Set List: Crazy Mary, Spin The Black Circle, Hail Hail, Save You, Green Disease, Small Town, Nothing As It Seems, Even Flow, Insignificance, Given To Fly, You Are, 1/2 Full, Daughter/(WMA), Corduroy, Love Boat Captain, Black, Do The Evolution;
1st encore: Animal, Go, Glorified G, Better Man/Improv, Alive;
2nd encore: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away (Ed solo), Soon Forget, Jeremy, Fortunate Son, Rockin in the Free World, Yellow Ledbetter

With four Pearl Jam shows under my belt, I figured I knew what to expect: McCready will steal the show as usual. All you need is Black, Even Flow, Alive, or any similar tune on the setlist and Mike will take the spotlight right away from the frontman we all know...it happened four times before, it will happen again.

But with Eddie ripping through Spin, Hail Hail, Save You, complete with screams and leaps, he was just ON. Seemed like it might be an Ed show. After Green Disease (if memory serves), all Eddie had to say was "hello" before the crowd completely erupted...at that point, it was apparent that *we* would steal the show, the crowd. In all of the many shows I've attended in my life, there is no doubt that last night's audience at the Spectrum was the most enthusiastic, vocal, positive-energy crowd I've ever been a part of. No doubt we were part of the show...

At one point in the night, and with a big grin, Eddie gave many toasts to different areas of the arena--a gesture that felt very intimate despite the thousands he was toasting--and one could feel his sincere gratitude. However, the ultimate moment of the show, it seems, fell during Better Man. As any faithful bootleg listener has heard, it is not uncommon for the crowd to join Eddie in singing the beginning of the song, usually loud enough so that Eddie steps away from the mic. In this case, the swell of vocals coming from all of us was so loud that Ed had to STOP the F'N SONG just to say how incredible it was. [You MUST check this out on the bootleg...]

As any of you who attended this show know, it was a really special night and the right place to be. And for once, we blew the band away instead of just the other way around.

What a crowd. That's the first thought that sticks out after Monday night's show in Philly. It was one of the loudest crowds I have ever heard. And they were loud for a reason...THIS BAND IS ON A ROLL!! After Saturday's amazing show in Pittsburgh, I didn't know how they would follow things up, but they nailed it. Opening with Crazy Mary was a great move. Green Disease was badass. The lights during You Are were surreal. The Betterman tag *whatever it was* was a tour highlight so far. Just beautiful. The WMA tag was so awesome. Glorified G, DTE, Fortunate Son...all fantastic. And Soon Forget sounded fantastic. Great RiTFW; Ledbetter, Black. Every song was better than the one before it. I was in the way back for this show, after being pretty close for Pittsburgh, so I was able to sit back and watch this awesome crowd take everything in. That was a great experience. This might be one of the two best shows of the tour so far. PA has been very lucky this Spring, thanks to Matt, Mike, Stone, Jeff and Ed. Thanks guys.

Last night's concert in Philly was a communal, almost spiritual experience! I was so proud of our Philly representatives, who left no doubt how much we loved and appreciated the band. I felt there was real connection between the band and the audience, and between us as members of an audience who came to be a part of this experience. PJ looked like they were having a good time with each other too, which I love seeing.

Starting off with Crazy Mary gave me the impression PJ was serious about the music they'd be presenting us. Fantastic opener! The choices of older songs made my night, some of my favorites, and the new ones were great to hear live. The band's come a long way in lighting, from candles on the stage to the choreographed lighting used on You Are, etc. Good stuff guys!

My favorite off the new album is Love Boat Captain, so I was thrilled they did such a fine job on it. I'm just so appreciative of the lyrics, the imagery and ideas that Eddie and the guys offer us!

I loved that Eddie made it through Soon Forget with no stops for mistakes! Good job!!! I'd get the bootleg anyway, but I would have gotten it just for that! I only hope I can hear Eddie on the songs over the crowd! I think we overpowered him at times, but I loved the band's reaction to our enthusiastic singing.

The energy, enthusiasm, positive force moving back and forth between the band and the audience was visceral. The interaction between us during the encores was so intense!

Now, my one criticism...Eddie was smoking and drinking on stage, which is his prerogative. He also mentioned public use of illegal drugs briefly when talking about a legislative issue. That's fine. However, I think because people want to be connected to the band in every way they can, several people around me lit up cigarettes, and then a joint was passed around. I'm sorry, but I do worry about the consequences of a fire starting in such a crowded site, and I would love to see Eddie mention to people to hold off on the smoking while they're in the crowd. The odds are nothing would ever happen, but I doubt they would want any other serious incidents involving their fans to occur.

Meanwhile, I look forward to this weekend at State College, PA and July in Philly (remember guys, it's not the heat, in Philly, it's definitely the humidity!).

Kathleen Brady