Set List: Release, Hail Hail, Save You, Cropduster, Love Boat Captain, I Am Mine, Given To Fly, Even Flow, Off He Goes, Light Years, Green Disease, Grievance, Present Tense, Daughter, Bu$hleaguer, Alive, Rearviewmirror;
1st encore: Arc, Corduroy, Small Town, Better Man, Crazy Mary, Do The Evolution;
2nd encore: Down, Rocking In The Free World w/Idlewild, Yellow Ledbetter

"The all Scottish, and 1 Irish" (Idlewild) band as Eddie mentioned during the amazing show began with a less then enthusiastic crowd. Pearl Jam fans slowly trickled in to hear the REM-like blend of rock and Britpop, but by the end of their set the stadium was starting to fill out. My friends and I had heard good things about Idlewild so we had found our seats a few minutes before the lights dimmed. (Of course we had to make a quick dash for Chicago's Ames Posters before they ran out). They played some decent songs and I personally thought they were worth giving a second look.

At around 8:45 the band strutted onstage to roar of 25,000 screaming people. An infectious version of Release was the perfect way to begin the night. It had a great uplifting tone and let everyone know this would be quite a show. Eddie mentioned he felt "United" (probably because he was playing at the United Center, duh) and the crowd responded with laughter. As PJ flew through Hail, Hail, Save You, and Cropduster Eddie wildly began swinging around his microphone stand like he was riding it. He took a look around him and the band stopped just before Love Boat Captain. Mumbling into the mic Eddie said, "I feel surrounded," because there were three levels of seating in every direction including behind the stage. He went on to say that, "Its great to be back in Chicago. You've guys have had great shows here like Pete Townshend from the Who." Mumble Mumble. "I want to thank you guys for filling out this place." Loud audience cheer. "But tonight is special mostly because my grandma is here! And she says this one of her favorite songs." A lovingly tender version of Love Boat Captain was played and everyone sang along while swaying to the music.

The highlights from the main-set were Given To Fly and Present Tense. Present Tense (being a favorite of mine) was a fantastic addition to the show. I had never had the pleasure of getting to hear it live and all I can say is that is was quite amazing. The main-set ended with a sick jam during Rearviewmirror complete with strobe lights echoing the energy from Matt on the drums and Mike on guitar.

Eddie came on stage alone for the 1st encore and talked to the crowd for several minutes. I couldn't really understand what he was saying but it was what he did next which blew me away. Eddie knelt down and began playing with some sort of sampling pedal. He would sing into it and then it would repeat over and over. The tracks became layered and produced a haunting vocal jam that represented Eddie's outstanding voice in a dream-like sequence. The rest of the band came onstage and began Arc with the vocal sampling mixed in. Better Man was sung entirely by the crowd, which was an amazing effect by itself with 25,000 people filling out the vocals. Crazy Mary & Do The Evolution were majestic by themselves, and the energy created by the audience by the end of DTE was enough to the end show right there and I would have been pleased.

When Pearl Jam came out for the 2nd encore I knew something was up when Eddie asked the audience if they wanted to hear 1 or 2 songs. Immediately the crowd said two and he began to smile. After Down, Eddie thanked Idlewild for touring with Pearl Jam. (This was going to be there last night because the Cinci show had been cancelled due to flooding.) I wondered what the last song of the night was going to be, but Eddie said, "I have enough voice for 2 more songs" and the crowd went wild again. The house lights went on for Rocking In The Free World and in the middle of the song, Idlewild came onstage and took over as the leading band. Matt was freed from his drum set and walked to Jeff, took his bass and played it to finish the song. Pearl Jam and Idlewild hugged and left while Mike completed the night with Yellow Ledbetter. There were enough high-fives when the song began to shake the building down!!

Overall it was another outstanding night. I have tickets to the upcoming Alpine Show, but I don't know how Pearl Jam can impress me after this wild night. I guess we're all gonna have to wait and see...

~Sam Kligerman

Pretty cool night. Got there at about 6:45 after being in traffic hell. Glad we left Peoria at 2. Idlewild opened up, and they put on a really good show. I'm going to check out a cd of theirs. About 5 till 9, my boys walk out on stage, and open up with Release. What a way to start the evening off. Love Boat Captain was nice. I noticed they did a great deal of their newer stuff. Off He Goes was the first noticeable crowd singalong, with me included. Eddie mentions that this song is very special to the band. Great song. Our seats were right at an angle looking down on the stage, about 10-12 feet away, if that. After the Even Flow solo, Mike came back our direction, I flashed him thumbs up, and he waved and smiled. THAT made my night. Daughter had a very long crowd sing along, about 6 or 7 minutes long, with Eddie leading the crowd in improv. Bu$hleaguer was absolutely a riot (no pun intended). Some people left, but came back right after the song...

Arc was absolutely awesome, with Eddie doing the voice solo. Better Man - another crowd singalong. Crazy Mary was absolutely awesome, with Mike and Boom dueling on the solos. Do the Evolution is always nice. The second encore was cool. They had the whole band of Idlewild come out and help them do Rocking in the Free World. After that was done, it looked like Eddie wanted to leave, but Mike and Jeff and Stone grabbed different guitars, and Eddie stared at them blankly, as Mike looks at him, and begins playing Yellow Ledbetter, and Eddie just shakes his head, and goes along with it.

AWESOME show. Thank you Pearl Jam, great energy, and don't worry Matt, we know you can play bass when you're on!

Clint
Peoria IL.