Set List: Oceans, Hail Hail, Brain Of J., Spin The Black Circle, Tremor Christ, Given To Fly, In Hiding, Corduroy, MFC, Wishlist, Nothingman, Improv into Habit, Even Flow, Daughter/(Institution by Suicidal Tendencies), Immortality, Black, Alive; 1st Encore: Do The Evolution, Jeremy, I Got Shit, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Fuckin' Up; 2nd Encore: Yellow Ledbetter

hmking@wku.campus.mci.net
July 2nd 1998 would have to be one of the greatest days of my entire life! After traveling from the great city of Bowling Green, KY....My three friends: Rich, Kevin, Chris and I arrived in St. Louis and stayed at a hotel not 5 miles from Riverport Amphitheater (the site of the PJ concert). We spent the day before the show anticipating and resting up for the biggest concert of our lives.

Finally the time had come as we pulled into the parking lot of Riverport and 30,000 Pearl Jam fans were slowly arriving and heading towards the gates. We stood in line at the entrance for a good 30 minutes, waiting for the security to let us loyal PJ fans in. A yell from the masses signaled that the gates were now open. Would the security bust me for my tape recorder?.. I pondered as I neared the gate. "YOUR CLEAR, ENJOY THE SHOW".. said the security officer. I could do nothing but grin as my friends and I waltzed into the beautiful Amphitheater.

We walked around the huge mountain of grass seats and began to look for our section. After being directed by several concert employees, we finally arrived in our seats. I looked up towards the stage in a state (love and trust) of shock because we were a mere 15 feet from the Mike and Jeff. Is this a dream?.....When am I going to wake up? It was for real all right as the Murder City Devils came out and began to Jam. Having seats right in front of 30 HUGE speakers, our bodies began to vibrate from the intense sound. The Murder City Devils played a lengthy set of hard edged metal and emotion. At 8:40 they left the stage and the crew began to set up for the main event. During the break we meet some cool chics from Florida, two days drive from St. Louis: true fans......I love it!

As the crew left the stage my stomach began to tighten from the anticipation. The backdrop for the stage was a huge canvas looking sheet. In front of that stood 5 huge candles on top of gothic iron stands. Then there was the band's equipment, decorated with a doll, and 2 black ravens. The smoke from the candles made for a great site behind the band. As 9:15 rolled around the lights were cut and a tape recording of the RED DOT (Jack Irons) began to play. A door opened and out rolled Matt, Jeff, Mike, Stone, and ED. Dim blue lights began to shine as the band opened with OCEANS. Eddie sang to his wife Beth at the end. After a thunderous applause from the crowd, They kick into HAIL, HAIL and it really got the crowd moving. Mike bust into BRAIN OF J playing the guitar like a mad man and he was on fire!!! Next was SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE.......Eddie does his usual hand signs to go along with the lyrics. TREMOR CHRIST was a rare song that we didn't expect to hear but it was excellent as always. Mike begins to play the opening lick of GIVEN TO FLY and we all go nuts because this song shows how musically inclined Pearl Jam really is. Eddie really showed those vocal cords during IN HIDING.

After strapping on his guitar, Mr. Vedder starts into CORDUROY and the band quickly follows his lead. The band was so tight that they stopped in the middle of the song for a split second and then kept going. They did this to show how together the band is musically. After a 10 minute jam session they kick into MFC. Then Ed begins to tell a story about the next song...he says the next song is about having a list for something and then leaving out one thing and you can't remember it, and then he talks about broccoli and denounces rich people. He then plays the song WISHLIST and a huge, HUGE mirror ball comes down during the song. This was a excellent touch to the relaxing music. NOTHINGMAN.....followed by the ripping song HABIT... "I never thought you'd habit!!!!!" screams Ed. Then the Greatest song on the Earth began to play............EVEN FLOW. This is the song that got me hooked 7 years ago and it still gets me pumped every time I hear it. July 2nd was my 20th birthday and my best friend Chris looked over at me when Even Flow began and he said...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! And this was the greatest present I could ever receive. Thanks PJ for the great gift.. it rocked!

DAUGHTER was a definite crowd pleaser and Ed took a shirt from the crowd, blew his nose, wiped off his sweat and gave it back. At the end when Eddie says" the shades go down"....he got down on the floor and began to growl quietly like a lion. It was very amusing.....I enjoyed seeing "Eddie the lion". Next was IMMORTALITY and then BLACK. During BLACK I turned around to see 30,000 lighters in the night sky behind me, it was a sight I shall never forget. Stone tore into ALIVE and the crowd instantly began to sing along..." I'm still alive, yea, yea, yea" The band waved good night and left the stage. But we knew better than that so we began to chant, yell, and play drums on the seats.....EDDIE, EDDIE..................will they come back out?............I see movement....................YES, it's Matt Cameron. The band came back out and Ed began to give a little speech after putting on a St. Louis Cardinals hat backwards. (Although I happen to know he is a loyal CUBS FAN!!!!)...................................

"We've evolved, Stone's hair has evolved. They don't look the same anymore they've evolved(pointing to the band), just like you are evolving. We were here 8 yrs. ago, 7 yrs. ago, 6 yrs. ago, some of you have turned out to be college graduates.....and some of you addicts........and apparently some of you have turned out to be both! It's all changing , it's Evolution Baby!!!!"

AND with those word they bust into DO THE EVOLUTION and it kicked some major vibes. Then Jeff puts on the old 12 string bass and they play JEREMY. Next was a great song loved by my friend Rich called I GOT ID. BETTER MAN pleased the savage crowd and then they played a Neil Young Song. During the Neil Young Song Eddie looks in his hand a sees a little moth. He opens his hand and with a huge smile kindly blows it into the air and it begins to FLY. And the moral of the story is be kind to animals. ED says....." SEE you all next year" and they walk away. NO, NO, NO, Please just play one more song?!!! Again all 30,000 of us begin to Chant, scream EDDIE, EDDIE, and beat the chair backs.........Is it over?.............NO! ...the band steps out for another jam session, Ed says "one more" and Mike starts into the famous YELLOW LEDBETTER.....this was a great song to end with, but unfortunately Ed is the only one who will ever know all the lyrics to that song, I have never found a person that knew the correct lyrics. O'well it's Ed's little Secret!...SHH. As they near the end of the song Mike broke into the closing solo to early and Jeff begins to laugh at Mike's mistake. Mike throws his hands up and feels a little embarrassed at his mistake. But he made up for it as he played a 8 min. closing solo that made the entire crowd and the band stand still(check the St. Louis Pics) with a sense of love for this beautiful solo. Ed tells us "thank you and see you guys soon" and they exit the stage.

Thanks Eddie, Mike, Stone, Jeff, and Matt for a birthday that I will never forget. Keep on rocking in the free world.
Will @ (hmking@wku.campus.mci.net)

brooks@insolwwb.net
AMAZING!!!!!! First Pearl Jam concert ever, and I hope many more to come with the set list that they played. Daughter/(Institution by Suicidal Tendencies) into Immortality into Black into Alive was great! It was like a tidal wave picked you up based on the noise level when he started to play Black. Sold out crowd, which went nuts the whole time. Eddie had a very outgoing personality which took me by surprise. Before "Do the Evolution", he just stood up there and chatted with the crowd for a good 5 minutes. Before "Even Flow" he put on one of the replica Cardinals batting helmet which threw everyone into high level, and then started to play "Even Flow" and the noise level of that amphitheatre was deafening! Great concert, with a KICK ASS set list.........#1 concert of the year, a MUST see!