Eddie Vedder at United Palace Theater, Night 1

"It's over already?" I stood in disbelief, as Eddie Vedder bid me good night and walked off the stage at the United Palace Theater just after 10:30 pm last night wearing a curious white lab coat. The show was short by no means, but for those 2 hours last night, when Eddie sat on the stage in front of me with his array of instruments chatting off the cuff and singing with an ease and comfort you might expect from a dude playing alone on his back porch, time stood still. Upon the request of the Man of the Hour, we all remained seated, which was a huge relief to me because I had a perfect view just 11 rows back from the stage once all the tall guys were on their butts. My back, however never touched the back of the chair. As soon as we sat down and Eddie began to play, I leaned forward to get a grasp on the situation- Yes, there he was, right THERE, playing sweetly, and here I was, listening with every fiber of my being- from my heart and not just my ears....wow, and then I got lost....for 2 hours, barely moving but for the instinctive and reflexive clapping that followed the end of every single song.

In such an intimate setting I found it easy, almost necessary, to place myself within every single song, and experience it through his voice, from the inside out, and there I remained, undisturbed throughout the duration of the show, experiencing the music in a way unlike ever before. As Eddie covered "Millworker", by James Taylor I noticed tears running down my cheeks. I think it was the line:
I can hear my granddad's stories
Of the storms out on lake eerie

that got me, but whatever it was, I knew it was real, raw emotion. His joking banter in between songs revealed a witty, genuine human being shouting loud and clear, demanding to be heard, behind the rockstar that we've made him. My God, I love this man. For those brief wrinkles in time, when I am in his presence, he elevates me to that higher plane on which he innocently and humbly resides, and for those moments where I feel euphoric and effortlessly at peace, I am and will always be eternally grateful.

And just like that, it was over. I was awakened from my real-life daydream by the roars from the crowd, as he and opening act Liam Finn finished with "Hard Sun" (the Indio cover he recorded for Into the Wild). Thank you for the inspiration, Eddie. From the bottom of my heart.

You can read a review of last night's show HERE on Billboard.com, which mentions celebrity guests in attendance including Paul Rudd and Jud Apatow. Vedder even sang a snippet from Apatow's Walk Hard soundtrack, in which he made a cameo appearance last year.

I can't wait to see more shows!