Set list: Sometimes, Grievance, Corduroy, Hail Hail, Once, Dissident, Even Flow, Daughter/(Blitzkrieg Bop), MFC, U, Not For You, Blood;
1st encore (acoustic): Long Road, Small Town, Sleight of Hand, Crazy Mary;
2nd encore: Brain of J., Do the Evolution, Smile, The New World (by X) with Tim Robbins, Baba O'Riley

Photo credit: MattK

Thank you Pearl Jam! Thank you for coming to my state to raise voter awareness in what is such an important time in my life and everyone's lives. And thank you Pearl Jam for such an amazing show. This is the 3rd time I've seen the band live and it is my favorite "so far."

Early on Eddie proclaimed Asheville the most beautiful place they had stopped on their recent trek. I couldn’t agree more. After driving 3.5 hours from Chapel Hill in the morning, I took a ride up the Blue Ridge Parkway and to Mt. Mitchell. Simply beautiful country!

The show was awesome. I was very pleased to hear some songs that I didn’t necessarily expect like U, Sleight of Hand, Long Road, Sometimes, Brain of JFK, and SMILE!

After opening with Sometimes, they just started rocking us mad with Grievance, Corduroy, Hail Hail, and Once (wow).

Even Flow continues to turn me into Jekyl and Hyde. Every time I hear it on the radio, I think, not Even Flow again. Then I hear it live and just love it. How does he do that with a guitar?

MFC was cool to. I bet Mike must have done a million 360's and pirouettes with his guitar swinging around. All of them looked like they were just having a blast all night. A lot of air time. So was the crowd. It’s nice to see the band in a smaller venue inside where the crowd can really participate.

I got to see Crazy Mary for the first time. The Boom solo was "the shit." Which reminds me, Eddie started talking about free speech and censorship and how NASCAR driver Dale Earnhart Jr. was fined for saying shit on the air. Eddie went on to say what a travesty it is that you can’t say "shit." "Shit is a noun you know. What if a guy tells his girl, you’re the shit baby!" He then went on to say how great it was to be in a room where you could say "shit" as well as about 10 more words he rattled off.

The second encore was incredible with Brain of J, DTE, and Smile! I thought that’s where it would end and I woulda been happy. Then Tim Robbins comes out for The New World. During the song, Tim and Eddie charged each other like a couple of rams and Eddie knocked him on his ass. Funny moment. At one point, maybe during this song, Stone put on a long Pinocchio nose symbolizing all the lies Bush, Cheney etc have fed us. Seeing him play an entire song with this nose on was hilarious.

And then, just when I thought that would be the night's closer; they turned the lights on and ripped into the opening chords of Baba O'Riley. Wow, my mind was blown. Ever since they started covering this song, I've wanted to see it live. Well, I got my wish. It was the perfect closer for a perfect night. Once again, thank you Pearl Jam.

BRIAN (NCBRI)