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)

MikeSingh@aol.com:
Well, it's a Tuesday evening here in Michigan and tonight a dream came true for me. I have waited five long years to see Pearl Jam in concert. But I was lucky enough to acquire tickets to this evening's show. The show was at the Breslin Center in East Lansing(go Spartans) Iggy Pop did a decent job opening. I don't really know his songs that well.

So after awhile, the song "the color red" came through the PA, and the place went nuts. And I mean nuts, the crowd was hyped. The audience roared as the band took the stage. The first few notes to "release" were played, and the crowd roared. Tears honestly came to my eyes and my heart raced. It was amazing. They sounded so good. They were perfect....the crowd was totally into it. Then came the crushing chords to "do the evolution", and we all went nuts. Next came "spin the black", and "brain of j" and there was A LOT of energy. In all the acts I have seen, I have never seen a more emotional and spontaneous band; they just played from their hearts, and had a great time. Eddie's voice was great, better than I expected. He seemed to be enjoying himself and the rest of the band was as well. Mike and Stone played a lot of different guitars throughout the night. Mostly Les Pauls, which I was happy about. They did "dissident" and "given to fly", both were amazing. Everyone seemed to love "given to fly" a lot, it's a great audience song.

"corduroy" was next, and Mike did a sweet solo at the end. Eddie mumbled some stuff about driving, beer, and pot and then came"mfc", which was great, I really love that song. Then came "wishlist". It was beautiful, and the mirror ball came down. That made the song even more wonderful. But at the end of the song, either Eddie's guitar cut out or his e-bow didn't work and the end of the song was kinda messy, but it was all cool.

Then came "jeremy" and "even flow" which the audience obviously loved the hell out of. I tended to enjoy their newer stuff more. I'm not sure why, I guess it's because Pearl Jam has changed so much over the years, and their new songs really do suit them more. Like "faithful" which was next. I love that song; it's even better live. Then they all switched to more acoustic instruments and did "elderly woman", and everyone sang along. Then came my favorite Pearl Jam song, "off he goes". It was very emotional for me, that song means a lot to me. A less distorted version of "rearviewmirror" was next. The jam part was longer. During this song Eddie kicked a beach ball into the audience, it was entertaining. Then the band left the stage for a bit. The crowd erupted, and about ten minutes later the band returned to do "hail hail" and "i got shit". They rocked, but not as hard as "alive" which was next. This was the song that everyone loved the most. The solo for this song was incredible, as was the solo for "black"(which was next). I wish that Mike would show off more, he can really rip when he wants to.

Then Eddie had some guy from the audience come up on stage. He had a UofM shirt, and the crowd was full of boos (being a mostly MSU crowd). It was funny. Eddie joked around with the whole thing. Well they ended the night with a beautiful cover. I do not know who it was by at the moment, but I believe that it's called "lay down your arms". It was great. Eddie had some lucky girl (Amanda) [Amanda's fanview] from the audience come up and hold the lyrics for him and he danced with her. It was really cool. The song was great. It was all around a remarkable show. I could have listened to for another two hours (or more).

Pearl Jam is defiantly the best band around right now. They play from within; they play for the audience. They don't do this for money, or any other kind of rock star gratification. Pearl Jam plays because the love to, because the feeling they get when the crowd sings along or goes nuts or is priceless. Thanks guys.

Eric La Pratt (cyberia@home.com):
First, I'd like to start off by saying, "holy shit!!!!" Pearl Jam rocked the Breslin Student Activities Center. This was the first time I had ever seen them in concert. As soon as they walked out on stage, I started crying. It was completely amazing to be so close to the band I completely adore, and to my only idol ever, Eddie Vedder. Being a male, most people find it repulsive that I find him attractive, but they can shove it up their ass. I went to the concert with my best friend, Jeff, who had already seen them in concert. According to him, this was the best he'd ever seen. Although they did play a relatively short set, it was awesome. The last song they did was a cover of some song I recognized, but didn't know. For this, he brought up a guest onstage. First, some guy who had on a U of M shirt. Realizing that he had the wrong shirt on at MSU, he kicked him off and then brought up a girl. He said something into her recorder and she got to hold the lyrics for him as he sang. The lyrics were in Eddie's notebook. The whole crowd was silent and they did this song. It was amazing. Then, he gave her a bunch of stuff and let her go. Eddie then went off about how our state (Michigan) is trying to censor concerts by rating them. He said just because, "some guy whips out his penis," and then said we all have the right to show our beef. I could never compare this to anything, ever in my lifetime. This up coming Sunday, I see them again, but except for sitting in the 100's, We're on the floor. I can not wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeff Passariello (chipper97@aol.com):
Hello. I just got back from the best concert! It was Pearl Jam, with special guest Iggy Pop at the Breslin Student Events Center, in East Lansing, Michigan. This venue sold out in less than half an hour, with it being promoted as the biggest concert this town has ever seen. We had waited nearly 7 years for Eddie and the gang to come back. It was well worth the wait. The show lasted just short of 2 hours. As the band came on stage, the Red Dot song, from Yield was played over the p.a. The set was opened with an old favorite, Release. This was much to the crowd's pleasure, with nearly everyone singing along. Right from the get go, the guys all seemed happy, and excited to be there. Right after Release, the band went right for the harder stuff, playing a few bangers in a row. The set list was mixed with quite a few songs from Yield, with a couple from every other cd as well. A few surprises appeared on the list as well, some of which I think were impromptu. I was in the 3rd row, and it seemed as if Eddie was having voice difficulties. About halfway through the set, the guys stopped, and Eddie spoke to each of them. They then played Elderly Woman, and Off He Goes back to back. This seemed to help his voice. A great rendition of Jeremy, followed by Even Flow nearly blew the roof. These songs were played like the classics they are. Rearviewmirror was the regular set closer. This was by far the best version of this song I have heard. I must admit, it is a personal favorite, but this was a supercharged version. The encore was great. The final song, I believe was Throw Your Arms Around Me, (Soldier of Love-syn), and Eddie brought 2 people up on stage, one of which he kicked off for wearing the wrong school t-shirt. Those from Michigan will understand. I had seen Pearl Jam before, but this show definately had more energy. The guys, all 5, seemed happy and to be enjoying themselves, and making about 15,000 people happy. If you left that show disapointed, you will never be satisfied with a rock show. Maybe they didn't play every song you love, but they gave every song they played 100% effort. It was a great show!! Look forward to Detroit, 5 days from now.