Set List: Brain of J., Hail Hail, Corduroy, Rearviewmirror, Given To Fly, Dissident, Spin the Black Circle, Faithfull, Alive, MFC, Intro into Habit, Wishlist, ?/Crazy Mary, Nothingman, Jeremy, Do The Evolution, Better Man, Black; Encore: Last Exit, Even Flow, Daughter, Fuckin' Up, Rockin In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter

Jett Karma (jzblzdot@flash.net)
One enchanted evening, you could meet a stranger, but nothing too much "stranger" than Pearl Jam's performance in the Land of Enchantment on 7/7/98. This was an absolutely fabulous scorcher of a show during which the band never failed to delight and surprise. They played many old favorites, and from the sound of the fans' singing, many new favorites, as well.

Although the emphasis during the night was on the unexpected, all of PJ's expected strengths came through emphatically--solid musicianship, and, of course, the usual dry wit and insightful commentary from Ed. Before playing "MFC," duly noted as a song of escape, he declared NM a nice place to come get away from it all. "There's a lot to be said for nowhere," goes the song, though I think that's perhaps even truer some nights than others, if you know what I mean!

As expected also, the band started out reserved and serious, and gathered steam (literally, I think--it was a greenhouse in there) as they went. The guys are great at counterpoint, and as they delivered old favorites with heart, a twinkle of mischief began to slip into the performance. They began to make some unusual and rather flashy use of lighting. PJ? Then came the strobe lights--yes, the strobe lights!--and a giant, rotating mirror ball complete with spotlight during "Wishlist." *I* wish you all could have been there to see it! It was extremely hokey hocus pocus, but it had the effect of sprinkling some real charm and magic into an already great show.

Among the favorites they played were two tributes to Neil Young, their obvious love and respect for the man shining through clearly. They performed "(Why Do I Keep) Fuckin' Up?" and "Rocking in the Free World," during which Ed went crazy with the mic stand, trying his best to break it to pieces. He didn't quite succeed, but it seemed like he'd managed to puncture the stage floor with it.

During their encore, Ed rewarded a group of dedicated banner holders by fulfilling their request to play "Yellow Ledbetter." He said we could thank them for getting an extra song out of the deal and that the band thanked all of us for our support.

At the end of the song, the band gave the crowd a definitive goodnight; and Ed--all mischievous smiles, jumped into what actually turned out to be a surprisingly large hole he had made in the stage with the mic stand! Something like Alice in Wonderland's white rabbit, he bobbed up and down a time or two, and then disappeared down the hole he had made. I guess you could say he was "In Hiding" at that point!

This was really a dream-come-true evening for me in the company of family I adore, a band I admire, and genuinely good people, some of whom had traveled far to get to Albuquerque out of love for the band. I really can't think of a better way for the show to have ended--it was definitely "storybook"! New Mexico's a great place, but I think it's fair to say that it owed a nice chunk of its claim to being the Land of Enchantment to Pearl Jam on Tuesday night.