Set List: Of The Girl, Breakerfall, Grievance, Corduroy, Light Years, Go, Given To Fly, Evacuation, Even Flow, Daughter, Animal, Wishlist, Nothingman, Better Man, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror;
1st encore: Last Exit, Once, Black, Timeless Melody, State of Love And Trust, Fuckin' Up
2nd encore: Leatherman, Footsteps, Do The Evolution, Garden, Yellow Ledbetter

Matt Brunton (matthewbrunton@tinyworld.co.uk):
An air of anticipation had set upon the Northern working class city of Manchester. It's a while since Pearl Jam have been here, or anywhere near here for that matter and the fans know it. It's also the last gig in England for what is likely to be quite a long time. This means there is a lot for even Pearl Jam to live up to.

As I am having a quiet drink inside the venue with my friend we hear a dull sound. "That's not the support is it?" I ask. It is. The Vandals have started. Give them credit for their enthusiasm. The singer even thinks we'll appreciate to see his fully naked body. Yet for all their exuberance they're simply not Pearl Jam. Tonight that is all that matters.

After about a half hour between the band's five shady figures amble onto the stage. BLAM! It's Pearl Jam. We spend the entirety of 'Of The Girl' in shock, just staring at them. We knew it would be them but it's hard to believe, and we expected to hear 'Sometimes' !!! Then 'Breakerfall' sounds up, and we go crazy! It sounds awesome tonight and the band are definitely up for it.

The set continues with a seamless mix of the old and the new. The early stuff like 'Even Flow' and 'Daughter getting the biggest cheers. Before 'Wishlist' Ed says "We were gonna play a song by my arch enemy Stone but we're gonna try this instead." He then proceeds to get the first two lines wrong and utters "At least I knew the words to Stone's!" It doesn't matter though, Ed is singing beautifully, crystal clear live and with the passion that only he can muster.

The first section of the set ends with a storming version of new track 'Insignificance' before ending with 'Rearviewmirror.' As they finish 'Rearviewmirror' and walk off, me and my friend just look at each other in amazement. It's probably the best version of any song I've ever heard. We shout and scream for about eight minutes while they chill backstage.

Ed comes back on and apologises, "sorry we took so long back there guys. I just had to kick Stone's ass." Someone in the crowd takes Ed's side and throws a paper glass at Stone. Ed retorts, quick as a flash, "Hey there's only me allowed to touch him. You touch him and I'll kick your ass." We laugh. It's the kind of relationship PJ have come to have with their audience.

They kick off again with 'Last Exit' which is amazing. We hear a rocking 'Once' before a powerful 'Black' in which it's impossible to take your eyes off Ed.

The next song was a very nice touch. 'Timeless Melody' is a track by a band called 'The La's.' Ed introduces it, "Er.. I think these guys are from your town." They are and it makes the gig a lot more personal, not like we're another anonymous non- US city. 'State of Love & Trust' then 'the Neil Young cover' and a blinding second set.

They leave again and wait for us to shout loud enough.

They waltz back on with Ed saying "well if you're up for it we're up for it." He should know Mancunians (not Manchesterians Ed!!!) are always up for it!! he says if they're hanging around that they're gonna be playing some rare stuff. We get 'Leatherman' ("well we've played 'Nothingman' and 'Better Man'" he jokes) and 'Footsteps' which is a nice touch. They then blast up again with the last fast one- 'Do The Evolution' and they rock the place as we go crazy. They have a quick onstage conference to decide what to do next before playing 'Garden' then ending with a long, beautiful 'Yellow Ledbetter.' It ends with Mike continuing by himself and all the house lights on as we clap with Mike.

Ed thanks us for the last few days in England and tells us to "take care."

I now don't know what to do with myself! Am in shock and can't take in the magnitude of what has just happened.

There were high expectations beforehand but they were more than met as the band threw themselves into the gig. It was an amazing night which I'll never forget.

Come back soon.

Karen Hanlon (karenandgraham.box@btinternet.com):
Wow what a night.The Vandals were a pleasant surprise, their 'punk pop' sound hit the right spot, a great start to the night. By the last song of their set the guitarist (Warren, I think) was totally stark naked running around the stage, up the stairs and climbing on the speakers. MAD. Then came Eddie and the boys.

Just the presence of the band blew the crowd away. Starting with Of The Girl they flew into Breakerfall, one of my favourites on Binaural. Another new one followed, Grievance. Corduroy followed- a classic. Pearl Jam were now rocking, Mike was waving at the crowd-Stone was having a bit of a dance, Jeff looked a bit miserable. Matt was pounding the skins like a man possesed and EDDIE, well, he ran the show.

Next came Light Years, my personal favourite from Binaural. Eddie's voice was just so amazing. Another oldie followed, this was Go and the crowd went ballistic! Eddie said he didn't want to play Given To Fly but was under duress from Stone. They both gave each other banter all night. Another new one followed with Evacuation then Even Flow and a brilliant Daughter, before launching into Animal. Next came Wishlist and then out came the lighters as Eddie began to sing Nothingman, a classic from Vitalogy.

The next song made the girlfriend cry, an amazing Better Man-this song gets better every time I hear it live! Insignificance was next followed by Rearviewmirror. Eddie was drinking his usual bottle of red wine, when someone threw a full beer onstage he opened it , took a swig and spat it out! Stick to the wine Eddie..Last Exit was next followed by Black,the emotion Eddie puts into this song is fantastic. Now not many people knew the next song-Timeless Melody by The La's-nice song though. Eddie also made a funny remark about the Gallagher brothers, which raised a few cheers from the crowd. State of Love and Trust-a crowd favourite-the crowd surfers were in full swing tonight. Fuckin' up-the old Neil Young song came next-although a little slow for my liking.

The final encore, a big surprise here. Ed said they would only play rare tracks kicking off with Leatherman and then an excellent Footsteps-out came the lighters again! Another favourite of mine followed next-Do The Evolution with Stone providing back up vocals. Another classic came next, Garden, a song not very often played live but it was brilliant anyway. The final song being the fantastic Yellow Ledbetter. Mike's guitar playing on this song is out of this world. I wanted Ed and the boys to play all night but all good things come to an end. Personally, I think last night's concert was better than Wembley in 1996. In October of this year, me and the girlfriend are going to Los Angeles and we've got tickets to see Pearl Jam in a place called Devore about 25 miles outside LA. CANT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!! Let's just hope Ed and the band come back to the UK soon. Cheers Pearl Jam for a fantastic night..............