Ed solo before opening band: Throw Your Arms Around Me
Set List: Last Exit, Brain of J., Hail Hail, Save You, In My Tree, Red Mosquito, Present Tense, Green Disease, Immortality, Sleight of Hand, Whipping, Corduroy, Down, Leatherman, Nothingman, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Spin the Black Circle;
1st encore: You Are, Even Flow, State of Love and Trust, Black, Alive;
2nd encore: Leaving Here, Know Your Rights, Rocking in the Free World with guest, Steve Earle

Photo credit: Darren Hitz

Once again, this show was fucking awesome. Went to Pine Knob (as it used to be called before DTE bought it and made everything there even MORE expensive) both nights and it's really difficult to say which show was better. Thursday seemed like rarity night, which was cool. Anyway, we got there just as they were starting Last Exit, which was a cool choice for an opener. I had a feeling there would be a lot of Vitalogy last night since Wednesday all we got off it was Corduroy. It was solid, and following it with Brain of J. was pure genius. I love that song and haven't seen them play it since '98. They kicked that song's ass and went into Hail, Hail. Very cool lighting on this tune, another solid version. Save You was so kick ass again. I've seen this one all three shows this tour and loved it every time. Then came a reworked version of In My Tree, with Eddie starting it solo on guitar. This was a very different version, I can't wait to hear the bootleg because it didn't sound anything like the No Code version. The jam in the middle rocked out in a way that reminded me of Soundgarden, while the choruses had a different feel all together. Very weird, but I like it. Couldn't believe they played Red Mosquito, one of my all time favorite Pearl Jam songs and I've never seen it done live. Mike didn't play that much slide, instead Boom played most of the lead sections. This kind of disappointed me since those sections are some of the best Mike solo bits EVER, but it was still great to hear them play this. And besides, the rest of the show gave me more Mike solos than I could handle. Present Tense was so fucking nice, and I was glad to hear so much No Code, which has always been rarely played at all my previous shows. The instrumental part of Present Tense was amazing, especially Jeff's bass fills. I still couldn't believe I was hearing it. Such a great tune.

Green Disease was killer; this song is so catchy, and the lyrics are great. I have to admit I would have rather heard Get Right, Ghost, Can't Keep, or Cropduster over this one as far as new stuff goes, but Green disease rocked and I'm glad they played it. Then came YET ANOTHER song I've always wanted to see them play, Immortality. Mike's solo was so spooky, and when he kicked in with the wah-wah I was floored. Didn't expect Sleight of Hand but it was really cool, very laid back. This show was so moody, they seemed to play a lot of darker-sounding material. Nice. Whipping totally kicked my ass. This song rocked so hard it was unbelievable. Always wanted to see that one, too! Corduroy was solid as usual. Then they played two b-sides, Down and Leatherman. I've never even heard Down all the way through, so this was cool to have my first time actually listening to it being live. I love Leatherman, it's such a goofy, quirky little tune. Then Stone got out the acoustic and started Nothingman and I realized I was smack dab in the middle of the Man Trilogy. I've wanted to see them do this ever since I heard the Seattle 2000 bootleg. Nothingman has got to be one of the prettiest, most sorrowful songs in their or anyone's catalogue. Betterman was surprisingly cool. Ed had the crowd sing the first verse and chorus, then he came in for the buildup verse. The outro was seriously jammed out, I couldn't tell exactly what Ed was singing but it wasn't Save it for Later. Spin the Black Circle: O my God, what a kick ass version. One of the most rocked-out things I've ever heard in my life. They completely nailed it.

The encore came earlier than I expected, and I wasn't anticipating any more Riot Act stuff but then they came out with You Are. This song is so awesome and groovy, you don't know how happy I am they played this. This is a must-hear-live song if there ever was one. Even Flow was its usual mind-blowing self. Mike sounded even more like Hendrix than he did the night before. SOLAT was killer, I can't believe I got to see this and Breath from the previous night. Black was cool with Stone on the acoustic again, more Hendrix-isms from Mike at the end. Very cool jam. Alive; what can I say. Every time they start this song I'm thinking, "Oh it's Alive. Cool, whatever, I've heard it a million times, it's their "Satisfaction." But by the end of it, they have totally kicked my ass and I'm in love with this song all over again. This was such a badass rendition of Alive. The solo/jam section was so pummeling and intense. Wow.

