Ed w/Supersuckers: Poor Girl by X
Set list: Release, Go, Animal, Save You, Given To Fly, Corduroy, Love Boat Captain, Even Flow, Better Man, 1/2 Full, Daughter/(WMA/"Hello Wolfgang" improv), Wishlist, Lukin, Grievance, Immortality, Nothingman, Down, Do The Evolution, Blood,
1st encore: Footsteps, Small Town, U, Alive,
2nd encore: Bee Girl, Black, Porch,
3rd encore: I Believe In Miracles, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

When Pearl Jam comes to town, how can you not be excited? You listen to them at parties, on your mp3 players, and in your vehicles all year round. Then the 10C gives you the shot at getting the best tickets in the house for a great price. Speaking as a kid from the 70’s, you can now get a tank of gas for the price of a Pearl Jam concert. How can you afford to miss the moving train these guys are on when they play live?

Moving forward. Good karma all around all day and night. Met some cool fans getting my tickets in the early afternoon and helped some out too. Gave a big bottle of Canadian wine to the ticket booth to pass on to the 10C – hope they got it – and if not, hopefully someone took it down and passed it around.

I brought my girlfriend to her first Pearl Jam concert. She bought me a shirt and even recognized a few songs. She was disappointed we had three encores and the Def Leppard show she went to last week only had one. Nevertheless, she had a wonderful time and we danced in the aisles. Thanks 10C for great seats. We're both tall and they put us in row 23 where there was a walkway plenty of room to dance and not get in the way of the people behind us or in front of us. I'm sure they arranged that for us. ;)

The Supersuckers were a heavy and loud band and I was rocking out to them by myself while my girl was off getting a shirt. I'm seeing three more shows in Ontario during this tour and although I look forward to seeing Sleater-Kinney, I wish I could have seen these guys again.

The last Supersuckers song had a special guest. Some guy in a silver suit with a wrestling mask on came out to sing with them and had the rest of the crowd standing for their finale. Some guessed it was Eddie. Some guessed it was Nicolas Cage. I think it was Tom Petty.

The setlist was amazing. What I love about a Pearl Jam show is you are always happy with what you get and also realize how many good songs they just don't get a chance to play. How many other bands have played three consecutive nights and play close to 100 different songs without a repeat?

No Bushleaguer. No political messages tonight. No upcoming album songs were played. Although I would have also enjoyed listening to the preceding stuff, it was just good ole rock and roll tonight and an escape from the recent negative news in our world.

In summary, a great mix of their work was performed. Highlights for me were Go and Animal back to back after Release kicked things off. Mike was a magician as per usual with the guitar behind his head and was jumping throughout the night. Ed was swinging the microphone around and even smashed the stand once. Jeff was bouncing and did a pirouette during an encore song. Stone rocked out on Evolution. Matt destroyed Immortality. Boom's hands were surfing along fine and the whole band were having fun with the rest of us.

½ Full was amazing. This is a rocking tune and my fave off of Riot Act. They jammed at the end of the song and Ed reflected a mirror throughout the crowd during the end of it. When the mirror ball showed up for Wishlist I was hoping that amazing performance would be followed by the power chords to start ‘Downtown’ with Neil Young. We are way too spoiled to even think about that. The mirror ball was still twirling but the next note was from the page of intensity with Lukin going into a great Grievance.

Blood ended off the main set list and the band was tight. In a move I never thought I'd do, even I had to pull out my cell phone, speed dial my brother in Ontario who was likely sleeping, and leave the intensity of Blood on his voicemail to give him a fix of what is to arrive out there soon.

The three encores were amazing and they were all wonderful tunes. Download them for yourselves. The band members had their arms around each other as McCready wailed away the final strums to Ledbetter and we all lived happily ever after on the night of September 2, 2005.

The rest of Canada is in for a treat.

If the band feeds off half the energy from these shows to inspire them to finish off their new album, we will be very fortunate people. Also, they will have to come back to play those songs I would think….

See you in Kitchener, London, and Toronto. And if anyone sees the band, please ask them to play ‘Present Tense’ or ‘Light Years’ in any of those venues if you get the chance.

Tony S.
Vancouver, Canada