Set List: Long Road, Hail Hail, Brain of J., Last Exit, Given To Fly, Corduroy, MFC, new Jeremy (part), Immortality, Even Flow, Nothingman, Rearviewmirror, Wishlist, In Hiding, Spin The Black Circle, Alive, Go; 1st Encore: (Clinton speech), Better Man (dedicated to Hillary Clinton)/(Don't Bring Me Down), Daughter, Do The Evolution, Leaving Here; 2nd Encore: Yellow Ledbetter

pearljam_vlv@hotmail.com:
I'm going to tell you how the concert was, not how my emotions were, because I think you don't care how I felt!

This was the first Pearl Jam show I have ever gone to, and with that performance, it will not be my last. It was only Pearl Jam's 2nd visit to Deer Creek, their first coming during Lollapalooza 2, and with the way they acted, I'm guessing it won't be their last either. It was great to hear on the local radio station that the gates were open so early. We just missed sound check, so I was told.

But it seemed like the sun was dropping fast and Iggy Pop couldn't have ended any sooner and fans were filling up their seats when Pearl Jam ran out onto stage and Ed grabbed the mic and said "alright fuckers, now it's our turn". The lights went out and the first strum of "long road" hit the speakers, the whole crowd went crazy! "hail, hail" was next and that really got the crowd rocking, while PJ kept that in mind they went straight into "brain of j." followed by a killer version of "last exit" with new touring drummer Matt Cameron playing a drum solo at the beginning. I was surprised that Ed wasn't talking to the crowd, like he normally does. "this one's called 'given to fly'" was the the only word out of his mouth before and after the first five songs.

Ed finally started talking and made fun of Hoosiers this time "when you guys leave you're gonna have to get out of here on something fast, tractors aren't fast enough" he laughed and grabbed a guitar for the second time so far and went to work on "corduroy", he stayed intact and played a crowd pleaser "mfc". Then he went and whispered something to all the rest of the band. I heard the music to Jeremy (new) and was wondering if they were going to play that whole song, but Ed started singing "president spoke in court today", the crowd went nuts. It was a perfect fade into "immortality" which Mike played a huge solo in the middle and at the end. Then to a crowd favorite "even flow", this was the single best performance of the night so far. Mike once again was in the solo mood, especially when the lights were off and the spotlight was only on him.

Then Ed once again started talking to the crowd "how are all of the poor people in the back doing? well if i was in the crowd i'd probably be back there as well, no, no, maybe right here." pointing to the front, where I was at, the crowd loved it. PJ then played "nothingman", followed by an all out performance of "rearviewmirror". Then what might have been the cleanest and clearest song of the night "wishlist" was a song for the whole crowd, I could hear the crowd over Ed. Stone then started the first riff of "in hiding" which is a great song to hear live. "spin the black circle" was next and the crowd was ready for some more rocking. Then the absolute greatest performance of the night, hands down even, "alive" was easily the crowds favorite song. Mike once again played a long solo while Ed was jumping all over stage and in the front row of the crowd. "go" followed and that really got the crowd rocking. They left the stage, and surprisingly, some people in the crowd also picked up and left. 10 minutes later Ed popped out with a red book with a piece of paper on it. The President of the U.S. popped up on the backdrop, recorded earlier from his address speech, immediately the crowd booed. Then Ed said, "here, i got it right here." holding a piece of paper up, "if you want to hear it or not." Everyone cheered and he then read how Bill apologized to the nation and Hillary. A person from the crowd jumped on stage and whispered something to Ed. Ed said "that's my intern, after the show." he started a humping motion "interns don't get paid they're here for the fun" everybody died. "better man" was played and Ed said "that one's for hillary." Everyone just went nuts.

"daughter" came next and I wanted to hear what Ed was going to sing at the end, all he said was "my my my......" shaking his head back and forth. "do the evolution" was next followed by "leaving here." Ed said before the song, "this one is called leaving here and that's what were doing after it" but I knew they still had another encore. Not even two minutes later they came back out and Ed said, "sorry, mike has a song he wants to play for you, mike." The spotlight went to him and the first riff from "yellow ledbetter" came out. I've heard a lot of versions of that song on CD's, but I'd have to say that was the best live version I've heard. Ed grabbed the mic for one last time and said, "be like rock stars not like presidents." ...a certain exclamation point to a wonderful show.

Now all I have to do is go to East Lansing on the 18th and see another show!

RussMims10@aol.com:
First of all I am a 49 year old victim of the sixties who has seen probably more than his share of the great groups. My friend Sleepy and I were remarking how it was almost thirty years ago to the month when we saw Jimi Hendrix. So here you have what some would call a couple of old burnouts at a Pearl Jam concert. After a long hot drive from Cincinnati, we arrived in some of the worst traffic seen since Woodstock but everyone was having a great time running off into the cornfields to take a wizz and generally getting ready. I had one of those moments of epiphany as we neared the venue where the vibes were outstanding. We knew it had to rock.

Deer Creek is an oustanding shed with great views. When the band hit the stage the place went gonzo and stayed that way. What a show. As I looked around I was struck by the thought that most of these people probably weren't born when I started going to concerts in 1965. The tribe lives on and Woodstock nation has given way to the new generation. Rock and Roll will never die not if Pearl Jam keeps it up the way they did last night. Other fans will write in and review each song but I was taking in the whole experience and that is what I am trying to relate here. The music was tight, the crowd was energized, and all in all it was a beautiful summer night. Now on to Cleveland next week.