Set List: Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Do The Evolution, Small Town, Given To Fly, Red Mosquito, Even Flow, Army Reserve, Daughter/(Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 by Pink Floyd), Off He Goes, Gone, Grievance, Jeremy, Marker In The Sand, Comatose, Why Go

1st encore: You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (by The Beatles), Satan's Bed, Wishlist, Rats, Porch
2nd encore: Last Kiss (by J. Frank Wilson), Come Back, Sad, Crazy Mary (by Victoria Williams), Alive

I think we - my long-time fellow Pearl Jam freak, Matt, and I - had some of the best seats in the house: an unobstructed view perpendicular to the stage on Stone's side that was like being behind stage without actually being there. Incredible. We arrived about half-way through My Morning Jacket's set, and proceeded to talk to the security guard for about a half hour, all the while saying, "they're not so bad," with regard to the opening act. I'd never heard them before, but the jam session was worth catching - at least the part that we caught.

Then, of course, came the good stuff. Ed started it along with Wasted Reprise, the band followed, and within 10-12 minutes, we had head three of the first five rockers off the new album: Life Wasted, World Wide Suicide, and Severed Hand. PJ's refreshing new music sounds even better live than it does on record, and it's a credit to the band that it knows how to get the crowd going. The biggest difference between this tour and the last couple is the quality of the new songs - they rock so well that the live act is even better than before. Unbelievable.

After the quick taste from "Pearl Jam," the band upped the tempo even more with Do the Evolution, got the whole arena singing along to Small Town, and played an inspiring Given to Fly. Ed then said they'd be playing a few songs that they hadn't in a long time, and the band immediately launched into Red Mosquito. I'm sure most of the crowd had thoughts of Leash (when will they play it???), but it was not be. Some day.

Even Flow followed, and I have nothing to say about it except that it always lives up to expectations. Matt Cameron has brought an energy to the song that it lacked before him. Army Reserve was next, and it was the one song that seemed to be a little out of place, though it fit right into Ed's comments about the war. Another sing-along in Daughter, with Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 on the end, and then the only semi-slow song of the first set in Off He Goes. Gone and Grievance were next, and then the concert hit another level: Jeremy, Marker in the Sand, Comatose, and Why Go. Let's take them one-by-one. Jeremy is Jeremy is Jeremy. 'Nough said. Marker in the Sand is one my two favorite songs off the new album, and hearing Ed sing the refrain gave me chills. Comatose was one of the highlights for me, in that PJ absolutely shook the house during this punk-like assault. I was sweating after this, and I couldn't believe we weren't even to the first encore. That would follow an 12-minute version of Why Go that had my legs hurting. Mike went insane. Ed walked around. And everyone just went nuts. I couldn't wait to sit down, even though I didn't want it to end. Energy, energy, energy.

After a short break, Ed played You've Got to Hide Your love Away, and then the full band erupted into Satan's Bed. What a surprise. Wishlist followed, then another huge surprise: Rats. It was the first time the band had played it since Matt Cameron joined and the first time since 1998. It was in honor of the River Rats, the Albany hockey team that plays at the Pepsi Arena. We had a feeling that they would only play one more in the first encore, and surely enough they did only have one more: Porch. The fourth song off of "Ten" for the evening and another ridiculous guitar solo by Mike. Again, energy, energy, energy.

After another short intermission, Ed came out and said that we can't forget the people sitting in the back. So the band came out, faced the section of the audience behind stage - Matt even moved his drums - and they played Last Kiss, with Ed holding out the microphone so the crowd would clap to the beat. They returned to the front stage, and Ed said that they'd play Come Back. I was psyched. This is my favorite song off the new album, and I knew it would give me chills if I heard it live. Sure enough, it did. Lighters ablaze and Ed's voice rising, it was another of the highlights of the evening. A sample off "Lost Dogs" in Sad and then Crazy Mary, a song that never disappoints (though what PJ song does???). It was now only a question of how they'd end the show.

A quick aside: my first Pearl Jam concert was 10 years ago in Hartford. That night, at the age of 16, I heard Alive for the first time and can to this day remember the yellow lights on stage and the feeling of pure ecstasy that I felt as they played by absolute favorite song ever recorded. I've been to about 7 or 8 or 9 shows since - I've lost count - and not once have I heard Alive again. Until tonight. Those first few notes, and I knew that I was gonna nearly drop dead. Energy, energy, energy. Insanity. Mike played part of the solo behind his head, Ed was about 10 feet from us standing on a speaker, and the audience was a fury of bouncing bodies and heads and arms and hair and whatever else we could bounce. I've never been more excited to hear a song. Never.

We thought they might play Yellow Ledbetter afterward, because they left the house lights off for a minute after the band left the stage. But Alive was it, and the crowd began to exit completely abuzz. Matt and I just sat there for a minute to soak in everything we had just seen and heard - the best show I'd ever seen.

Highlights: Wasted Reprise, Comatose, Why Go, Rats, Porch, Come Back, Alive

People give the 03 Albany show a lot of flack because it was so short, but those in attendance will tell you it was a pile driver of a show while it was going on. So here they are again 3 years later, and to be honest I didn't have any expectations for Albany this time around. We know PJ has their favorite cities (Boston, NYC, Philly, Chicago, Seattle), and I just never thought Albany would have much of a chance to be one of 'the' shows of the tour. Yes, the tour is still young, but Albany has potential to be one of the shows people talk about for years to come.

The opener of the 2 Wasteds was a great way to kick off a show. And just like I thought, the new songs were tight as hell. Following up Life Wasted with Worldwide Suicide and Severed Hand got the crowd into it right from the start. Severed Hand with the newly upgraded light show (complete with Rush-esque green lasers) was a nice touch.

Highlights:
Red Mosquito: I've only seen it I think twice before, and it was a nice first set rarity addition.

Gone: Dare I say the new Given To Fly? This song has potential once more people get to know it.

Marker In The Sand: As good as I thought it would be.

Satan's Bed and Rats: enough said. I was freaking out at this point. I have been to 25 shows now (as of Hartford), and with the combination of Albany and Hartford I am now able to cross off 1 songs from each of the first 4 albums I had never seen before (Garden, I'm Open). That is just incredible.

I am not normally a huge fan of Last Kiss, but I thought the thematic flow of Last Kiss --> Come Back --> Sad was perfect. I don't know if they planned it that way or if that is just how they wrote the setlist by accident, but it was a nice touch.

Boom owned Crazy Mary, and Alive as a closer was perfect. I love Yellow Ledbetter as much as the next guy, but to see a show without it is fine by me.

Pearl Jam is back with a vengeance this tour. Boston and Philly here I come!

-Brian aka BinFrog-