I finally got a chance to watch the final Vote for Change concert that Sundance Channel televised live last Monday night. 5 1/2 hours of Bruce Springsteen, Jurassic 5, DMB, R.E.M, James Taylor, and more (DVR's power to let me fast-forward through most of the crap was a godsend). However, watching Pearl Jam's set really made me question whether it's the smartest move to push these people to the polls. Eddie Vedder made a speech about how everyone is saying America will start anew on November 3rd, but with all the talk about November 3rd, he wanted to make sure that people don't think they should go out to vote on November 3rd. So he asked the audience what day they should vote and held 2 fingers in the air (a delightful double-entendre to vote on the 2nd and vote for peace). Then the producers cut to a camera shooting the show from the upper levels of the arena, where some clueless schmuck sitting directly below the camera held up 3 fingers directly into the lens, completely oblivious to what Eddie had been saying.
And these are the people who should be persuaded to vote?