Set List: Of The Girl, Breakerfall, Corduroy, Save You, Ghost, Nothing As It Seems, I Am Mine, Love Boat Captain, Given To Fly, Lukin, Not For You, Thumbing My Way, You Are, Even Flow, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror;
1st encore: Free Jazz, Do The Evolution, Last Exit, Small Town, Better Man, Once;
2nd encore: Soon Forget, Last Kiss, Rockin' in the Free World

Having seen Pearl Jam the night before, a spectacular opening show, I went into tonight's show with my head a little clearer from the excitement and anticipation of the night before. Despite a few forgotten lyrics and a missed chord here and there, the night before had that, ragged at times, character that makes PJ one of the ultimate live experiences of any era.

But night two was almost a different experience. It was a completely focused, brilliantly delivered and powerfully received performance. The night before, after joking about his trouble with lyrics at times, he quipped "By the time we reach Sydney we will be tight, polished and boring." Well, they didn't wait to get to Sydney, as night 2 was tight, polished but any thing but boring. In fact look out Melbourne, by the time they reach you they will be ready to knock your fuckin socks off. The only real similarities I could immediately tell when comparing the shows was the blatantly obvious enjoyment each member was having on stage.

On night two, Ed was focused, relaxed, and at times, downright hilarious in his dancing about and his light hearted banter between songs. He introduced Elderly Woman as "a woman who saw her photo in the Vs lyric book was quite unhappy.... She, um, sued us. Now this song is called 'Elderly WEALTHY woman behind the counter in a small town." The crowd roared with laughter and then in full pitched sing along as Ed started the song. Gone from night one were any mention of looming war (got a huge crowd response at the end of Daughter, and his Bono-like-sparkling jacketed Dubbya in 'Bushleaguer') and his Pete Townshend defense (although he did lend support it in other ways, and to my mind, greater effect, by giving the famous Pete windmill thrash of his guitar at various points).

Mike, last time I saw him in Brisbane in 1998, was playing well but was withdrawn, head down mostly and barely moving from the one spot. On both nights he was the most energetic of the whole band. Jumping, circling, interacting with Jeff and Stone allot, and, most importantly, delivering a guitar performance possibly no living rock guitarist could give. Jeff was intense, swaying back a lot, and jumping in place, and giving his all whether standing or sitting. Stone also was enjoying the experience. Walking on the spot, as he does a lot, smiling even more and enjoying the way in which Ed was interacting with the pumped up crowd. And finally, Matt was probably why the rest of the guys were so relaxed on both nights. He was almost faultless. His drumming during 'even flow' and 'given to fly' and 'Rearviewmirror' was totally unbelievable.

The set list from night 2 was considerably different from night one as they opened with a Binaural double. But the standout additions on night two were 'Love Boat Captain,' 'Lukin/Not For You', 'Do The Evolution', 'Once' and the awesome 'Rockin' In The Free World.' It didn't quite have the impact of the surprisingly powerful 'Crazy Mary' from night one, but it put a thumping closer on what was a dynamic opening two night stand in Brisbane. If you are waiting in the other Aussie cities, in Japan or the US, LOOK OUT, they are playing with a precision, passion and enjoyment that is absolutely mind blowing.