Set List: Sometimes, Corduroy, Hail Hail, Brain of J., In Hiding, Even Flow, Given To Fly, MFC, Not For You, Wishlist, Jeremy, Do The Evolution, Dissident, Present Tense, Spin The Black Circle, Rearviewmirror, Go; 1st encore: Small Town, Better Man/Save It for Later, Daughter/(I must not think bad thoughts), Alive; 2nd encore: Baba O'Riley

Joseph Neu (mojoe29@pacbell.net)
In what was the first Pearl Jam concert played in Los Angeles in 6 years, the band surged and roared through a glorious set full of old and new anthems. They ran the gambit from the soft tones of the opening song "Sometimes" to the raging finale, the Who classic "Baba O' Riley". Pearl Jam was in peak performance last night, often racing at full steam, pumpin' out the riffs!

The band played "Corduroy", Hail, hail", and "Brain of J" to open the set as is often the case, but threw "Even Flow" in early which got the crowd ragin'. And the seethin' version of "Not for you", which is not in the set list every night, showed a hint of mischief in the air.

One particular highlight in the set for me was "Present Tense".This is a wonderful song of the much under-appreciated No Code album. It was played beautifully w/ Mike and Ed beginning the song as a duet between Mike's soft guitar melodies and Ed's equally soft and beautiful vocals. Then, during the "seems that needlessly it's getting harder" part, Stone moves out to make it a trio. Then Matt and Jeff complete the group and the band rocks out the outro! It was incredible! At the first chords I hollered so loud, I'm sure Ed heard me. I felt like I was the only one who knew it though:{ Made me really want them to play Red Mosquito tho :} The band was full of life on this night. Ed's face was often contorted, hurting out the lyrics. At times leaning back, his eyes glazed w/ passion, then pulling the mic close and screaming again. His voice sounded great and his screams were long and full of passion.

Ok, a quick fashion comment is in order. Mike appeared in a beautiful ensemble, wearing a skirt w/ fishnet stockings. Alright, I admit it, he has nice legs, but... Performance wise, Mike was often leaning back, feeling the notes. But he bounced around frequently, living every riff.

"Spin the Black Circle" was awesome as usual. At the end, Ed takes Mike down to the stage floor then grabs his legs and spins him around as Mike is rippin' away! The song ends with Mike slowing to a stop, on his back, his last notes fading out. Ed made a couple comments to the crowd. The first was :" here's something we haven't said in awhile, hello Los Angeles". He then called the Forum the fabulous Forum as it was once called. "Not the Great Western forum, {it's current name}, not Mutual of Omaha, not Butterfinger, just the Fabulous Forum!" A bit of nostalgia for those who remember. Apparently Ed, a southern Californian does too. After "Present Tense", Ed said "I think there's truth in a lot of our lyrics but that song has one line I know is true. This is all a trip! One long trip!"

Before the first encore began, Ed spoke for a few minutes. He started by saying "We should play here more often. But this is our last tour so, shuks!" Last tour? Noooooooo!!!! "We've done it all. We've played the fabulous forum. We're gonna go out on top." He then said "This next song isn't really about L.A. proper, but more like Reseda. {a suburb city} This song has by far the longest title of all or songs. This is 'Elderly Woman behind the Counter in a Small Town'". What a beautiful way to open an encore. Then an amazing versions of "Better Man" and "Daughter". This trio of ballads showed the band's amazing ability to take a soft, even slow song, but play it with such command it becomes a rocker! "Daughter" was particularly amazing. The tag, part of which I think was an X song, worked especially well this night. Eddie sings "I wont think bad thoughts" over and over. His vocals moving, surging, finding new emphasis and phrasing. It was classic Ed Ved and classic Pearl Jam. Ed steps back and the music fades.

Then, an absolutely delightful and playful "Alive"! During the second half of the song, Stone is all smiles strumming the chords, watching the crowd love it. This song sounds sooooo great every night. It's complete euphoria watching this band play this song so happily and w/ such dynamics! The band leaves. The crowd roars for more.

Before one of the two encores, Ed came out and said a qoute that his friend Mike Watt {?} shared w/ him. To paraphrase, he said "If you want something bad enough, the whole world will conspire to make it happen!" Then he quoted an author, I believe. He said "you know what happened to the guy who got all his dreams to come true? He lived happily after!" A couple very cool quotes Ed shared w/ us. Ed says "X played the forum tonight. We got to play the Forum tonight. You got to play in the Forum tonight. That's guys gonna take a Forum seat home tonight I think!" He points to a fan far back on the floor holding up a chair he managed to unbolt. "I'm not sure that I wouldn't be doing the same thing! This song is by a band that played the forum a long time ago" Mike begins the opening notes of "Baba O' Riley" by the Who, Ed's favorite band! This rendition was ELECTRIC!!!! Stone skipping in circles, Jeff bouncing as he hits the bass. Mike going out on the catwalk for a few licks. The band just pumped this song out!! Towards the end, Ed takes his wine bottle and pours it in a line on the stage. Then as the band is strumming out the last fiffs, raising it to a climax, Ed runs from stage left, drops to his knees and slides in the puddle he'd made. He then gets up and busts out 5 Townshend leaps in time w/ Matt's pounding beats. Ed then grabs his guitar, a red Gibson SG I think {one of his favorites!} and slams it into the stage floor! The body immediately breaks away from the neck. Ed looks at it as the song ends. He then leaves the stage w/ the guitar drapped over his shoulder, w/ only the strings holding the pieces of the instrument together! It was a classic ending to a fabulous show at the "Fabulous Forum"!

The band was in great spirits and played w/ tons of passion. A couple highlights: Mike's blistering guitar solo in "Evenflow", the beautiful interlude of "Present Tense", Ed and Mike closing out "Spin the Black Circle" w/ a dramatic interpretation, and the whole encore!! The crowed seemed to hang on every move of Eddie's. "See ya tomorrow" Eddie says before leaving for the final time. I can only imagine what I'll see tonight!!

GWEDDIE@aol.com
I only have a few things to say...Because of this amazing band I have met some of the most awesome people on the planet. We met traveling to the shows and now I feel like I've known them forever...I've been able to see parts of the country I've never seen before, it doesn't get better than this....I wish everyone would be as lucky as I've been. It's an experience I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Just drop whatever the hell you're doing and go where you really want to be, wherever in the world it is!! Thanks to Pearl Jam for another awesome show!!! I can't even describe how great it was, they just rocked!!! I think tonight will be even better!!!!!!

T. Duke (laser4me@home.com)
I have been to about 12 Pearl Jam shows over the years, but the show at the FABULOUS FORUM (as eddie mention during the show, is how he will remember the venue not as GREAT WESTERN FOURM) was the best show I have ever seen. The bad was solid and tight and clearly having a great time playing in LA for the first time. It was like a religious experience! We sat on the floor in 13th row and could see great. The stuff from the new album is so strong that it fit right in with the classic stuff from the past. And Elderly Women was emotionally devastating Going to try and find a ticket to tonite's show......LATER