Set List: Do The Evolution, Corduroy, Save You, Deep, Dissident, Small Town, Even Flow, Jeremy, Thumbing My Way, You Are, I Am Mine, Habit, Untitled, MFC, Given To Fly, Nothingman, Blood, Porch;
1st encore: Driven To Tears by The Police, Better Man, Crazy Mary, Know Your Rights, Fortunate Son;
2nd encore: Blue Red Grey by Pete Townshend, Black, Alive, Baba O'Riley

Even while I write this review, I am still in awe and disbelief from the sheer power of this show. This was my 18th PJ show since '95, and without a doubt, this was the most memorable of all! I feel very fortunate to have been a member of the 10 club for over 9 years now, because I could not have asked for better seats than in the 5th row dead center (along with the FRONT ROW seats in St. Louis the night before)! From the bottom of my heart, thank you to the 10 club for truly taking care of the devoted and very appreciative fans!

Having said that, I would like to voice my opinions of the show not on a song by song basis, but rather I would like to convey to all those fellow diehards how, in a historical sense, this will be right up there the MSG show in '98! From the moment the band reached the stage, the band seemed possessed with the desire to blow the roof off of the arena. They reached into their immense catalog of songs and seemed to hand pick the songs that they know would drive the crowd into a frenzy. I mean just look at the setlist and you can conclude that they were intent on keeping the momentum going throughout the show beginning with DTE through Dissident through both encores. Even with crowd pleasers such as Small Town and Nothingman, they seemed to keep the energy high through energetic sing alongs. More impressive was the addition of a very unique, almost psychedelic light show to accompany songs such as You Are, which proves that the new material can take a life form of its own. Then to close the main set with Blood and Porch, both of which are known be popular closers on their own, together they sent the crowd into near pandemonium, especially when Ed was looking for a place to climb circa MSG '98, but to no avail.

As if the main set weren't enough, they came back and showed their ever growing musical talents by giving credit to those who came before them by showcasing some of the best covers that I ever seen or heard them perform. In essence, it was PJ's version of Rock n' Roll History 101, with enough energy and intensity to cause even the most casual PJ fan to stop and realize how special this show was. From the dueling solos by Mike and Boom creating perhaps the most dynamic version of Crazy Mary, to Ed leering at the crowd with enough fire in his eyes to light up the entire room during Know Your Rights and even how Ed destroyed each tambourine as if they were made of sawdust during Baba, they seemed simply elated to be caught in the moment and allowed themselves to bask in the glow to the very energetic crowd. In turn, we were treated to rarities by the Who, the Police, and CCR! How can you not be emotionally overwhelmed when you are witness to such a historic event?

All in all, I am very ecstatic to see that the band is genuinely happy to be playing their music and even more happy to see that the fans are equally eager to experience PJ in their prime of their career. Even though these are the only 2 shows I get to see this leg of the tour, at least I have nearly a dozen to look forward to in the second leg! See you guys then!

Dave Kilstein
"Jordan #23"

This was my first Pearl Jam show, and it was simply amazing!! These guys' can put on one hell of a show. My wife (who isn't the biggest fan, just thought Eddie was hot) even agreed that the show was outstanding. After the first song, Evolution, she turned to me and said, "We're going to see them in Chicago and I don't care how much we spend for tickets!". She likes the slower songs and I like the faster ones, but that night had a little of everything. I won't bore everyone with a long story about the show. Instead I just want to point out some the things that made a three hour drive their and back worth it.

Pearl Jam started off with 3 fast songs which was a big surprise. Evolution opening was electric. I loved that song from the first time I heard it. Dissident was a nice surprise. Its an awesome song. I remember a couple of classics' like Jeremy, Even Flow, Porch and Given to Fly. Small Town and Nothingman (kick-ass song) were like sing-a-longs. Eddie singing Thumbing My Way was beautiful. The man truly has talent

The first encore brought Better Man. My wife was getting worried. That's her favorite song and they hadn't played during the opening set. She had a big smile on her face while she was singing along with Eddie and the whole crowd. Thanks for playing that song, you made her night. They followed up that song with Crazy Mary. That is now my favorite song. Hearing it live, everyone has to agree is something special. Forunate Son was cool. That had the crowd jumpin'.

The second encore brought out an old favorite in Black. Very cool version. Alive was crazy. The guys were all jumping around on stage just have'n a good ol' time. All the lights came on after Alive, and they finished with Baba O'Riley. Outstanding closing song. The whole show was great!! Mike, Jeff, Stone, Matt and Eddie you guys put your hearts and souls into these shows! Thanks for a wonderful night. Look forward to seeing you in Chicago. It's nice to know Pearl Jam is still rockin!!!!!

Thanks,
Darren and Jennifer Urbanczyk