Set List: Severed Hand, World Wide Suicide, Life Wasted, Marker In The Sand, Hail Hail, Animal, Dissident, Unemployable, Corduroy, Better Man, Why Go, Garden, I Got Shit, Even Flow, Inside Job, Black, Rearviewmirror

1st encore: I'm Open, Sleight Of Hand, Comatose, Do The Evolution
2nd encore: Go, Alive, Rockin' in the Free World, Yellow Ledbetter

Pearl Jam is my favorite band of all time, and, believe it or not, this was my first show. I tried to see them in 2003, but unfortunately that fell through, so this show was going to be great no matter what. However, this certainly went above and beyond my expectations.

I just love the way the venue sets everything up in the beginning as if it's a "Pearl Jam Carnival," with their music everywhere, contests for "grungiest fan," and plenty more. You can feel the vibe right from the beginning and it's like a great big community of people all united by one cause; the anticipation of their favorite band coming out to blow their minds.

My Morning Jacket put on a decent opening set that was reminiscent of bands like Canned Heat, Crosby Stills and Nash and even some Pink Floyd like effects. They did a great job of getting the crowd ready for the main event. And what a wait that was. We had heard on the radio the day before that Pearl Jam was set to go on at 8:15, and we still believed it when My Morning Jacket started and finished earlier than scheduled. But 8:15 to 8:30 was one of the most intense times of my life. My two roommates, who were also both experiencing their first Pearl Jam show could feel it as well and we started predicting opening songs and how they would come out. People on the lawn, where we were, were screaming for the band, mostly Eddie to hurry up and come out, but I knew damn well that Eddie and the guys would come out when they felt it was right. Finally, at 8:30, after many false alarms, we heard the "Master/Slave" intro from Ten and we knew it was all about to begin.

And what an opening it was. They began with a four song assault from the new album with Severed Hand, WWS, Life Wasted and Marker in the Sand. For the first of countless times during the show, Eddie acknowledged our lawn crew and was impressed at the fact that they stood in the cold and damp conditions, and promised to "keep them warm." After the new tracks, they gave us "Hail, Hail," which still kept the crowd on their feet and moving. After that was the two song attack from Vs. with Animal and Dissident, which we were singing all of the words to right along with Eddie. Then it was right back to # 8 with Unemployable. Then, in what I think was for the girl behind me who could not stop talking about how Corduroy was her all time favorite, Eddie got his guitar and launched into Corduroy. This was the song that also made me realize how on Mike McCready was that night, and he would become important later on. After that, it was more Vitalogy with Better Man, and Eddie urged the crowd to "give Uncle Eddie a break on vocals," with everyone singing the first verse. Then, we got two from Ten, with Why Go and Garden. I'm glad they've brought these on as part of their act again, because they sound great and still have the intensity that they had in 1991. Before playing I Got Id, Eddie once again gave a shout out to his friends on the lawn saying the song is really called I Got Shit, but for us it could be called "I Got Shit Tickets." Awesome. After a rousing Evenflow and another amazing McCready solo, it became McCready day with Inside Job. After this, Eddie stated that Mike had written the song and that 1 dollar from each ticket went to an organization that Mike was involved with that dealt with health issues. He gave a very moving speech which led into a heartfelt, poignant Black. Black had a tag added on to it, I believe it's called "We Belong Together." Rearviewmirror closed a great first set and left me in strong anticipation of the first encore.

Then the unbelievable happened. Eddie came back alone with his electric, began to play something, at first stopping and saying "I was going to play something but I can't remember it." Hilarious. We then found out it was I'm Open from No Code. I have never heard of them doing this live anymore, so this was definitely a special show now. Sleight of Hand was next, and while this was a song I'm not normally to into, hearing it live definitely peaked my interest. Then, as Eddie said, they switched from "first gear into fifth" very quickly with a raw, charging Comatose and Do the Evolution, featuring a great Stone Gossard solo.

The second encore was the ultimate nightcap. They returned to the stage, guns a blazing with Go. Then I heard that magical riff from Stone, and there it was, Alive. Eddie decided to go back to the Ten days and climb the PA stack, jumping off after the last chorus. Rockin' In the Free World followed with Eddie saying some very touching things about Neil Young and how America should be a free world. At this point, my roommates and I thought the show was over and began walking until Mike launched into that familiar riff. Not only do we get Free World, we get Yellow Ledbetter to cap it all off. What an amazing night and first time.

Band togetherness was at an all time high last night with Eddie introducing each band member as a cabinet member. He said that Stone "would show Donald Rumsfeld a thing or two about truth and justice," and that he himself was "the ex-CIA agent who knows all your phone numbers. I'll be calling you tomorrow."

All in all, it was a great show with a dynamite set list. So thanks Pearl Jam for making my first show a night to remember. We may have been towed later and had to pay 77 dollars to get the car after walking 3/4 of a mile in the cold, but none of that bothered me in the least. Thanks also to the fans of Hartford also for being "well behaved" after the fiasco in 1998. Hope to see you guys again soon.