Set List: Hail Hail, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Jeremy, Last Exit, Given To Fly, Daughter (Hey Hey, My My) Corduroy, Wish List, Better Man, State of Love and Trust, Do The Evolution, Black

LizzyRock@aol.com:
"Given To Fly" and "Do The Evolution" are described as detailed as I possibly can at this time, but hopefully, it will give you an idea what they sound like.

Wow...whatta week so far. Too much going on for me to post about the first 2 Oakland shows until right now. And I caught my "Will Brave Any Element To See This Band" Pearl Jam bronchial infection (I caught pneumonia during the '96 tour), but it's worth it.

Overall, what really continues to strike me about the performances so far is how TIGHT the band is and how HAPPY they seem to be playing together. It's hard to pick a better show because both had their moments: Mike's searing guitar solo on "Even Flow" on Friday; Stone coming forward to kick butt with his solo on "Corduroy" on Saturday; a PERFECT "Jeremy" on Sat; a touching "Yellow Ledbetter" on Sat, "Given To Fly" on Friday. The energy that's being projected from the band is almost overwhelming.

In fact, Friday's show was one of those Pearl Jam moments where my mind was completely blown, turned to mush by the power of the band and my own emotions. Without getting into personal issues too much here, let's just say I had to cut someone important to me out of my life a mere 4 1/2 hours before showtime, and my heart ached. By weird coincidence, Pearl Jam couldn't have done a more fitting set for me (well, could have done "Rearview Mirror" ). It was so great to release my feelings during songs like "State Of Love And Trust" and "Black." I was also lucky to be near the last row of my section, so I had a wall behind me, and empty seats next to me, so I could stand up and dance without bothering the Sit Dowwwwners.

Friday, the band came out in assault-mode with a version of "Hail Hail" that felt to me at the time as more of a sarcastic reading of the song (I was in a "screw romance" mood, remember...LOL) than an ode to love. Perfect. Without giving the fans a chance to recover, the band immediately launched into "Animal," again with such force and a scathing "Why did you want to HURT ME?" that made me scream the question out loud along with the band.

The sounds of "Dissident" filled the cold night air, punctuated by excellent guitar work and Eddie's stronger-than-ever voice. Mike ruled on "Even Flow," extending his solo and taking no prisoners. "Jeremy" was sad with the ending "woo woo wooo woo's" and EV's wailing made you feel like you were in Jeremy's messed-up head. "Last Exit" followed, perfectly placed in the set after "Jeremy." So much emotion. And like I mentioned in my Santa Cruz review, "Last Exit" works MUCH better later in the set when the band is worked up and in need of the angry release that "Last Exit" allows.

"Given To Fly" seemed to have been tightened a little since Santa Cruz....very pretty and gentle. It starts with quiet ringing chords of a single guitar, Jack's drums slowly come in, as Eddie begins to sing. Second guitar comes in, verse gets louder. Sudden loud chord changes, pounding power-chord blast...EV screams, just a tease...then the quiet verse again. The song builds, gets louder again....pounding PJ aggression for the chorus. Mike solos over the power chord angst. Then as quickly as it began, it slows down again. More ringing chords....the drums taper off as the song quietly fades to a close. Could be a Pearl Jam classic.

I needed to hear the "SHE WILL RISE ABOVE" in "Daughter," throwing my head back and yelling it to myself in hopes that I will. It is my mantra.

As is "can't let you roam inside my head" in "Corduroy." I swear, this set was so cathartic, so (coincidentally, of course) tailor-made to what I was going through emotionally. It felt so good....my body seemed to absorb every note...every nuance...things I can't put into writing, but things that make Pearl Jam the GREATEST live band on the planet, IMHO.

"Wish List": I wish. . . I wish. . . I wish. . .Innocent like a child wishing for something beyond his grasp. Pretty solo in the middle.

"Better Man" and "SOLAT"....again, how fitting could a set have been for me at the time. Wishing for something one can't have, needing a better man, having a state of love and TRUST violated so. So many songs with themes of having no control over a sad situation.

Then, it's time to have a little fun. "Do The Evolution" begins with a heavy metal/boogie guitar riff that has you headbanging from the start. Eddie's shreds his voice on the verses. Fuzzy wah-wah guitar courtesy of Mike. Chord switch, slower, sounds like the song goes into a minor chord now, only to go back to the pulsating riff and the scream of "IT'S EVOLUTION, BABY!!" A small break and a sudden, teasingly-short asskicking solo. Back to the main boogie riff....perhaps speeding up a tad till it's about to climax. Stop. Ahhhhh.

And then the Friday set ended with "Black." Say no more.

Owen Mihalyfi (owenm@engin.umich.edu):
Definitely a great show. It was weird with them as the opener because there were a ton of old people just walking around, at the concession stand, or sitting down. I wanted to just yell, "hello people! Don't you realize that's PEARL JAM playing?!!?" That kind of made the atmosphere a little less lively, but it gave me a chance to move into a much better seat.

Eddie had a fresh new look which the San Francisco paper called "Jim Morrison style," but other than that, the band seemed pretty much the same. They were jammin' as usual, and by the end of the show, some of the old people were even up and dancing.

I thought the set was perfect. Because they could only play for an hour, I hoped they would play their more popular songs, and they did. As far as the new songs...they were awesome. Two slower, more mellow songs (Given to Fly and Wish List) and one where he used the coarse voice ala Habit (Do the Evolution). I can't wait for the new album.

He (Vedder) only really talked to the crowd one time. He said from where he was he could pick out the biggest Rolling Stones fan there. He looked around and then turned and said "It's him, our guitar player, Mickael McCready is the biggest Rolling Stones out of all of you." He then said McCready was obsessed with the Stones and had memorized how many lines were on each Stones' album. He named off some albums and McCready answered with numbers of lines in the tens of thousands. They then busted into State of Love and Trust which I totally did not expect them to play.

My final words--a FANVIEW tip. Next time Pearl Jam ever opens for someone (if it ever happens again), don't buy tickets! I shelled out the bucks for the 14th, but went back the 15th and got a ticket for $20, and because they were the opener, the security didn't care what section your ticket was in, you could go anywhere.