Ed solo: Drifting - before opening band
Set List: Sometimes, Last Exit, Save You, Animal, Jeremy, Nothing As It Seems, In Hiding, Even Flow, Don't Drive Me (SUV), Green Disease, Corduroy, Immortality, Nothingman, Better Man, Leatherman, Grievance, Evolution, Breath, Don't Go;
1st encore: Love Boat Captain, Black, Down, Alive;
2nd encore: Sonic Reducer, Leaving Here, Rockin' In The Free World

And I thought the Raleigh show was good... This show completely left that one in the dust - the man trilogy, "Breath," and "Sonic Reducer" in the same night???? PLUS the band being in a great mood with Eddie talking a lot and having tons of energy and Mike killing guitar solos left and right - this was an AMAZING SHOW!! We got to the venue at about 1 to get in line for the 10C tickets, (ended up with 15th row, dead center - THANK YOU 10C!!!!) which brings me to an important point - the folks at the Ten Club WILL take care of you. There is nothing more annoying then standing in the hot sun for hours and then having some "fan" who got there 10 minutes before the window opens pushing people to get to the front. So those of you who are new at this - keep it in your pants, you'll get your rightful tickets and the show will be amazing.

We returned to the venue at about 7 and made it to our seats in time to see Ed come out to play "Driftin," which was just plain cool. Then S-K came out and they really are talented - the drummer is amazing and the guitarist has some great moves too. So, come out and support them (FYI: "Nice tits" is not the greatest form of encouragement). The guys took the stage at 8:45 and followed the trend of beginning the night with a mellow tune - "Sometimes" was great as I had never heard it live before and it was a good way to start off the night. Then they immediately ripped through "Last Exit," "Save You" (sure to be a show staple from now on, GREAT live tune), and then "ANIMAL" - SUCH a great live song and they absolutely nailed it! Then "Jeremy" with the crowd singing along so loudly Eddie was barely audible at some parts. After "NAIS," "In Hiding" made its tour debut and what an excellent song - Mike was having a great time with this one. After they played the SUV song....one of the funniest PJ moments EVER - "Green Disease"!!! Eddie's singing started out fine, but in the middle of the first verse, he switched to the second verse and when he started to sing the beginning of the second verse he realized he'd messed up the lyrics and so he says "this band's called Creed" and then sings "LALALALALALA" for the rest of the verse and in the end, instead of spelling GREED, he spells CREED. Definitely a classic moment - the boot's worth it just for this.

After that they sang "Immortality," which was just amazing, having never heard it live before. And after that, the return of the MAN trilogy!!! Such great songs, played perfectly and the crowd was right there with the band on every one. Then they played "Grievance" with political commentary from Eddie after. He brought up the very important fact that fifty percent of federal money goes to the military and that it's weird that the troops only get paid a little over minimum wage. He also mentioned that the veterans are having their benefits taken away because of the reallocation of funds needed for the war - how is this supporting the troops? Some guy in the audience yelled that we won the war and Eddie replied by saying that war is not about winning or loosing, but about what the outcome will be and that we have to make sure our leaders are responsible because it is us that they are representing. On a side note, I'd just like to say that this is one of the many reasons why I absolutely adore this band - they stand for something. They have their own opinions and make them known, they are well informed and genuinely care about the state of the Earth. I completely respect and admire their right to uphold their responsibility to their audience by giving us a MESSAGE.

After that, the band fittingly went into "DTE," which rocked. "Breath" also made an appearance and even though they're playing it more on this tour then they ever have before, it's still a huge thrill to hear those opening words...magical. They came out for the second encore where they played "Black," which is always a spiritual experience in my opinion. When Mike went in for the solo at the end, Eddie just took his bottle of wine and sat down to enjoy the show with us. They also played "Down," which Ed introduced as "a song about breaking out of depression, I don't know how it didn't make it on the album, this is a great song." And it was great - love this song! "Alive" closed out the first encore, and then when I thought all the surprises were over, they start off the second encore with "SONIC REDUCER" - OHMYGOSH!!!!! This was definitely a high point with Ed doing his evolution dance at the beginning and jumping around everywhere. Then they brought out S-K to finish the night with "Leaving Here" and "RITFW."

This show was outstanding...Pearl Jam always astonish me with their superior live show and how well they treat their fans. Thanks for everything guys - see you next time.

- Anna