Set List: Release, Go, Last Exit, Spin The Black Circle, Tremor Christ, Corduroy, Whipping, I Got Id, Dissident, Even Flow, Deep, Jeremy, Glorified G, Daughter, Animal, Habit, Lukin, Not For You, Small Town, Immortality, Alive, Porch; 1st Encore: Everyday People, Let My Love Open The Door, Better Man, Rearviewmirror, Black, Blood; 2nd Encore: Yellow Ledbetter

Eric Swibel (eswibel@hotmail.com)
There were two opening bands for PJ at the Soldier Field show. First was Chicago-native blues legend Otis Rush and company....they were pretty good, but didn't get the juices flowing quite the same way Bad Religion did as the second opening band. Bad Religion are a great band, and they were very entertaining live......but on to PJ......

The band came out and just as the beginning notes of Release could be heard, I knew I was in for the show of my life. Release was literally amazing with Eddie's voice just warming up for the night ahead of us. The band's intensity on Go, Last Exit, and Spin the Black Circle was simply impressive. Tremor Christ was perfect following the energy of the past three. Corduroy and Whipping were also great, as Eddie really gave it his all. Then came I Got Id, which I had heard on a few bootlegs before the concert and had hoped to hear. It was such a good surprise!

Then Dissident was the first real showcase of the night of Mike's true talent. One of the best versions of Even Flow I have ever heard came next, followed by more great Mike on Deep. Jeremy had the crowd singing literally every single word, and Glorified G featured Jeff on a standup bass. Jeff kept that bass for an amazing rendition of Daughter with Eddie improvising the end lyrics from about 5 different songs.......Animal, Habit, and Lukin all came next and rocked the house down. Seriously, they were unreal.

Then Eddie talked about a Q101 (the local "alternative" radio station) cillboard that read "Q101: This is not for you." He finished his little (and very amusing) speech by saying that the trick was on the radio station, that it was in fact, not for them.......not surprisingly, Not For You followed and they jammed at the end of it for such a long time...another treat! The crowd then started chanting "Ticketmaster Sucks!" which led Eddie to start talking on the subject.....then came Elderly Woman.....it was so pretty. That's the word that always comes to mind when I hear that song. Then Immortality spawned a great solo from Mike and some jamming from everyone. Alive followed and was definitely one of the show's highlights for a few reasons. First of all, it was an amazing version that really showed Eddie's emotions on the song's subject. Also, although the band didn't know it, there was a fireworks show going on at Navy Pier, which is just north of Soldier Field. The fireworks began during the second chorus and as Eddie was singing "I'm still alive," there were fireworks above his head. It was absolutely unreal! Porch came next which lasted about 15 minutes! It was unbelieveable! What a great live song! Then the band left the stage, with all 60,000 fans knowing full-well that there was more to come.

The first encore began with two covers. The first, Everyday People by Sly and the Family Stone, was so cool, especially since (to my knowledge) it was, and still is the only time they played it live. Then came Let My Love Open The Door which was really good too. You could really tell that the band was having a good time. Then, Better Man had the crowd singing in unison once again, as PJ shined. Rearviewmirror was awesome and included a cool jam. The second highlight of the show for me was Black. It is (I have a tape of the show) the best rendition of the song that I have ever heard. It really was amazing. I couldn't believe that I was being treated to such amazing music! Blood came next, and the band let out more energy on it than I ever knew existed. Eddie made his way into the crowd for a little, but was quickly helped up by security.....the band finished and exited again, leaving the crowd hoping desperately that there would be more. There was. And what followed was the third highlight of the show: a Yellow Ledbetter that featured Mike playing AMAZING!

It was simply unbelieveable.