I can't remember much of what Ed said after the second break because I was distracted by the fact that he kept playing little snippets of Leaving Here on his guitar while he was talking. This is one of their best covers ever, and I've never seen them do it, but it was awesome. Woo! Then came Know Your Rights! I couldn't believe that they had been covering this all tour and I wanted to see them do it badly. The Clash would have been proud, Eddie sounded so fucked up, his voice was just crazy. And the band nailed the reggae groove perfectly. An extremely relevant song that seemed to go over most people's heads, unfortunately. "You have the right to free speech, as long as you're not dumb enough to actually try it!" This song is awesome. When you get this bootleg, listen to what this song is trying to say. The Clash knew what they were talking about, and so does Ed.

Next Ed introduced Steve Earle to play on RITFW, but I couldn't really distinguish what he was doing from anyone else. Oh well, it's fucking Rockin' in the Free World, with Ed singing "a thousand points of light... for the soldier man...." he changed the next line too but I couldn't make it out. They beat the shit out of this song and said goodnight. Awesome.

These two shows were so great I can't even describe it. Wednesday had a bunch of Vs. and Binaural, while Thursday had a bunch of No Code and Vitalogy, and virtually no Vs. or Binaural stuff! They played so many songs I wanted them to play it's not even funny. I was especially thankful for: Gods' Dice, Rival, Glorified G, Breath, Help Help, Lukin, Bu$hleaguer, Soon Forget, Brain of J., In My Tree, Red Mosquito, Present Tense (oh hell yes), Whipping, Nothingman, You Are, and Know Your Rights. I got to see a really good mix of the Riot Act album, which seriously is such a great album if you don't own it you are missing out on one of the best albums of recent memory by anyone. For the last time people: There is way more to this band than TEN. Get over it and open your ears to the newer stuff as well. I still wish they would have played Get Right. Why didn't they play Get Right?! Or Deep?! Or Blood?????! Oh well, Thank you, Pearl Jam for a great tour, and keep a rockin'.

Jer

I felt the need to write a review after seeing Pearl Jam the last 2 nights in Detroit. Let me say, that if you ever get a chance to see them back-to-back nights in the same city, DO IT! 50 songs in 2 nights with only 3 repeats. They tore threw songs from all the albums with Binaural seeming to lead the way the 1st night, God's Dice, Evacuation, and Nothing as it Seems and No Code shining through the 2nd night with Hail, Hail, In My Tree, Red Mosquito, and Present Tense.

Before the show started we were in line for some beverages and I was telling my buddy that I knew they would play Red Mosquito tonight. The guy in front of me turned with an amazed look in his eye, he knew I had to be a fan club member and we tore into the 1st verse right there in line. He proceeded to tell us he was sitting 2nd row right in front of Eddie, I saw him looking back when Eddie started into the song, AWESOME!

During the beginning of the show Ed said they were going to be doing things a little different tonight. He commented on how this crowd was much better than last night, which met with mixed reviews, until he claimed he didn't mean us, he meant all the people that were right in front in the VIP corporate seats. You see, some of these outdoor venues have the best seats reserved for people who are season ticket holders, pushing all the fan club members out of the best seats; Eddie didn't seem to care too much for this policy.

Some of the highlights of the night for me included In My Tree, Red Mosquito, Immortality, Sleight of Hand, and Spin the Black Circle. The also ripped through the man trilogy, Leatherman, Nothingman, and Betterman. The 1st encore was full of fan favorite sing alongs, Even Flow, SOLAT, Black, & ALIVE, and really got the crowd fired up for the 2nd encore. This was my 15th show and I think that was the best version of Black I have ever heard. The addition of boom on some of the old favorites adds a whole new dimension to the songs!!

After the 1st encore someone appeared on stage with a mask that had a long beard. Everyone was just kind of staring at each other like who is that? It seemed like this person was yelling into the mic, "COME ON, COME ON," trying to get the fans to be even louder. It didn't take much investigative work to figure out it was Eddie! He was very theatrical the last couple nights, in fact, he climbed on top of the speaker stack stage right last night and was banging away on the tambourines during Rocking in the Free world!

All in all an amazing 2 nights, thank you Pearl Jam for blessing Detroit with your presence the last two nights, I could not have asked for anything more. I would also like to close by thanking all the Pearl Jam fans out there that I have met at the 6 shows I have seen this tour. Everyone is friendly, there are never any problems, and everyone is there to share in the experience of seeing the best live rock band in the world, PEARL JAM!

SD