Set List: Better Man, Don't Go, Save You, Tremor Christ, Given To Fly, Corduroy, Get Right, Even Flow, I Am Mine, Love Boat Captain, Wishlist, Jeremy, You Are, Whipping, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror;
1st encore: Off He Goes, Small Town, Last Kiss, Black, Leatherman, Do The Evolution;
2nd encore: Baba O'Riley

"Waiting, watching the clock, it's four o'clock, it's got to stop..."

And so the crowd opened Pearl Jam's first appearance in Melbourne in seven long years by belting out the opening verses of arguably the bands' best known hit, Betterman, while Eddie Vedder just stood there and watched. With everyone's hands in the air and still singing, Eddie joins and to take the song to it's usual conclusion. The electric Go was next, with the strong crowd being whipped into a frenzy, led by Mike McCready's antics on stage. The first song played off Riot Act was Save You, and Eddie was sure to emphasise the expletives in the lyrics, and showing off his 'No War, No Way' t-shirt he had on underneath his open white shirt. Tremor Christ followed, one of several the band played from my favourite album, Vitalogy. The crowd involvement really kicked into fifth gear again during Given To Fly, which began with the signature opening chords from Stone Gossard's sweet-sounding guitar.

Corduroy and Get Right set up Evenflow perfectly, with most of the crowd going back to 'Ten-mode' by jumping up and down whilst head-banging. By the time super rock ballad I Am Mine had finished, I found myself holding my girlfriend tight, knowing I was experiencing arguably the greatest moments of my 18 year life. When the lights lowered and the beautiful Love Boat Captain started, I knew I was experiencing the greatest moments of my life. A disco-ball was lowered and created the effect of the galaxy behind Matt Cameron's drum kit and around the entire arena during Wishlist, and Jeremy got the crowd singing again, with Eddie singing "seemed a harmless little…" before letting the crowd yell out "fuck!"

You Are, Whipping, and Insignificance rolled the show on till fan favourite Rearviewmirror ended the opening set from everyone's favourite Seattle band. Pearl Jam left the stage, and cruelly made the crowd wait over five excruciating minutes of clapping and chanting before they returned to the stage to a wild response from the packed out Melbourne crowd. Jeff Ament brought on stage a seat and a real bass (not one of those massive ones though; a smaller sized one which still pointed to the ground), and the guys stuck into Off He Goes, which was the perfect return from an encore. The longest title in the Pearl Jam catalogue, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town was next, with a huge sing-a-long ensuing. The whole crowd screamed "hello!", and I was left wondering if it could get any better. If I thought it couldn't get better, I was soon to be proven wrong. Eddie spotted a huge 'Drop The Leash' sign in the crowd, but couldn't remember the song. So instead he headed into Last Kiss.

By this stage, I was fearing that every song would be their last. I began begging for my personal favourite, Black, as did many others. They duly obliged. While it is so hard to pick a highlight for the night, Black was one song I had to see the guys play. So when the opening chords began, I got very excited. The song progressed to the chorus, with the crowd singing every beautiful lyric with Eddie. At this moment, life was perfect. This concert was perfect. Having never seen the band before (I was 11 or 12 years old when they last toured), seeing Pearl Jam live and in the flesh was a dream of mine. I had waited so many years for this, and for them to play my most favourite song was just too much: I couldn't control the tears that began to well in my eyes. This was truly a moving experience.

Leatherman was a song for those who are hardcore fans of the band, with the biggest fans jumping up and down while singing the lyrics, while most stood and learned as the band played. However, something was still missing, and it was Do The Evolution. The writhing opening guitar ripped through the already thick atmosphere and everyone started to dance. So affected by the music was one, that he somehow got on stage and danced to a huge response from the crowd. A security guard rushed to get him off-stage, but Eddie would have none of it, somehow singing the chorus, composing this heroic fan, and telling the guard to leave him on-stage. This allowed Eddie to have his fun with this yellow-shirted fan; a George Bush mask, sitting on the fans shoulders while singing, and even allowing the luckiest fan on earth to sing a verse of the song. While the crowd roared (both with amazement, and no doubt a heap of envy), both Eddie and the fan roared into the microphone "DO THE EVOLUTION!" After the song ended, the two embraced and as the fan walked off to the side of the stage, Eddie said "I hope they feed you in jail."

As if the party atmosphere wasn't already enough, Pearl Jam quickly performed a second encore, turning on all the lights and creating a mass dance party by covering The Who's Baba O'Reilly. The crowd was grooving, Eddie was pounding the tambourines, and amongst all this war talk, life is good; but Pearl Jam are better. Having heard so many live albums, seen so much vision of them live, nothing, and I mean nothing, could prepare me for the bombardment of the senses that Pearl Jam provided me. Eddie was his wailing best. Mike was savage in both his guitar work and on-stage antics. Jeff was typical Jeff - performing on his axe with style. Stone was so consistent all night, whether it be playing acoustic guitar or electric. Matt pounded the skins in the fashion you'd expect an ex-Soundgarden-cum-Pearl Jam drummer to do. Boom Gaspar was on deck as well, adding an extra dimension to their live show on the keyboard.

It may have taken almost seven years for Pearl Jam to return to Melbourne, but it was well worth the wait. Johnny Marr and the Healers was a great support band, working the crowd up for the main act. However, Pearl Jam was the reason everyone was there. They delivered for those like me who have been starved of live action from arguably the tightest band in the world. Thank you Pearl Jam. Thank you for changing my life - I can die a happy man now.

By Brett Collett of Dandenong, Vic.