Pearl Jam - Rock Werchter Festival, Belgium

"You all know Josh Homme? Big tall blonde guy, singing with Queens? If he ever offers you a pill, don't take it. Or, trust me, just take half." Words of wisdom by Eddie Vedder at the end of the Pearl Jam set at Rock Werchter in Belgium summed up the progression, or digression of the evening depending on how you look at it.

I indeed slept in front of the gates to the festival, wound up in the front row, which by the time all the campers at the 4-day event stumbled out of their soggy tents, was 70,000 people strong. The lineup for the day included Kings of Leon (with appearance by Vedder, see video below), Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, Queens of the Stone Age and Pearl Jam. If it wasn’t for so many good bands one after another, I’m not sure how else I could have survived being trapped by the crowd without food or water for 14 hours. But I did it, even with one friend sleeping on the barricade next to me half the day.

With each following band, a heightened energy grew and Queens of the Stone Age delivered the drop kick to the face everyone was begging for. The addition of bass player Michael Shuman to the mix has filled the void they’ve been missing since Nick Oliveri exited. This guy is straight bad-ass, complete with demonic backup screams and windmill head bangs. The Viking-man himself, Josh Homme, led the crowd through a twisted set capped off by ass-kickers like “Mexicola,” “Feel Good Hit of the Summer,” “Songs for the Dead,” and newbies “Battery Acid” and “Sick, Sick, Sick.” Always an intense performance by the desert ensemble, these guys really brought it, setting the stage for Pearl Jam, who would have to rely on crowd participation to match the energy of Queens.

Pearl Jam took the stage at 11p.m., to a hungry crowd who were biting and clawing to get to the front, literally. The bruises on my ribs and wrists are battle wounds from the entire pit constantly surging on me, with only a steel barricade to brace the impact. I did however have the joy of being stuck directly in front of lead guitarist Mike McCready, who’s always a ham for the crowd. Complete with a behind-the-head guitar solo during “Evenflow,” and a constant confetti of guitar picks for the fans, McCready kept the everyone occupied as Vedder struggled his way through the show, obviously feeling the effects of the day. His wine bottle that usually flows all night was empty the entire set from what I saw. I think that pill he popped had him taken care of for the night.

A rare live performance of “Smile” had bassist Jeff Ament switching instruments with guitarist Stone Gossard for the tune. One of the few slower songs of the evening, along with rarity "Dissident", sing-alongs dominated the set and kept everyone involved. The command and precision demonstrated by the guys was obvious as compared to the earlier bands of the day, but it just wasn’t the same as the small indoor shows we are used to in the states. Ed Ved also unleased a new song of his, “No More,” standing solo on stage in front of 70,000 people, who sang along to the chorus, “No More War.” Hopefully the White House could hear our plea.

At the end of the night we were sent home with a rousing version of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” complete with a guest spot by Homme. A peek at the set list showed six songs left out of rotation, explaining the short performance and validating just how much Vedder enjoyed himself the entire day, and I would expect nothing less.

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Set: Go, Animal, Brain Of J., World Wide Suicide, Once, Dissident, Do The Evolution, God’s Dice, Corduroy, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Why Go, Given To Fly, Even Flow, Life Wasted, Porch

1st Encore: No More, Smile, Better Man/(Save it for Later), Alive

2nd Encore: Baba O'Riley (with guest Josh Homme)

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