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You'd never know by listening to Pearl Jam records that lead guitar player Mike McCready might have been in excruciating pain or at risk of losing his bowels at any moment in the studio. Seeing the band live at a large venue like KeyArena probably wouldn't clue you in, either. McCready doesn't play as if he suffers from an inflammatory bowel disease. He's all over the place—running, jumping, and flailing with his guitar.
Seeing the man wield the instrument at the much more intimate Showbox—a pretty rare treat—might make you wonder. Because McCready, when he's scorching a riff, looks like he's hurting. Bad. His facial expressions melt and rearrange with every fluctuating note.
The truth is, Mike McCready has suffered from Crohn's disease—an affliction that does cause incredible pain and does result in colon blowouts—for over two decades. But those pained looks are—we're pretty sure—just transferred manifestations of the mind-blowing work his fingers are doing.
Of course, anyone who's seen McCready's other band, Flight to Mars, knows of his disease and knows that he's raised a lot of dough over the years to help support the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. Last Saturday's annual FTM event at the Showbox—augmented by multiple openers, raffle drawings, and superb, eardrum-busting UFO covers—brought in another big chunk of cash. (Halfway through the night, $17,000 had already been collected by the Wishlist Foundation, the show's charity host.)
It was also another treat for fans of local music—and not just of hard rock. Country-twanged Kristen Ward started the night with a collection of songs enhanced with pedal steel and harmonica.
The Jimi Hendrix set from a reunited Shadow—McCready, Chris Friel on drums and brother Rick on bass—was even better than anticipated. With Mike handling vocals(!), they ripped through "Killing Floor," "Voodoo Chile," "Little Wing," and "All Along the Watchtower." (Sucky video doesn't do them justice.) Then Duff McKagen appeared, fronting the band (and singing) for The Ramones' "Chinese Rock" and The Stooges' "I Wanna be Your Dog."
Feral Children came next, playing a bunch of strange, spacey, overly-long tunes punctuated by countless ahs, ohs, and wacky wails from the two singers. They even had three dudes playing drums at one point, though the odd sight didn't add any audible spice. The set went on. And on. The band's odd, earnest, almost-charm grew tiresome.
When Flight to Mars took the stage, it was like wildfire consuming a long-wasted forest. The hour-long set was packed with incredible jams, dueling solos between McCready and Tim DiJulio (of North Twin, who should be just as famous), and plenty of hair-swinging, finger-pointing faux-swagger by frontman Paul Passereli. Every song was a crowd favorite, but nothing matches their annual "Rock Bottom" romp, which ended this year's first set. The encore, just as energetic, featured a fresh cover of Zeppelin's "Thank You" and AC/DC's silly/awesome "Let There Be Rock." Passereli's Robert Plant was passable, but his Bon Scott was fantastic.
If Mike McCready has his way, Flight to Mars will put on this yearly show until the guitarist can't roam the stage comfortably. Not because Crohn's will have subdued him, but because he'll have grown too old and creaky. Given his charitable efforts—and those of Wishlist and the CCFA—that future seems all but certain.
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Awesome night! The Shadow Hendrix set was sick, sick, sick! I can't believe Mikey handled the vocal duties. I had a big, shit-eating grin the whole night.