Ed solo before opening bands: Last Kiss
Set list: Love Boat Captain, Last Exit, Animal, Save You, The American in Me by The Avengers, Corduroy, Immortality, Alone, Jeremy, In My Tree, Wishlist, Rearviewmirror;
1st encore (acoustic): I Am A Patriot (Ed solo), Man of the Hour, Small Town, Off He Goes, All Or None, Black;
2nd encore: The Seeker by The Who, Do The Evolution, State of Love and Trust, Better Man/(Save It For Later), The New World (by X) with Tim Robbins, Fortunate Son by CCR;
3rd encore: Yellow Ledbetter/(The Star-Spangled Banner)

The St. Louis show was a real treat -- it's not often you get to see PJ in a venue as small (only one place to sell merch -- what a nightmare that was!) and upscale as the Fox Theater. As Ed said later on in the evening, "It's about time this band played somewhere classy." As far as shows go, this one definitely had its surprises and quirks that make every show unique and memorable.

Ed started the night with a solo "Last Kiss" before introducing Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins) who, after a little skit that included a mic-frying similar to the scene in "Almost Famous" warmed up the crowd with his band Gob Roberts. A highlight -- singing "Happy Birthday" to his wife, Susan Sarandon, over his cell phone.

After Death Cab, "LBC" opened the set. A little bit of a surprise to get the evening going, but that led into a blistering "Last Exit" (a real treat), "Animal" and "Save You" (Stone actually faced the crowd a bit on his solo) that had the crowd (and balcony/mezzanine) bouncing. After "The American in Me," Corduroy came next and then a solid version of "Immortality." The first BIG surprise of the night was "Alone" that seemed to stump the majority of the crowd. I can remember thinking -- "man, these people don't know how special this is to see this one," especially after I saw the first Boston show and they played it the 2nd night. You can still tell they're feeling their way through the "oldies" that haven't been around for a while, but a good time, nonetheless. "Jeremy" got the place rocking again and Boom took over for the end of "In My Tree" (another small surprise) before "Wishlist" (along with special Dick Cheney tag) led into "RVM." Not a bad first set, but a little uneven and it seemed as if Ed was struggling with his voice a bit.

The acoustic set started off with Ed doing "I am a Patriot" solo and then "this is for Johnny Ramone" as the whole group went into a beautiful version of "Man of the Hour." "Small Town," "Off He Goes" and another fun surprise, "All or None" led into an acoustic version of "Black" with the crowd taking over (similar to Benaroya) for the last verse. This set was a nice, quiet treat, although it took a little of the momentum away from the show's earlier high-energy pace.

Encore #2 got that energy back -- and then some. Easily the highlight of the night as it finally seemed as if the band had relaxed and took in the whole setting. "The Seeker" kicked it into gear and a sizzling "DTE" took it up a notch. At that point, the band looked a little confused and as Ed went around to all the guys, you could kind of tell that they were changing their plans a bit. Ed finally came back to the mic and said "we've been trying to think of something to play that's a little more...up and Mike came up with this one." They then tore into "State of Love and Trust" which was reminiscent of the old days -- all energy and intensity. Mike's solo was a definite highlight. Ed slipped on his guitar for "Better Man" (with "Save it for Later" mini-tag, similar to the last time they were in STL) and then Tim Robbins came back on for "The New World." At the end of that, Ed and Tim lined up like football players against each other and as the band kept playing, charged each other. Tim (he's a wee bit bigger than Ed, shall we say) knocked over Ed, who, while laughing, continued to play his guitar. A surreal moment, and topped off with Ed saying at the end "I can pretty much guarantee Tim won't be on stage with us tomorrow night." "Fortunate Son" ended the set as Ed tossed tambourines into crowd, similar to the San Diego show I saw in June of '03. Again, this set was hard to top and hard to put into words. Encore three was some brief introductions, something simple, except for when Ed introduced "Boom Gossard on the B3" and the band cracked up. Ed, after Stone kept looking at him, quickly corrected himself, but the band was obviously enjoying the moment. "Ledbetter" finished the night and Mike threw in "Star Spangled Banner" to close it out. They all came to the middle of the stage for the final wave.

I still think Ed's voice was bothering him a bit -- in fact, Stone did a lot more talking than I've ever seen, and I'm sure the earlier start time and long travel had something to do with the show being finished by 10:45 or so. Still, it was an incredible show (are there any bad ones??!!) and one I'll always remember because I finally was able, after 7 previous shows spanning the country) to take my wife, who, after listening to me for years go on about how great they are live, enjoyed it immensely. Here's hoping you fortunate ones who get to see the last few shows enjoy it as much as we did. Can't wait for the next tour!

Peace,
Chris Miller

Driving from Nashville to St. Louis (and back) was worth every mile once we arrived at the Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis. The show was sold out (about 4400 people) and you couldn't have asked for a more exquisite venue. We arrived at 5:30 with doors set to open at 7:00. A substantial number of people had already started gathering at the front doors and my girlfriend and I decided to hang out near the buses in hopes of catching a glimpse of any of the band members. We soon figured out that the guys were already inside so we waited in line to get in. After fighting through the crowd in the front lobby seizing on the posters and t-shirts being offered for sale at a large booth, we found our way to our seats. If you haven't been to the Fox Theater, no description can do it justice. The building is amazing.

Eddie came out early on and did a poignant solo take on "Last Kiss." Then Tim Robbins was wheeled out in a wheelchair playing former GOP Senator "Gob Roberts." After a short skit, the band kicked off a short set that was musically listenable although the themes of the songs were a bit cheesy (but the political sentiments were appreciated). Death Cab for Cutie rolled through about 8-9 songs and although I am a fan the set was a bit lacking.

Finally after all this we got what we came for when Pearl Jam finally made their way to the stage. Eddie made a quip about St. Louis being a great city and that Louis was his favorite of the saints. After a few glitches opening with LBC (seems that Boom's organ was turned down for a bit) they kicked off a scorching set starting with frenetic versions of "Last Exit," "Animal," "Save You," and a cover of the Avengers "The American in Me." I was surprised to see the rarely played "Alone" make an appearance although the version seemed a little bit rusty. "Jeremy" was met with a rousing response and sing-along by the audience and was followed by the "new" version of "In My Tree." "In My Tree" is one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs but I have to say that I prefer the original version and think it sounds better live. The first set ended with the standard closer "RVM."

The 1st encore involved a short acoustic set highlighted by Ed solo on "I Am a Patriot," "Man of the Hour," "Elderly Woman," the seldom played "Off He Goes," and "All or None." Eddie screwed up the opening lyrics on "Elderly Woman" saying, "I fucked up" and then ad-libbing "My mind is starting to fade....fade away." "Black" closed out the acoustic set. The 2nd encore brought with it a scorching cover of The Who's "The Seeker," "DTE" (another crowd pleaser with widespread singing by "the choir"), and SOLAT which was chosen by Mike as Eddie said he was looking for something a bit upbeat. Tim Robbins joined Eddie on stage for a cover of X's "The New World." Finally, the 2nd encore was capped with a very energetic and very well received "Fortunate Son." A 3rd encore closed the show with "Yellow Ledbetter." Mike added a few bars from the Star Spangled Banner.

Overall the guys put on a great show. Eddie wasn't as talkative as I expected he might be but I'm sure that the fans were well aware of why we were all there and how important the November elections are going to be. Eddie summed up the effort by noting that, "If nothing changes in November, at least we know that we gave it our best." They gave us their best and we certainly appreciate everything this band has done for us.