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I’ve wanted to see Pearl Jam live for a long time. I have a few of their bootlegs and always thought they put on a great show. So last week I played one of their CDs and it reminded me that I wanted to see them. I checked their tour dates and was blown away to discover that they’d be in Switzerland in just a week. Even more surprising that tickets were still available! I bought a pair and the other day I saw them live in Bern.

The show was nothing less than incredible. My only criticisms are the poor acoustics of the Bern arena and the stiff atmosphere of the crowd. People loosened up near the end, but for a good part of the show people stood around and looked bored: The pot and beer may have helped. Pearl Jam offers bootlegs from their website and I’ll be downloading the Bern concert once it becomes available. I couldn’t think of a better souvenir of this great night.

Friday night I saw Tracy Chapman at the Zurich Hallenstadion. I’m not a huge fan but have enjoyed her music more over the past few years. Chapman put on a great show but I was less impressed with the stadium, crew, and band. Hallenstadion is huge and no place for the music that Chapman plays. It was too loud to the point where bass notes were felt and not heard. I pulled out the earplugs for some of the solo and softer songs which made up for the those ruined by the volume. By the end of the show the entire stadium was dancing and a large group overwhelmed security and rushed the stage. What did they expect?

It was a long time goal to see a Chapman concert, but unfortuately this wasn’t the show I wanted to see. Next time I hope it will be a solo and acoustic performance that doesn’t require earplugs.

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The anticipated St. Gallen Open Air finally came! On Friday were the Foo Fighters followed by REM on Saturday and Cake on Sunday. Cake is one of my favourite bands and it was great seeing them in concert again. Traditionally I have always discovered a new band at the Open Air and this year it was the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. I already ordered one of their CDs from Amazon.

I posted a few photos online.