Set List: Sometimes, Corduroy, Green Disease, Save You, Gods' Dice, Faithfull, Immortality, Love Boat Captain, Insignificance, Deep, I Believe In Miracles, You Are, Better Man, Jeremy, Even Flow, Daughter, Rearviewmirror;
1st Encore: Go, Animal, Small Town, Glorified G, Bu$hleaguer, Do The Evolution;
2nd encore: You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, Breath, Crazy Mary, Know Your Rights, Fortunate Son, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Just got back from an awesome show at Alpine Valley, what a great day to see a show. Got in line at 2:30 for fan club tix, then when I finally got my tickets the band was starting soundcheck. So, using my super secret connections, managed to get inside and get a taster for the show. Of course they sounded awesome doing Smile, Leaving Here, Soldier of Love, and Evacuation, I knew it would be a great show.

After a furious Buzzcocks set, the band came up without really anyone expecting them (the sun was still shining and the intro music hadn't really begun), they started with Sometimes. This was finally some perfect weather for the band, every time they've been to AV there's been some sort of weather issue (in '98 it was steamy, in '00 it was freezing, when Eddie was there for the Tibetan Freedom Concert in '99 it was a monsoon, don't know what it was like on Lolla in '92). Anyways, true to form the set list varied very much from the previous show, and I'm sure a few days off in Chicago energized the band, it definitely rocked.

Breath was a pleasant surprise, making the group of fans with the big sign happy. To no avail, the 'For the Love of all things Holy, play Low Light at Alpine Valley' campaign didn't work, but I think the band made up for it. Hide Your Love Away was cool, with Eddie speaking on how he learned to swear. Crazy Mary featured some crazy guy come up on stage from the crowd and run toward Ed with Ed saying he was Kerry Wood (Kerry was standing on the side of the stage). Well, the mysterious guy said something unintelligible in the mic and was 'escorted' out after Ed tried to dance with him (the crazy seemed out of it).

Anyway, the show rocked, no off to my final (PJ) show of the year Indy, and no doubt another memorable show.

Nate Roth
Synergy Message Board: nomorecrackpipes

What a great show! After seeing Eddie under the weather and struggling a little earlier in the week in Chicago, I didn't have high hopes for this show. I was wrong! Not only was Eddie's throat much better, but he and the entire band had twice as much energy as they did in Chicago. It was a great night, and another great set list, starting with a bunch of rockers and a few they haven't played that much on this tour - God's Dice, Insignificance, Glorified G (one of my favs that I was praying to hear), and they played RVM in back to back shows! They did six covers (Ramones, John Lennon, The Clash, John Fogerty, The Who, Victoria Williams). For the second encore, Eddie came out wearing a sparkling silver jacket made by the mother of one of the Frogs, a local band. Before playing You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, Eddie gave one of his patented rambles, this time ripping on tv, the people who control what goes on tv, and the people who watch stuff like American Idol and the like. There was a little booing there - not sure if they were booing Eddie or American Idol!

One of the high points was when a very tall and rotund man ran on the stage during Crazy Mary. As a security guard started to subdue him, Eddie got him released, then let him sing for a moment before dancing with the guy and doing a couple of swirls. Eddie introduced him as "Kerry Wood, Chicago Cubs Pitcher!" This was a little in-joke because Kerry Wood and a Cubs teammate were standing stage left watching the entire show. Eddie then ran over to Kerry during Mike's guitar solo and it looked like he was asking him to come on stage, but Kerry was shaking his head no. Baba O'Riley looked to be the closing song, but Mike still had his guitar on as the other guys walked off stage. He ran after them and they promptly returned to finish off with Ledbetter.

What a great show, great energy, 30 songs! Eddie said they would make up for the butt-freezing 2000 date suffered through by the band and the fans, and it was a night to remember, the best PJ show I've ever seen.

Justin

I have been a Pearl Jam fan since the beginning, and last night was by far the greatest show I've seen. Alpine Valley is a huge venue. Only Pearl Jam could take a giant, empty shell of a theater and make it feel so small and united. The Buzzcocks opened and got the crowd pumped with their old school-punk sound.

PJ walked out next to a very excited crowd. They opened with the mellow sounds of Sometimes. They played only three songs from the new album, but after that it was mainly older tunes and covers, which really got the crowd pumped. I know the boys always play one or two covers/rarities, but I felt very lucky to hear I Believe in Miracles, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, Crazy Mary, Know Your Rights, Fortunate Son, and Baba O'Riley. That was a nice treat for the crowd. This was a very emotional show for everyone, including the band. Not to sound corny, but you could really feel the love in the air. The whole crowd was "together," which is the only way I can put it into words. At the end of the show, everyone near me was hugging each other good-bye. Total strangers who knew nothing about each other, but we were all brought together by the power of music. This was a show no one will "Soon Forget." One fun moment was when a fan rushed onto stage during the second encore, just after Crazy Mary. A guard was about to pull him off stage, but Ed said no and gave the mic to the fan. The fan ended by saying hello to his wife and kids. After that he and Ed danced around the stage together while the boys jammed.

To put a touching ending to an amazing performance, Mike did a Stevie Ray Vaughn solo in the middle of Yellow Ledbetter. For those of you who don't know, Alpine Valley is the place where we lost Stevie back in 1990. It was a very thoughtful tribute to one of the greatest guitarists the world has known. I could go on and on to tell about what a beautiful performance the show was, but I will simply sum it up in one word: LOVE.

Andy Klefstad
Kewaskum, WI