Set List: Spin The Black Circle, Hail Hail, Brian of J., Given To Fly, Corduroy, MFC, Habit, Even Flow, Jeremy, Daughter/Noise of Carpet, Immortality, I Got Shit, Rearviewmirror, Nothingman, Wishlist, Alive, Go; 1st encore: Do The Evolution, Better Man, In My Tree, Black, Porch; 2nd encore: Yellow Ledbetter

m.h.roberts@worldnet.att.net
This morning's newspaper featured a review of a Hanson concert, then later I flipped on TV to find The Backstreet Boys -- luckily Pearl Jam is touring America this summer, or we might all drown in pap!!

At arrival time yesterday, the temp outside Arco Arena was 107 degrees. Whew! Two hours later, inside a (semi-)air conditioned 17,000-seater, we were excited and comfy as the music was what began to sizzle. After being introduced by Ed, X took the stage with Johnny Hit and Run Pauline and punched through a set that included Los Angeles and Your Phone's Off the Hook But You're Not. It was a treat to hear Exene's & John's unique counterpoint vocals and to witness Billy Zoom doing his cool guitar-guy thing again after so many years. As they closed with The World's A Mess, It's in my Kiss, it seemed the only tune missing from their repertoire of crowd-pleasers was the blazer, We're Desperate. Thanks to my nifty spy glasses, I could watch Pearl Jam enjoying X along with the rest of us, Matt just offstage, sitting rapt through the set, Mike standing behind, soaking it all up, and off to the side, Ed listening and watching right along with everyone, and occasionally popping up into sight like a prairie dog surveying the territory. Thanks, Pearl Jam, for inviting X to open the show.

Soon enough, the fab 5 were onstage ripping into Spin the Black Circle, Hail Hail, and Brain of J for a hard-rocking opening sequence. Everyone looked relaxed and terrific -- and my cargo-pants-wearing teenage son instantly pointed out that Eddie was dressed in same. With his flair for the spontaneous, amusing gesture, Ed grabbed a Converse sneaker that had been flung onstage, poured red wine into it, and drank it down in a toast to the opening act. I won't go through the set list song by song except to happily note that most of my faves were played -- Corduroy, Habit, Rearviewmirror, and, in the encores, Do the Ev., Better Man, Black, Porch and Yellow Ledbetter. No handling of Porch will probably ever top the extended, acoustic version they played at their last Bridge School Benefit appearance, but this one was utterly tight and searing. It was also fine to hear Up In My Tree, not one of the standard concert numbers. Evenflow and Immortality were especially hot, hot, hot. Only the addition of State of Love and Trust could have made the show more perfect in my estimation (and some banner-carrying folks had the same idea). Okay, maybe better sound in the venue could have improved the experience a whit, but I'm not really complaining... This was the first time I'd seen the band playing indoors, after eight other shows. The sound was fuller, but there's nothing quite like Pearl Jam under moonlight (and in pouring rain, as was the case at one Stones show!).

Ed's screwups are always charming, and he flubbed the opening lines of Wishlist a little, smirking at himself and then getting on-track, and later false-started Better Man by beginning to sing the second verse by mistake, and so starting over. Neither stumble took away from the overall performances. The show was tight and professional, without any of the essential rock rawness being sacrificed. At the end, Eddie recalled previous Sacramento shows they've played, once more revealing that warm connectedness toward the fans and their hometowns that make him such a remarkable public personality. A very satisfying event! After seeing two of the Rolling Stones shows with PJ, and both Maui shows, and now Sacramento, I feel like I've been enjoying a steady diet of live Pearl Jam for a while now. What a lucky, happy feeling.

mmdjborn@earthlink.net
Well, what can we say about this one? Aside from the fact that it was an indoor concert, it was awesome. So many surprises!! Where should we start? From Mike's solo to Alive behind his head to the mirror ball on Wishlist, it was unbelievably energetic!!! The biggest surprise of the night - Nothingman = the guys were in top form! Matt fit in so tightly and gave each song a slightly different twist, refreshing and kick-ass!

Ed momentarily forgot the words to "Better Man" and the whole packed arena carried him through, that and hearing the crowd sing along to huge songs like Jeremy, Daughter,and Even Flow- brought many a musical orgasm! The powerful combo of "Alive" into "Go" left the crowd drained and loving every minute of it! The band dedicated "In My Tree" to Jack, back at home - great touch.

All in all, a great set list of more than just the "trendy" songs, made for an unforgettable show- here's to you!

Dave, Joe, and Josh - San Jose, CA

Todd Thornton (tthornton@oavax.csuchico.edu)
This was my first Pearl Jam show, and it was AWESOME! The band was tight, the crowd was really into the show, just tons of energy. It's rare for a band the stature of Pearl Jam to play in Sacramento, and the boys didn't disappoint. The highlights for me were "Do the Evolution" and "Black" from the encore. If you've still got a chance to see these guys on this tour, don't miss it!