Set List: Corduroy, Hail Hail, Brain of J., Faithfull, Red Mosquito, Wishlist, Even Flow, MFC, Habit, Better Man, Jeremy, Given To Fly, Daughter, Black, In Hiding, Do The Evolution, Last Exit; Encore: Once, Smile, Yellow Ledbetter

LizzyRock@aol.com:
Oh my gawd.....I'm back. Definitely a little worse for wear and tear, and still spinning from the excitement and from the hours clocked on boats and planes, so this may be a typo-filled review (sorry)....but I've got "Hail Hail" blasting right now and is making the magic come alive again. In fact, the weekend brought the pushed-to-the-side-in-my-Yield-excitement beauty of "No Code" back to me.

Before the show, bootleggers were selling t-shirts in the crowd with Pearl Jam "Live In Malibu, Hawaii" on the back. I finally confronted one guy to prevent someone from buying one. The bootlegger looked at me blankly and, always the smarmy salesperson, didn't miss a beat when I pointed out the typo: "No, Malibu and Maui are the same place," he told me most assuredly....LOL. At least I stopped the sale, but damn, there wasn't a lot of legal merchandise by the 2nd show and I had some sleazy chick offer me a three-digit amount of cash for LITERALLY THE SHIRT OFF MY BACK. I declined, and later, friends heard her bitching about my refusal to make a buck off the band. Get a clue.

Ok, without further adieu, details on 2/20, my favorite of the two nights, just because I've been dying to hear "Smile" and they did it. As far as set lists go, it was a diverse one, ranging from the expected ("Jeremy," "Black") to sweet surprises ("Red Mosquito," "Smile," "Once"). The 2/21 show gets major kudos for also having an eclectic encore.

THE VENUE: Amazingly small!!! I commented to a friend it was more designed for a State Fair Freddy Fender concert than for Pearl Jam. Hey, definitely no argument here.....hardly a poor seat in the little, grassy place (scant bleachers in back), except when a 'ho would get on her "boyfriend's" shoulders and block views, but, by Show #2, security did a decent job of stopping that behavior when the slut brigade would get out of control (like DUH, do they think the band would WANT THEM by acting like that or, in some less-slutty, but more pathetic cases, hanging like pug-nosed puppies at the backstage barricade all night?).

The sound in this venue was nothing short of awesome.....night air, under the stars, always make the music and tones carry through the air and into your spine.

Both shows seemed to be very rock-oriented, as opposed to angst-oriented, which may just be where my head is at the time, but definately, on 2/20, the band's goal was to ROCK YOUR BUTT OFF and, they did so, beautifully. More importantly, they seemed HAPPY rocking out together.

Opening with "Corduroy" (who would have guessed?...they did "Oceans" at soundcheck), and despite a few missteps, the song's chords immediately sucked one into the show, forgetting one's surroundings, just basking in the glory of the music and getting the blood pumping.....a force that barely slowed throughout the 100 minute set (the venue has one of those nerdy 10 pm curfew times...more later). Oh, and I distinctly heard "teacher" (was that star/sun? LOL).

"Hail Hail" was tightly performed with being "bandaged hand in hand" conveyed as both an act of love and the trepidation of commitment. Contradictions that worked well as EV delivered them by teetering the lines between sincerity, fear, and sarcasm. "Brain Of J." rocked harder than I've ever heard it live.....a headbanger with a sense of purpose [singing guitar riff to self now]. I completely blacked out to whatever was around me and for those all-too-brief 3-4 minutes was caught in PURE rock and roll rapture.....screaming Stone and Mike guitars, the rhythm section POUNDING POUNDING POUNDING....this was the band at its finest.

The anthemic "Faithfull" was also presented with more fervor live. I could have seen it going both ways, what with its strained beginning on the studio track and all, but instead it came across confident and assured. But the beauty of the end, when the band quiets, and EV sings "I will be, too, faithful to you" was chilling as it rang through the night air...tropical breeze and palms blowing in the background of this paradise of an island. A nice complement to "Hail Hail."

