keep on rocking in the free world.

i have never felt more "30" than last night at pearl jam.

i've also never felt more "now" and hip.

band of horses, one of my favorite bands, opened the show. this is the reason i agreed to pay $70 a ticket.

they were great.

people all around us were saying things like, "what's this band's name again? who are these people?" until they played their last song, the ever-popular 'funeral.' that's when the previously non-fans began belting the words. loudly. ruining the song for me. a true fan.

but then, there was pearl jam. and a now-more-tame eddie vedder. he didn't climb onto structures. he didn't look dirty. he played 29 songs, which included two encores. he rocked hard. and the crowd rocked harder.

no one there was under 30. well, a few people were. but they didn't know all the words to 'elderly woman behind the counter in a small town.' they only knew how to fist-pump when volume got louder.

pearl jam's 'ten' was the first cd i purchased on my own. i poured over the lyrics. memorizing them. analyzing their meaning. i censored the f-word in 'jeremy' every time my mother was in the room by turning the volume down really quickly.

about halfway through the show, i told brad i felt like seeing pearl jam was kind of like seeing journey. but then he said that wasn't true. because eddie vedder still looks alive. and they're still making new music.

that's when eddie vedder reminded us they'd been touring for 20 years.

20.

and suddenly i looked around. at all of the 30 and 40-somethings re-living high school. grade school. grunge.

and boy, did i feel old.