June 29, 2003 - Bell Center; Montreal, Que., Canada
Ed solo before opening band: Driftin'
Set List: Long Road, Go, Save You, Ghost, Grievance, Present Tense, 1/2 Full, Even Flow, Off He Goes, I Am Mine, You Are, Green Disease, Not For You, Wishlist, Habit, Small Town, Jeremy, Blood;
1st encore: Arc, Down, Black, Improv, Rearviewmirror;
2nd encore: Soon Forget, Last Kiss, Last Exit, Driven To Tears, Better Man, Alive, Fuckin' Up
Gus:
Photo credit: Rick Salamin
Burlington, Vermont
 |
Sorry! That's what I say to you if you missed the show!! Buzzcocks warmed up the
crowd. The old guys are still alive! Slow start with Long Road gave an
upsetting power to Go. Present Tense was amazing, and what about Even Flow,
I Am Mine and Not For You? "Le Centre Bell" was just too crazy! Wishlist
light spot, tempo, break, Grrrrrr!!!! Jeremy and Blood before the 1st break
had the crowd calling them back! The Improv carried away the fans and RvM
got them back to jumping!! And for the endless 2nd encore, Ed, Mike, Jeff and
Stone played Last Kiss for the fans behind the stage. Well, Ed looked at us
so much during the show, guess he like to see people all around the stage!
Who doesn't know Betterman? Nobody yesterday. Loud crazy crowd. Hangs up to
prolong Alive's Mike solo was so cool, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" with the lights on,
trying to keep it alive, and alive, and alive! Fuckin' p close down…What
could I say, Pearl Jam is just too fucking hot! Hope next time Eddie will
try to speak a little French, more than "Merci." The Québec's crowd
didn't seem to understand what Ed said. Mais on aime bien chanter et crier
pour vous démontrer à quelle point PJ est apprécié!!! Good Ride.
Gus
Pascal:
Photo credit: Rick Salamin
Burlington, Vermont
 |
What was I to expect coming to this concert? This was
my third Pearl Jam concert in Montreal and tonight,
well, it was the best one of the three. Why you ask?
Well it's simple. Pearl Jam played for 2 hours and a
half. And you want to know what else. After the show
was done, it was clear to me what I had experienced. I
had gotten a taste of what of fans felt back in 1991
when Ten made its debut, all the way to the Vitalogy
album release. Tonight was no different. The guys
jumped on stage all night long like molecules bouncing
off a wall. An aura filled the place...it was a
tremendous emotional roller coaster ride!
The set list was the most original one of the last
three concerts in Montreal. Never in my mind had I
thought that LONG ROAD would debut the set list. The
lights darkened the Bell Center and the capacity crowd
began swaying their lighters towards the sky. I truly
believe that everyone was a little surprised as me
with that opening. When they began playing PRESENT
TENSE, the sixth song into the concert, it was at that
moment that I knew in my mind it would be a special
night. When was the last time they played that song? I
couldn't recall. I believe they played that song about
5 times during their 2000 BOOTLEG releases. I guess it
was a gift from them to us. The lighting turned into a
sombre red and a mist filled the stage during the
latter part of the song when they closed it off.
Photo credit: Rick Salamin
Burlington, Vermont
 |
At EVEN FLOW, the crowd lost it. And so did McCready.
Mike began jumping on 3 different amplifiers on the
stage. He added a tremendous solo in their too. We had
about 10 people in front of us, where I was sitting,
that came from Fredericton, New Brunswick....jumping
and hugging each other..singing "Thoughts arrive like
butterfly..." It was the Pearl Jam of old. It was the
Pearl Jam that I dreamt would resurrect in this day
and age, and making us remember that they are the only
grunge band that made it through the last 12 years in
one piece.
**** FIRST ENCORE ****
Eddie came on stage again with his bottle of alcohol
and notepad. He knelt down, took the mic in his
hands, and turned the knob on what seemed to be a
recorder. A chorus of voices, high pitched sounds and
humming filled the Bell Center. This was going to be a
spiritual experience for all of us. Eddie began
humming his baritone voice as the setpiece of ARC
began. It was like standing in the Vatican and
watching the Pope give his sermon. But this was a
different scenario. We were all from the Pearl Jam
religion that was listening to Eddie Vedder,
making his bold statement in ARC. He didn't have to
persuade us by speaking. The humming in ARC was all
that sufficed for us. We were converted into a sense
of awe and appreciation for this guy named Ed.
Photo credit: Rick Salamin
Burlington, Vermont
 |
I recall that he made a speech about a man that had
rescued himself from a mountain a few months ago. It
hit the news strongly. This man had a tragic accident
whereby his arm was caught under a rock or boulder. He
was trapped. " He was stuck there for 2 complete days,
with no water and no food. And he found the courage to
find a solution and get out of there." said Eddie. He
went on by saying how the man took a knife and began
cutting his arm off under the rock. "Of course he had
to break his arm first before he began cutting it off.
It must have taken him like 6 hours or something, but
when he was done he got up and walked back to safety
where he was saved. He was courageous. He should be
MAN OF THEY YEAR in Time Magazine," said Eddie. " We
have a president that ain't as courageous as this guy.
Maybe he should cut his fuckin head off and then he'll
be recognized as a good man!"
Unbelievable! The place roared up. When they finished
their first encore, Eddie took a Canada flag and hung
it up where his mic was. He tied it up real well and
the light darkened up, pitch black. We saw a bright
white light focusing on the mic, where the Canada flag
was. We had half of the Bell Center singing "OH
CANADA." It was a very moving experience. Perhaps it
was Pearl Jam's way of saying to be true to ourselves
and believe in what is right in this world...and that
you don't have to surrender to the American politics.
**** SECOND ENCORE ****
Vedder screwed up a line in LAST KISS. Can u imagine
that. But it was ok. It didn't matter. He had and the
guys turned themselves to play for the fans sitting
behind stage. " When I woke up the rain....." he
completely forgot the line. I think Eddie was
overwhelmed by what was happening in the Bell Center.
He laughed it off and waited for the right chords to
begin the song again at "I lifted her head she looked
at me and said...." It was beautiful. It really was.
DRIVEN TO TEARS and FUCKIN UP were original pieces
that the Montreal crowd was hoping to listen to. They
didn't disappoint one bit. When all was done it was
11 30 pm. I couldn't believe they played overtime for
us. We had gotten our moneys worth.
Photo credit: Rick Salamin
Burlington, Vermont
 |
My first Pearl Jam concert was back in 1998 in
Montreal. I was 18 years old. I was speechless after
the concert. 5 years later I came to the concert with
a different mind set. I thought I knew what to expect
because I had seen them twice before. But I was wrong.
I had witnessed Pearl Jam willing to take us back to
the era of grunge and energy. We had the chance to see
a Matt Cameron demonstrate his skills on RVM,
especially in the minute solo part of the song. We
saw BOOM CASPER, for God's sakes, a man in his 50's
for sure, jumping behind his organ/keyboard every
chance he had. I couldn't believe it. I don't wish
anymore that I was at Lollapalooza back in the day
when stage diving and crowd surfing was in effect
every time JEREMY was played or PORCH. Tonight I
experienced what was, back in the day, and what will
continue to be for a very long time. A success story.
"The spark of life is to be transmitted from one
generation to the other" -- Vitalogy cover booklet
Pascal
Montreal, Quebec
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