Set List: Release, Do The Evolution, Spin The Black Circle, Brain of J., Dissident, Given To Fly, Corduroy, MFC, Wishlist, Jeremy, Even Flow, Faithfull, Small Town, Off He Goes, Rearviewmirror; 1st Encore: Hail Hail, I Got Shit, Alive, Black, Soldier of Love by Arthur Alexander (1962)

Alex Miller (pmill50@triton.net):
This show was absolutely amazing. They had a ton of energy and it showed all night. They started slow with an excellent version of Release, but then picked things up big time by playing Do the Evolution, Spin the Black Circle, and Brain of J, one right into the other, no breaks. This really got the crowd going, and they kept it up by playing Dissident, Given to Fly, Corduroy, and MFC.

They finally slowed things down a bit by playing Wishlist, which was a great version. At the end, when Ed plays the e-bow, it wasn't working at first. He finally got it to work, and played just a bit of his solo, then started singing the lines right before his solo again, and I think he meant to try the solo again, but wasn't sure the rest of the band had picked up on it, so he ended the song. After Wishlist, Jeff stepped to the front of the stage, the spotlight went on him, and the opening notes to Jeremy proceeded to emerge from the speakers. Amazing version, especially at the end, with all the ohhs and stuff. The whole crowd did it, just like on the album. That is the highlight of both P.J. shows I've been to, with all the crowd singing along like that. The group then played some great versions of Even Flow and Faithfull.

Ed seemed to have a sore throat, as he grabbed it a couple times during the night and rubbed it. After Faithfull, he said something to Stone and Matt and his guitar tech, and then told the crowd that they were changing the set a little. I don't think Mike and Jeff were aware of this, as they looked surprised when Ed started playing Elderly Woman. I think they were going to play Daughter, as Jeff had gotten the stand-up out. Elderly Woman was a bit different, more relaxed than the album version (if that is possible). They then played Off He Goes, another really relaxed version. After this Ed took front and center stage with his guitar, and played the opening chords to Rearviewmirror. Absolutely fucking incredible version. They had a long jam in the middle, with Ed trying weird things with his guitar, using an e-bow, trying to get some feedback, fiddling with the control knobs on his amp. Very cool. In the middle of all this, Ed put a towel on his monitor, placed a soccer ball that had made its way on stage on top of it, and booted the thing into the crowd. (Good kick, Ed!) Was this a Rod Stewart tribute? Just kidding.

After Rearviewmirror, the guys left the stage. The crowd went absolutely nuts, screaming and pounding on things VERY loudly for a few minutes. P.J. finally came back out, and as the band started into Hail, Hail, Ed said it was time to give stuff away, and tossed a few things into the audience, including his half-full water bottle.

They then played I Got Shit, Alive, and Black, all very excellent versions. Then Eddie pulled a guy out of the crowd to help him, and the guy was wearing a Michigan t-shirt, and this got some boos from the crowd (I think more people were cheering, though. I know I was.) Ed said he hadn't realized the guy was wearing the wrong shirt, so he sent him back into the audience, and pulled a girl out. She shook hands with Stone, and then gave Ed her tape recorder, which he proceeded to speak in to, away from the microphone. He then had the girl (Amanda) [Amanda's fanview] hold up his notebook for him so he could see the lyrics to a song the guys had learned earlier that day. I think it was called Soldier of Love, not really sure, Ed said it was from 1962. Really cool to see them play. After that, they left the stage for the night, but not before Ed commented on playing in Iggy Pop's home state, and the concert censoring bill floating around here, saying "it's rock and roll, i should be able to show my penis." Very funny, but also very true. He encouraged everybody there to use their vote to fight this bill. I will, and I hope everybody else does as well.

Mike was on all night long, playing fucking great solos, and moving around a bit at the beginning. At one point (STBC?, BoJ?) he went over to Stone and they faced each other as Stone soloed. Then Mike went tearing ass back over to the other side of the stage. He also jumped up on his monitor, and then turned around and stumbled back to his amps. Jeff had some big jumps, and so did Ed, but Stone pretty much stayed in his little area, though he moved around quite a bit. Matt did an admirable job filling in for Jack, and Eddie gave him special recognition near the end of the show.

Well, this has gotten very long, so I'd just like to say thanks to the Ten Club for the seventh row seats, and special thanks to Pearl Jam for playing such an excellent show, and sharing their amaazing music with us. I hope the guys realize how many people really appreciate what they are doing, and how much we all appreciate it. Again, huge thanks to the band from their fans.

Oh, yeah, one more thing. Iggy Pop kicked my ass from East Lansing to fucking Australia and back. He was great!

Jon K. (kovalci2@pilot.msu.edu):
"i wish i knew the words..." to describe another brilliant evening with Pearl Jam. Thanks to PJ and the FAN CLUB, it was a night I won't soon forget. The Breslin Center was packed and PJ kept them rockin'. Some highlights included a breath-taking "release," a kick-ass version of "corduroy," a powerful "wishlist" (I wish, I wish, I wish I knew the words...) and a Crunching version of "hail, hail."

The band was all smiles tonight. Ed brought a guy out of the crowd, who was wearing a University of Michigan t-shirt, and poked a little fun at him for wearing it to a Michigan STATE University show. Ed also serenaded a lucky female from the audience with a moving song..."lay down your arms and surrender to me," to close the show. Ed also noticed she was taping the show and recorded a personal message on it for her. Mike was on fire again, Jeff was explosive, Stone, (nice black socks with shorts) was bobbing his head, Matt was solid and Ed was his charming self. Damn, I love this band!!!