Ed solo before opening bands: Don't Be Shy, You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
Set list: Release, Last Exit, Hail Hail, Save You, Do The Evolution, Dissident, The American in Me by The Avengers, Insignificance, Untitled, MFC, Given To Fly, Even Flow, (Howard Zinn introduced, comes on stage, and says "Stop the war") Down, Jeremy;
1st encore (acoustic): Low Light, Masters of War, Small Town, Last Kiss, Crazy Mary;
2nd encore: Love Boat Captain, Better Man, Bleed For Me by Dead Kennedys, Blood;
3rd encore: Alive

Pearl Jam Will Never Disappoint.

This was my 9th time seeing PJ in concert (over the past 10 years), and in the 8th different city. My best friend and I drove from Rochester (about 6 hours from Boston) to see the show for my birthday ... and it was amazing.

After nagging my friend to go before the opener (I just had a feeling Ed would do a pre-set song), Eddie came out and did two pre-set songs: Don't Be Shy (a Cat Stevens cover - good touch by the way), and You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.

This got us in the mood to see the openers (who were ok in their own right, but we really wanted to see Pearl Jam).

The group started with Release, one of my faves, and then quickly jumped the tempo with faster-paced, rocking songs like Last Exit, Save You and Do The Evolution, which Stone seemed to have a blast playing.

Dissident was great, I haven't heard it in years. And after a few other great songs, came Given To Fly and Even Flow (one of the best live songs ever), Mike was incredible on both.

Eddie introduced Howard Zinn for Down which was cool, then ended the main set with a chilling version of Jeremy that Jeff played his heart on.

As fans waited for PJ to come out for an encore, I noticed the acoustic instruments and was giddy. Eddie and the group played another one of my faves, Low Light, then an intense Masters Of War. All I can say about MOW was that it sent chills down my spine and touched my soul.

The band then gave fans in the rear "equal opportunity" and played Last Kiss to the back part of the crowd. It was followed by a very nice version of Crazy Mary that Ed changed the tone of his voice, and Boom went off on an organ solo, only to be capped by a nice guitar solo by Mike.

Pearl Jam then came back to do some more electric songs, which Eddie introduced by saying he had a fresh bottle of wine for. Love Boat Captain and Better Man were awesome sing-alongs. Matt's fierce drumming on Bleed For Me was cool as hell, and it was very cool to see Stone rock out (it seemed like Mike and Stone were trying to outplay each other - in a friendly sort of competition way).

After the band broke curfew (which a worker at the Fleet Center told me was 11:30), I knew they would come out with another song. Eddie talked about the West Memphis Three, which is an enthralling story.

The group ended the show with Alive. Nothing else needs to be said about that, because it is always an awesome live song.

Overall, this may not have been the best, or longest, or memorable show I have ever seen. But it was an incredible experience to see Pearl Jam play on the eve of my birthday (I just wish I could have got the time off to see the next show.), and it was worth the six-hour drive.

Hope to see ya in '05.

Rich Turner
Rochester, NY

This was my first Pearl Jam show and I loved it. I bought Ten when it came out and played it constantly, but stopped listening to PJ after that. Eventually I started dating a girl who loves them and she made me a mix tape. I thought it was pretty cool and when I was offered tickets I thought, "Sure, they're not a bad band." But then when I saw them live, they blew my F$#*'n mind! The energy in the place was amazing. You could tell that the band really appreciated the fans. I recognized a bunch of the songs and was blown away by "Masters of War." Kudos to all you Pearl Jam fans. I think I may just be a convert!

This was only my second show (my first being Boston 1 from last year) but the only word I can use to describe it perfectly is: "brilliant." I loved my first show last year because they played some more "obscure" songs like Present Tense, but this time around the oldies but goodies were so much fun, and the covers were unbelievable. That Dead Kennedy's Bleed for Me was abso-fucking-lutely the greatest thing I've ever witnessed! Betterman merging into that merging into Blood - I lost my mind! And Alive for a closer - could it get much better? I doubt it. Thanks PJ, you guys just keep getting better and better!!! ~Dani