Set List: Sometimes, Go, Hail Hail, Brain of J., Dissident, Even Flow, Given To Fly, Corduroy, MFC, Lukin, Wishlist, Jeremy, Daughter/Hey Hey, My My, Not For You, Off He Goes, Better Man, Rearviewmirror, Black, Last Exit; 1st encore: Do The Evolution, Nothingman, Alive, Leaving Here; 2nd encore: Yellow Ledbetter, Baba O'Riley

Jessica (philstarr@email.msn.com)
Obviously it's pretty difficult to rate a Pearl Jam show when you're a dedicated fan and when they could play any song and you would be satisfied. However, out of the 4 shows I've seen so far on this tour, I can pretty easily say that the Vancouver show was the most fantastic one yet. Most of it had to do with the feeling that the guys were happy to be there and having a fun time playing and that the crowd wanted to listen and appreciate it- not just jump and scream and push and yell and purposely attempt to severely injure people in the pit using their testosterone pumped muscles (yea, so I'm a little bitter since I have a couple bruised ribs, bruises all over my legs, and am on crutches with a sprained ankle from these pj shows)

The guys opened up with beautiful Sometimes, with Jeff sitting down and playing the larger bass, which he did for quite a few songs, and sounding wonderful as always. the first nice surprise came when I heard the beginning chords of Dissident, a song I haven't heard in all the shows I've been to. I love it when Ed says, not sings, at the end, "escape is never the safest plan"- and he said it last night so I was thrilled. Once in awhile, like many pj lines, I have to run that one through my mind for sanity. Daughter, which can never be played too much, sounded fabulous and it's always a treat to see what Ed finishes the song with. Last night it was the "Hey, hey, my, my... rock n' roll will never die" bit. If I heard correctly, at the end he said "and she lived happily ever after" reminding us what the song is about, if we could forget.

Usually Yellow Ledbetter is the song that makes me teary-eyed, but last night the guys blessed the Canadian crowd with Off He Goes. Words can't express how amazingly beautiful it was so I won't even try. Everyone that was sitting around me was awestruck.

Like the other shows I've seen, they played Given to Fly with Mike kicking ass, and Wishlist with the disco ball lighting up the entire place. I appreciate Do The Evolution the more and more I hear it, and last night they played it all out, minus the cartoon they played the night before in Portland. The killer part of the song is when Jeff, Ed, and Stone sing the Hallelujiah's, waving their arms in the air.

One of the reasons it seems that the guys were especially enjoying this show is that they threw a lot of tokens into the crowd; guitar picks, tambourine (which Ed used on Baba O'Riley), shirts that had flown on stage. Jeff really got into a couple songs and moved around, Ed and Stone danced a bit, and if this all wasn't enough... either Ed really had his courage up or he had had one too many Canadian beers, Ed went into the pit during Alive, still singing it perfectly. He didn't seem to frazzled when he got back on stage either. In one way it was rad sitting high up on the side because we could see the whole band and the fans in the center...it was almost as if we were looking in on the concert.

Still continuing the surprises, the guys played Nothingman which I was also fortunate to hear at the Sacramento show. I remember the first time I played Nothingman on my Vitalogy CD and thinking, "I need to hear this song played live before I die." Now I've heard it twice which is even better.

They closed the first set with Leaving Here, a song I'm sure many of us female fans really appreciate, which they also played in Portland. It's hard to resist not singing the back-up vocals with Jeff and Stone on that one. They came back and played the always touching Yellow Ledbetter, which everyone appreciated. Mike finished Yellow Ledbetter close to how he played it at the Tibetan Freedom Concert last summer. Then with some convincing by Ed, they finished with Baba O'Riley with the crowd joining in.

Since becoming a PJ fan, I've always dreamed a bit of following them on tour, and I feel very fortunate that this time in my life allowed me to do so. Tomorrow night will probably be the last show I see on this tour and I am ecstatic that it will end for me in Seattle. Last night we had a sign which read "She Says No" hoping that Ed would see it and sing it, but we were pretty far away. Hopefully he sees it at the Seattle show. I also have to say how happy I am that the band I love the most is also politically and socially active. The guys are donating the sales of their Seattle shows to charity and they donated a bunch of money from their Missoula show to the city. It makes it even easier to love them.

Thanks guys for the best graduation present possible. Oh yea, happy birthday Stone.

Gerry McConkey (mcconk@island.net)

Sunday, July 19, 1998. It's been four years since Pearl Jam were in Vancouver, B.C. A balmy day greeted the band this day, temperature in the high 70's Fahrenheit, 23 or so in Celsius. A Yield cover day. Waiting outside the Pacific Coliseum, the former hockey arena, a clutch of fans were able to say hi to Stone and Ed in a casual and calm manner. Things are changing and the mood remained extremely happy and serene. Staff skateboarded or cycled around the venue in the parking lot once the bulk of their duties were done. We recognized lots of friendly folks from the photos by Smitty!

Once inside and seated, I realize there will be no mosh pit. A stunning revelation. The bench seats are right up to the stage barrier. Frank Black does a tight set to half an arena since most are swilling some Canadian suds downstairs. But there will be no mosh thugs tonight. A stage hand mentions the band is sick of seeing people hurt and later in the Pearl Jam set, Stone is heard thanking everyone for this night, which has been one of the happiest, most peaceful shows in history, IMO.

A recording of Red Dot Song and a dimming of the lights signals the beginning of this great show. Cheers rise up to the roof, thunderous applause and a very vocal welcome greet the band, after the five candles have been lit. Sometimes opens the set...seven songs later, Ed acknowledges Vancouver to a great cheer. He says, well, you've given yourselves quite a hand. Says he's glad to be here and says the beer is tasting just so good. Tonight's Daughter tag is Neil Young's Out of the Blue and Into the Black. The lines are Hey, hey, my, my...rock and roll will never die, My, my, hey, hey, rock and roll is here to stay...More to the picture than meets the eye, Hey, hey, my, my... Introduces Better Man as Off he goes to the bar. Rearviewmirror becomes an extended jam that sees Mike kick back and fly into the land of bitchin' solos and beyond. The rest of the band give over in support and he pushes every last note out of his axe. Incredible.

Matt has brought this band to expert crispness and a fast pace, great for live performances. Stone stayed put for most of the night, happy enough to halfway watch the show himself. But he shone during Alive. Sweet, memory-invoking notes like that are unforgettable. By Last Exit, Ed has begun to dance and groove and cruise around the stage. He wasn't wearing his guitar so he ventured out into the crowd, stepping down on the benches to say hi and was safely returned to the stage to the laughter of Jeff and Stone. We got Baba O'Riley too!!! Three encores later, their clothes completely drenched in perspiration, we've collected two hours of straight-on music from the boys in on of the longest sets of the tour. No one is hurt. Everyone is satisfied. And I've never seen so much damn smiling. Could it also be the fact that they were headed home right after the show? Thanks for coming to Vancouver after all, guys. See you in Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday!