Known for the first time. I've loved that song since the moment I heard it. It is truly my favorite PJ song.
For me though, the highlight of the evening was after the set break, when Ed sauntered out and downed a bottle of wine. He stated how amazing it was to see fans from all over the world that had come to see them. He seemed very humbled and honored.
"It doesn't make us feel older at all. It almost gives us a sense of being reborn. It's something else. It feels like a new beginning."
Ed went on to play what was truly the highlight of the weekend for me, an improved song about how beautiful our lives can be if we stick around to experience it.
I love this song. I love the lyrics. I love the emotions of it. I kept thinking of Rochelle while he played it. I thought about the difficulties we had went through in our lives and the struggles we had both experienced individually that, for me anyway, sometimes seemed insurmountable. I was overwhelmed with the sense humility and thankfulness. I felt that while life can sometimes drag you over the coals, it's somehow truly worth it to get to "the good stuff". I was so happy to know that WE had made it, we made it to when it all got good.
I'll just say the rest of the show was fantastic and the night was truly epic in every sense of the word. Hopefully they will be throwing this shindig again next year and we'll have to make another road trip out of it.
After a long drive home, we spent our final evening together. It was wonderful, but sad all the same. When she leaves, I feel as though my arm was missing. I can still feel it, but I see it's not there. She has brought back into my life a sense of happiness and wonder that I haven't experienced in a long time. It's an amazing feeling to be able to give someone 100% of yourself and get that back in spades. Simply amazing. I can't hardly wait to see her again.
The weekend itself was quite the experience that it had been billed as. We left in my little Mazda 3 at six in the morning, hell bent for Wisconsin. I hadn't anticipated driving Snowball on this trip, but she was somehow up for the task. Drama ensued as we had to hunt down a mechanic in a small know-nothing town in Indiana to fix random noises that were coming from the engine block. It turned out to be a loose piece of plastic and was fixed quickly with a plastic tie and a few holes drilled into the chassis. Still, it was a very stressful morning for the both of us. The thought of being stranded in Indiana was not a pleasant one, despite the nice things that John Mellencamp says about the little pink houses.
After spending several hours in horribly slow traffic, we managed to crawl through Chicago and ended up checking into our hotel in New Berlin in the afternoon. Rochelle and I spent some alone time together and then sauntered off to pick up our tickets and continue to the pre-party in Lake Geneva to spend a few hours helping out and meeting fellow Jammers.
Saturday, we spent some much needed rest time doing absolutely nothing. We were fascinated by the automatic pancake machine at the hotel's breakfast bar. They also had the most amazing Cinnamon rolls. Ro and I spent some time in the jacuzzi, had a great jammer get together and BBQ at a friends rental house, and then got ready to see the show. The weather conditions were awful. It rained during most of the sets, although it dried out a little bit during PJ's set. We were up above the 10 Club lawn in the fan club tent. It was nice and relaxing, since we weren't going to have a good view of the stage anyway. The band played a great set, culminating in the much anticipated Temple of the Dog reunion. Cornell sounded amazing. I was truly impressed, but at the end of the night, too tired to fully appreciate it.
We skipped town during the closer and made it out of the venue way before most of our friends. There's something about a clean, freshly made bed.... so inviting.
Day two started a bit earlier. We made it back to the venue to see some of the side acts play and take some pictures. There was an excellent PJ museum with tons of memorabilia from the band's 20 year career. It was quite worth the two plus hour line. Later we found our seats in the pavilion. They weren't front row center but still we had an excellent view of the stage on Mike's side.
The band opened with Wash. I've never liked Wash too much as an opener myself. If I were to pick something slow to open with, I would chose Release or perhaps Sometimes. But I suppose we all have our preferences, right? The band rolled through a slew of hits before playing some more obscure numbers like Pilate and Leatherman. They brought back the "It's Okay" tag from Jones Beach 2000. I've always loved that tag... it's so encouraging and hopeful. I also was very happy to hear Unthought Known for the first time. I've loved that song since the moment I heard it. It is truly my favorite PJ song.
For me though, the highlight of the evening was after the set break, when Ed sauntered out and downed a bottle of wine. He stated how amazing it was to see fans from all over the world that had come to see them. He seemed very humbled and honored.
"It doesn't make us feel older at all. It almost gives us a sense of being reborn. It's something else. It feels like a new beginning."
Ed went on to play what was truly the highlight of the weekend for me, an improved song about how beautiful our lives can be if we stick around to experience it.
I love this song. I love the lyrics. I love the emotions of it. I kept thinking of Rochelle while he played it. I thought about the difficulties we had went through in our lives and the struggles we had both experienced individually that, for me anyway, sometimes seemed insurmountable. I was overwhelmed with the sense humility and thankfulness. I felt that while life can sometimes drag you over the coals, it's somehow truly worth it to get to "the good stuff". I was so happy to know that WE had made it, we made it to when it all got good.
I'll just say the rest of the show was fantastic and the night was truly epic in every sense of the word. Hopefully they will be throwing this shindig again next year and we'll have to make another road trip out of it.
After a long drive home, we spent our final evening together. It was wonderful, but sad all the same. When she leaves, I feel as though my arm was missing. I can still feel it, but I see it's not there. She has brought back into my life a sense of happiness and wonder that I haven't experienced in a long time. It's an amazing feeling to be able to give someone 100% of yourself and get that back in spades. Simply amazing. I can't hardly wait to see her again.
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