We took a little trip down to Baltimore this week, with our original goal being the procurement of an Adam Jones bobblehead from the O’s/Mets game. Naturally, Eddie Vedder decided it would be a good week to schedule some solo shows at the Lyric Opera House, too. Add in some bowling, a trip to the National Aquarium, and a drive up to York to visit Kree, and you’ve got one of those fun vacations that leave you completely drained.
Eddie Vedder kills the Lyric
While Mundis and I failed to land tickets to both Sunday and Monday’s shows, we did get to go to the second night…and it was awesome. Mundis initially thought that Monday’s show was better than both of the Chicago shows, and he very well could be right. The crowd was much better than the Chicago crowds, which could be a big part of our reasoning. While there were still the constant requests for songs, it was nowhere near as obnoxious as the drunken morons that ruined the crowds at the Auditorium shows in Chicago. Even the large guy who smelled like cheese sitting next to me couldn’t ruin such a good show.
As usual, Vedder was on. The Lyric, as a venue, simply made his voice sound that much better, too. He refrained from playing a lot of the songs that I hate hearing, and played a few that we didn’t hear when we were in Chicago last year. It was essentially the same exact concept as in Chicago, but with a varied playlist – same opening act, same backdrops, same stage set, etc., so there really isn’t much to add to our experience. Liam Finn was entertaining, and we even got to briefly meet him after his set. Nice guy…too bad Vedder going on cut our time together short.
If you haven’t seen Vedder solo, get a ticket…that is, if he ever tours solo again. I’m willing to say that I’ve enjoyed his solo shows more than nearly every Pearl Jam show that I’ve seen. Maybe it’s the jaded Pearl Jam fan in me…maybe it’s the intimate setting…who knows. He’s just so much clearer, and much more musically powerful, when he’s not fighting the noise around him. His personality opens up a bit more, and he’s a lot more entertaining than you would think if you had only seen him front Pearl Jam. It’s really all about the emotion shining through, though. Despite all of the drinking and smoking, he can still use his voice to carry a room like very few people.
National Aquarium
Fortunately, we had a day to waste in Baltimore between the Vedder show and the O’s game, so I used the random Tuesday to finally get back to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I hadn’t been there since I was in high school, and I could never work out a way to get back…until now.
It was more or less exactly the way I remembered it, though, so it was fun…juuuuuuust not nearly as much fun as it was when I was a kid. I was also a little bummed that some of the sharks weren’t in the tanks…no hammerheads or threshers – the sharks were always my favorite. Fortunately the jellyfish exhibit, which happened to be the last thing we saw, was awesome! I can say that jellyfish officially freak me the hell out, but they’re wild to see in a closed environment. The price of admission seems a bit high, but it was still worth it, even if just for the nostalgia.
A night at Camden Yards
The original purpose of the trip was to take a trip to Camden Yards to see the Orioles, and more importantly, pick up the Adam Jones bobblehead (which is frickin’ awesome, btw). It was awesome to be at an Orioles game again. Fortunately, we had seats covered by the upper deck, so watching the O’s beat the Mets in the rain with Mundis, my Dad, and Megan went smoothly. We also got to see Matt Wieters’ first career home run! I’m 2-0 when attending O’s games the last two years…maybe I should go more often.
