Set List: Release, Animal, Last Exit, Even Flow, Dissident, Not For You, Rearviewmirror, Small Town, Go, Tremor Christ, Why Go, Jeremy, Deep, Daughter/This Boy/ABITWII, Corduroy, Lukin, Whipping, Immortality, Alive, Black, Blood; 1st Encore: Long Road, Rock 'n' Roll Star (part), Habit, Better Man, Leaving Here, Spin The Black Circle, Porch; 2nd Encore: Indifference

GlorifiedS@aol.com
Seeing all the new fanviews got me inspired, especially since no one had made one yet for 11-6-95. That night will forever live in my heart/soul/mind. It was one of those definitive moments in my life. Pearl Jam had announced way back in May about their upcoming tour and I sat at home and eagerly awaited the time so I could smash the hell out of the redial button in hopes of getting tickets to see my favorite band.

So the time came and I paced back and forth around the phone. I pushed that redial button over and over and over....until... The eighteenth try (yes I counted!) I got through and I heard the phone ringing on the other end. Yes, and only three minutes into it! I shook as I carefully typed in the series of numbers I was asked to. I made out my envelope with a check and index card and mailed it out the next day. The end of my sophmore year of high school was nearing and it couldn't come any faster. Because in June, I was gonna see PJ! But....a series of cancellations stopped that from happening at the scheduled date. My acquaintances at school (not friends) slammed Pearl Jam and said they sucked and that the wouldn't ever play again. But, unlike a lot of those jerk offs, I stuck by the band. I grew fonder and fonder of the music I had on the three albums and tried to do my attempt at playing along with my acoustic guitar.

Then one day in the summer, sometime in August I called up the hotline that I ordered the tickets from and found out that the concert would still happen. I was elated to say the least. Later in the week I got a message on my answering machine giving me more information. November 6th 1995 at the San Diego Sports Arena! I was stoked.

My junior year came and it finally hit the fall. I remember being in school that Monday and just waiting for that damn day to hurry up and end. At 3:30 my friend came by and picked me up and we headed on down the 5 freeway from Yorba Linda down to San Diego. We made it in rush hour traffic in about an hour and a half. We stopped by and got some food and by this time it was already dark for some time. We made our way to the Sports Arena and saw the countless people trying to get in.

This was my first concert ever, so it meant a lot. We walked up to the door and got our tickets taken and proceeded inside. I just remember looking at the sheer size of the people and the scene. My heart pounded as showtime neared. Finally, the time hit and the Ramones hit the stage. They played a fast and frenzied set with a few tunes that I even knew. I Wanna Be Sedated...etc..

The Ramones finished and we sat around for a half an hour. Then the lights went out. I saw five guys behind the stage doing a group high five, going down then up as they made their way to the stage. The crowd suddenly overcame my eardrum level as the noise increased. The intro to Release graced the speakers and my ears and my friend and I screamed. The drums kicked in and Eddie's beautiful voice was clear. The band tore through Animal, Last Exit and Even Flow. I couldn't believe they were in the same building as I was. :-)

I was trying to guess with myself which song would be next and it was Dissident. That rocked to say the least then they got into Not For You, Rearviewmirror and Elderly Woman... I was in heaven trying to soak in the smell, the sights and the sounds.

They did an awesome version of Deep with some cool sounding slide sounds. Without breaking for too long they performed a short screamer of a song. Later we would find this to be Lukin, but it wouldn't be released until No Code came out in August of '96. Then came the heavy hitters. Pearl Jam did my all time favorite song, Immortality. The delays on Mike's guitar echoed throughout the arena as he soloed and I closed my eyes and tried to distinguish sound from emotion. Alive was next and the whole crowd sang every line. Finishing the one two three punch, they did a sweet version of Black, with lighters raised all around and the crowd chanting to the doo doo doo doo doo doo doo.

At the conclusion of Blood, Eddie slammed his microphone stand into the ground and threw it into the crowd. The band left the stage and the noise level was incredible, trying to get the band back out for an encore. Could anyone ever doubt that they would return? The came back out and broke into the Long Road. But, at that time nobody had heard it yet, as the single wouldn't be released until a month later. Everybody around me sat down, but I stayed standing. The band did a cool version of the Byrd's, "So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star? That finished and they did another No Code preview with Habit.

Next up was Better Man, again with the crowd singing along. Eddie gave one of his cool speeches afterwords and talked about how they donated money from the tickets to Surfrider. Everyone cheered and hung onto evey word that came from Eddie. They went back into the music and did a 3 song hard set. Starting off with Leavin' Here, then Spin The Black Circle (the mosh pit was way out of control at this point) and a cool version of Porch with a Third Stone from the Sun riff thrown in. The entire band left the stage and I thought it was over.

But, it stayed dark and they came back for a second encore!!! Eddie told the lightman to turn the lights back on, so he could see us. :-) The clouds of smoke rose to the top of the arena and the bass line intro to Indifference started. The crowd fixated on the band as Eddie stayed pretty still. After the final woo's at the end, the guitars faded and that was it.

This was well worth all the inconvenience and wait, definitely a night that will forever live on for me. Thanks Pearl Jam for making it all happen.