In keeping with the ROCKING tone of the evening, "Red Mosquito" was a well-received surprise....shut-yer-eyes-and-sway time. Unfortunately, the front barricade had been constructed by a used-to-Hootie venue staff and apparently started to give way on some people. The show was briefly halted after the song as EV urged the crowd to move back. Further calming was a nicely-done "Wishlist." But enough of that....then the band tore into "Even Flow" (though the 2nd night, the song was done with even more gusto, if such a thing is possible) and the crowd was treated to "MFC" that was nothing short of outstanding, again, sorry I keep mentioning the night air, but this sucker jangled its way into my lungs, it seemed. An AMAZING track live.

Next up was some semi-song....an ad lib? a local song? It was partially played next to screams from many audience members. Great lyrics though...in my notes I scrawled: "Don't need something, all I know some people JUST DON'T KNOW." "Habit" was another surprise and painted the picture of the song vividly ("speaking as one of the lucky ones" blaring into the scream of "never thought YOU'D habit"). "Better Man" was pretty, but I sensed it was performed a tad out of tedious obligation to include it in the set (I felt more emotion in the song the second night).

Then came the only point of the evening where I just lost it emotionally.....oddly the much-played "Jeremy" and "Given To Fly." It's the ending "whooo whoooo whoooo whoooo's" of the former that successfully capture the pain one must be in to take one's life. The song is a modern tragedy and as it builds, I felt like it built like Jeremy's insides as he ordealed cruelty to the point of making his fatal choice. I felt every bit inside the character's head (I hated high school).

"Given To Fly" was purely majestic....perhaps so moving because of the environment surrounding the island. I kept thinking about seeing whales breach (leap out of the ocean) the day before and how these great beasts, despite their 500 ton weight could still overcome that factor to leap out and "fly." I felt an analogy at the time to weight = burden, flying = releasing shackles. The song touched me so much, I came unglued.

Because of this, "Daughter" went by in a blur. I was literally too stunned by "GTF" and it basically went over my head the first night until the beautiful tie-in of "SHE WILL RISE ABOVE" sent my fist in the air in agreement. The band continued the emotional "one-two" punch with a delicious "Black" that I've written so much about through the years, I can't even come up with anything that I haven't said a million times. Sad. Perfection. Just shut my eyes and bowed my head with "I know someday you'll have a beautiful life....."

"In Hiding" was one of the night's many high points...it just seemed so loud, so clear... "soaring" is a word that's been used for it often, but that is so true...Eddie's voice soared as the band soared with him. It had an epic feel to it...grand...I can't describe how it felt. Yeh, I can...made me shake...so good. Rather than being "in hiding," it felt like the band was EMERGING from hiding (another nice analogy).

The band didn't seem aware of the wimpy 10 pm curfew, and there was a band huddle for a few minutes when it was revealed to them [I'm assuming it was at this point]. Eddie seemed VISIBLY enraged because he told the audience he wanted the evening to be so "perfect" (and NO ONE likes to be told to "turn it down" by the suit-n-tie crowd anyway). Eddie tossed his mic stand in a rage and then pushed his voice TO THE LIMIT, screaming out "Do The Evolution." The anger only enhanced the performance....and the 'anti-yuppie, anti-mainstream, anti-American policy of screwing indigenous population HEATED point of the song' could have only been lost on the very deaf. Eddie's voice continued to reflect the rage on "Last Exit" to the point where one might have thought he was so pissed that it WAS. They exit the stage, leaving everyone breathless, excited, and a little fearful that more may not come.

But come it did...in all senses of the word...as a smiling band returned for a "Once" that, although the inner heat about the curfew was contained, BLEW THE HOUSE DOWN. The ending screams of "ONCE! ONCE! ONCE!", the lack of control seeping out of the lyrics, the band bouncing along, beating the hell out of their instruments...here was why this is the greatest live band on the planet.

And "Smile"....what a treat! A chilling feeling of joy ran down my spine...in less than two hours, I'd rocked my head off, swayed to swirling solos, marveled at the musicianship, cried at the beauty, and felt the most incredible sense of peace and happiness. How could it end? A sweetly done "Yellow Ledbetter" that is still echoing in my head.   : )