Set List: Oceans, Corduroy, Grievance, Animal, Brain of J., Red Mosquito, Nothing As It Seems, Even Flow, Faithfull, Dissident, Thin Air, Lukin, Not For You, Present Tense, MFC, Improv into Habit, Breakerfall, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror;
1st enc: State of Love and Trust, Do The Evolution, Better Man, Small Town, Go;
2nd enc: Leaving Here, Rockin' In The Free World

Photo credit: David Feeley

OK sorry bout that, now on with the review (1 of 3). Being the first of 2 nights at the same venue I was expecting a broad mix of songs not usually played. I called the opening, 'Oceans', which was wonderful since it was the first time played this tour. Eddie was sporting white pants and a white button down dress shirt which later was removed. Mike was in his tank top (no cross dressing tonight ;) ). Next was the popular 'Corduroy' and Matt was SO POWERFUL towards the end! (Speaking of powerful drumming: thanks to Sonic Youth for a great opening set...their drummer is amazing) Next was 'Grievance' then "The Human Juke-Box" song ('Animal' to the layman). 'Brain of J' was a nice surprise, as was 'Red Mosquito' where Mike just shined on his solos! Eddie addresses us finally says how nice it is to be here, beautiful night and how he doesn't feel like what he is doing is work.

I hate drunken concert-goers!

'NAIS' was nice, and of course, 'Even Flow' was a crowd pleaser introduced as "Screaming Big Baby." 'Dissident' was another nice surprise. 'Thin Air' was next. Great to hear 'Lukin' live. Stone took all the solos to 'NFY' as usual...Ed changed the lyric to "Small my table, seats just one, not so crowded but its still fun." Funny guy that Ed. 'Present Tense' was beautiful with spots on Mike & Ed only. It was disappointing not to see Mike go crazy and do stage laps on 'MFC'. Windmills on 'Habit' were fun to see (Habit sporting a new intro by the way). 'Breakerfall' 'Insignificance' and a blistering version of 'RVM' topped off the set.

Have I mentioned I hate drunken concert-goers?

Ed comes on after the break and toasts us with his wine and they slam into 'SOLAT' and 'DTE'...no ape dancing from Ed :( . 'Betterman' was another huge sing-along but I was disappointed not to hear the 'Save it for Later' tag on the end. 'Small Town' was great and 'Go' rounded off the first encore with Mike soloing behind his head. They of course came back for one more encore, Ed was gonna snap some polaroids but decided to wait till after the song which was 'Leaving Here.' I was praying (and screaming) for them to close with 'Baba,' but just hoping they wouldn't play 'Yellow Ledbetter' again. I got half my wish...they closed with 'RitFW'.

All-in-all, a very powerful, driven, "On" performance with little crowd interaction. Can't wait till tonight and Saturday.

P.S. I hate drunken concert-goers!!!!

John728 (john728@netzero.net):

Well, I am going to keep my fan view short because I am still out of breath from this outstanding performance by the group. I was stunned that they opened up with Oceans and I thought I was going to pass out. That is one of my favorite songs and one of the least expected songs myself and others thought would be played. I cannot sit here and remember all of the songs in order but I know all that were played. Elderly Women Behind the Counter in a Small Town is probably the best song of the night. The night was coming to end and for me that is my favorite song. I kept wondering if it would be played. Eddie comes up to the mic and says "This is a hard one to forget: 1 2 3 4 2" and began the song. Everybody was singing along to it and I got a the best feeling someone can have at a concert. I always wanted to hear that song live in person. This band is outstanding and I am going to see another show during this tour and I need to find out where. Anyway, my girlfriend, who was introduced to Pearl Jam music by myself, was loving this concert and wants to travel to another with me. Anyway, I need to take a breath and come back to reality after an awesome night. AWESOME SHOW. HAVE A PROFITABLE DAY!