Set List: Do The Evolution, Animal, Last Exit, Brain of J., Given To Fly, Jeremy, Faithfull, Corduroy, MFC, Not For You, Even Flow, Daughter/Sweet Jane, Nothingman, Leatherman, Better Man, Immortality, Improv, Go, Alive; 1st encore: Hail Hail, State of Love and Trust, Black, Wishlist, Rearviewmirror

MADSENJ7252@uni.edu
Where to start? I have been waiting for last night since July of 1991. Two of my friends and I drove ten hours to see Pearl Jam, all of us for the first time. There were a lot of concerts closer to home but somehow I could tell this would be an awesome concert.

Eddie came out before Frank Black and said some things, but I could hardly hear a word he said. After Frank Black played, Pearl Jam opened with Evolution. I don't really like the song on the record, however they could have not picked a better song to start with. Evolution set the tone for the night, the fast pace and Eddie's enthusiasm set the crowd at arms. A sea of arms from the stage back carried surfer upon surfer to the front for the rest of the night.

After Animal and Jeremy, I remember Eddie strapping on the guitar and bursting into Corduroy. Just when you thought the crowd was as crazy as it would get, it got worse. The pace of the concert turned up a hundred notches. They played Nothingman, Leatherman, and Better Man all in a row which Eddie said was a first. When they started to crank up Better Man, the lights started to turn on and off like a strobe light. Eddie seemed pissed at first but it was so fitting. They turned what some would call a ballad into a totally rocking song.

I was impressed not only by Eddie's showmanship, but even more by Mike's guitar solos. During Even Flow he seemed to want to go on all night, and he turned a seemingly unnoticed solo in Immortality to one of my favorite parts of the night. A security dude up front threw the hell out of his back and the show had to be stopped for awhile. Eddie asked the crowd what there is to do in Rapid City, and he jokingly came to the consensus that cow-tipping was what everyone did in their spare time. It was amazing how he took a possible situation with a bunch of dead space in the middle of a concert, and had the crowd hanging on his every word to ease the situation.

I think the last song of the first half was State of Love and Trust, It's all such a blur now. But after that song, everybody but Eddie started to leave the stage. Eddie talked to each of the band members and they came back on and did an awe inspiring rendition of Alive.

I say the first half, because I was only expecting a couple of more songs in the encore. They seemed to just take a short intermission and play just as many, if not more songs in the next half. It all started with Hail Hail, I think it is the only song off No Code they played all night, but from the electricity in the air, it was the only song off the album that fit in. God knows I can't remember the songs they played in the second half. Black does stick out in my mind though, and they ended with a super fired up version of Rearviewmirror.

All in all I could not have asked for more. I wish I could remember more of it, but I was so exhausted. There was not a lull in the night, and except for a fight, everyone seemed to get along. I can't believe how much better they are in concert than they are on record. Thanks for a night I will never forget.