Pearl Jam, Idlewild - Wembley Arena, London - Monday 18th June 2007

Since about 1993, I had really wanted to see Pearl Jam play live - they were one of my favourite bands back then, and despite paying very little attention to their output over the last 10 years, I jumped straight in when they announced this single UK date earlier in the year. They headlined the Reading Festival last year and sounded fantastic on TV, so I had high hopes for this show. Shame that it was at Wembley Arena though, I had kind of had enough of the North London industrial estate after Saturday's Muse gig. Wembley Arena is a horrible, soulless venue that I hadn't visited for almost five years, such is my hatred for it - but given that Pearl Jam's last proper gig in the UK was 7 years ago, you kind of have to be flexible when they come to town.

Support came from Idlewild, who played an excellent half-hour set to an utterly disinterested audience. The venue was half empty, and very, very few of the people that were there, seemed to know anything about the band that was playing in front of them. A real shame, because I thought Idlewild actually played one of the best sets I've seen from them for a while. There were some songs from their new album Make Another World, but a good sprinkling of good older songs, and they definitely seemed to be operating at the "rock", rather than the "REM" end of the spectrum that they tend to work along. It was just a shame that the Pearl Jam hardcore were not the slightest bit interested, maybe their long hair was stuck in their ears.

Pearl Jam played a 2-hour set, including 2 encores, that was technically very good - the guitars, and Eddie Vedder's voice were generally excellent. Having said that, I was a bit disappointed with the songs they played - very little early stuff, and a set drawn almost entirely from newer songs that I have not been paying attention for. I have no shame in admitting that I was there to hear (at least some) songs from Ten and Vs, their first 2 albums, so was a bit disappointed that there were next to none on offer. Especially when our European friends got this set a few days beforehand, and London got this one. And especially since they play in the UK so rarely.

During the set, there were some excellent rock cliches on display, which almost made up for the lack of classic old songs. There was a double-necked guitar; a guitar being played behind the back of the head; 2 guitarists adopting a "face-off" position; a wide-legged pose when playing guitar (like Slayer or Metallica might adopt); and of course, the crowd cheering whenever Eddie Vedder said a rude word. All very rock and roll, and more than a bit sad. You thankfully don't get too much of that nonsense if you listen to indie music.

Overall, seeing Pearl Jam was something that I had wanted to do for a long time, like seeing the Rolling Stones or The Who. I have now seen all three of those bands, and ticked the boxes, but am unlikely to be rushing back next time. They were good, but having finally seen them once, I have no desperate need to ever do so again.