 |
Jeff Ament sat there. Quietly.
Meanwhile, I was all flustered and aggravated, as I had missed the actual
interview just held moments ago live on 102.1 The Edge. But the moment
Eva and I walked into their street level studios, a calm came over me.
There weren't many people there (I had expected people to be banging on
the windows trying to get in). It was early afternoon and I was about
to meet someone I have admired for quite a while. This was a big
deal for a 15 year old, since I assumed this was the closest I would ever
come to Pearl Jam. There's no point in me describing our conversation.
He was kind, polite and approachable. Almost too nice. As I
reached into my bag to get out a vinyl for him to sign, I soon realized
how much I was shaking!!!
|
| After an experience
that was almost a blur to me, I headed for lunch at the Eaton Centre with
Eva. We were both super excited. We sat there and giggled about
everything, and I lay my vinyl out so that 1) it could, ahem, dry and not
smudge, and 2) to stare at it. At that point the events of the past
45 minutes had not struck me, and even to this day I don't think I've come
to realize I actually met Jeff.
We knew that the Fish were making an appearance and playing at MuchMusic, on Queen. We decided to go and check it out, maybe with some luck, we'd get in to see the performance and interview. No such luck. 13 of us stood outside glaring into the glass windows as Three Fish did their thing. The reason why we weren't allowed in (according to VJ Rick the Temp): Not enough security. AND THERE WERE ONLY 13 OF US! The band, before entering the building, were nice enough to say hi to us. |
 |
| By then it was late afternoon in downtown Toronto, the city was somewhat dead, especially since it was a hot, humid Sunday. Eva and I had just stepped off the subway and were walking north on Yonge Street, the longest street on this planet! Anyway, we were heading to the venue, called the Concert Hall, however we honestly had no clue where it was. Frankly, we were very carefree at that time. We walked and walked, until we came upon the Masonic Temple (the old name from the Concert Hall). It's a very old building, decades old. It was honestly the ideal place for Three Fish to play a gig. |
| We lined up against the wall with about 20
or so other people. Most we recognized from either the radio station or
MuchMusic, and we met a lot of other people. It was great. Obviously most
were big Pearl Jam fans, so everyone was
exchanging stories, and one guy had this huge stickman tattoo on his calf!
Rockin'! It was so cool... Anyway, doors opened around 7 and we were let
in. I had assumed that we were going to be lead in to the main room, but
we, instead, were lead up 4 flights of stairs by this bouncer. I was wondering
what was going on. The stairs were ancient but
beautiful at the same time. Soon, we all found ourselves at the top of
the Masonic Temple in a small, cozy room that
could and would not hold more than 200 people. Wow, this is intimate. We
are in for a huge treat. The stage was
on the ground, practically. There were no barricades. No crazy huge bouncers
either. The stage was covered with some
sort of Asian rug, there were many exotic instruments on racks (djembe,
etc...)... And there were candles all
over - one particular that was incredible, a small glass fish...
We all sat. This was not going to be your mosh-type concert. The place slowly filled, and by the time showtime came around, there were 150 diehard fans there. Perfect. A solo guitarist opened the show, he was cool, but Gus was not who we were there for. Finally the Three Fish were onstage and began. I could not believe my luck. I was right on the side of the stage where Jeff was. So for the next hour or so I was mesmerized by his playing and by the enchanting music of Three Fish. It's one thing to listen to their CD, but it's another to see them live, with candles flickering, smoke filling the room creating the most amazing atmosphere. No one really knew what to expect from Three Fish live, but everyone left the show with smiles on their faces and a new outlook on live shows. Not only was this one intimate and amazing, there was something also spiritual about it. * Unfortunately a setlist is not available at the moment, though most of the songs from their album and a Van Halen cover were played definitely In cases like this, I was really happy that the show was under-sold by a couple 100 tickets :) A show like this definitely did not make the promoters any money, but it sure did make a bunch of lucky fans hungry for some more Fish. |
The
Fish Tank -- A Three Fish Page (Definitely the
best Three Fish page out there - many thanks to Kerryn!!!)
Synergy's
Pearl Jam Side Gallery (Featuring some pictures by yours
truly)
Andrew's
Three Fish Page