Webcast Set list: World Wide Suicide, Comatose, Severed Hand, Marker In The Sand, Gone, Unemployable, Present Tense, Do The Evolution, Why Go, Porch/I Want to Hold Your Hand improv

Later on The Late Show With David Letterman (broadcast TV): Life Wasted

One of the best days of my life....probably the birth of my son can only beat this day... The anticipation for this day was killing me....I was totally unproductive at work for at least the last week. Finally, and gratefully, the day came to me at last..

We arrived to NY around 11:30 AM. Got off the train at Madison Square Garden where I stood there for a minute, staring there, with the chills, thinking of all the great PJ performances in that building. My wife and I walked our way to Broadway and headed towards the Roseland. We stopped for lunch at a nice little Jewish Deli (gotta go deli if I am in NY) and we enjoyed ourselves. The weather was perfect for a date with my wife for the day in NY. Couldn't be better. Not a cloud in the sky. Perfect. After lunch, we went straight to the Roseland. The entire walk, I was nervous and expecting a huge crowd to be formed like the lines during the old days of waiting for our tickets in front of the 10C window...but I was pleasantly surprised. The entire train ride up, I kept telling my wife "I don't care where we sit, I am just glad we are going to be in the house. So we don't have to wait in line all day and we can do stuff in NY until 4:30 when it's time to get our tix." Well that all went out the window and changed when we got to the Roseland and there were maybe 12 people waiting at the most. I gave one look to my wife and we got in line. What a great bunch of people to sit 4+ hours with. I met some great New Yorker's (who would have thought right?) and the best event planner in Brittany who organized an order and list so us die hards would not get shafted when the 10C opened the door at 4:30. Met some great guys from Connecticut/Massachusetts as well.

The excitement and anticipation made me feel like a kid again. Being married, having kids, working to pay the bills (that guy is almost me in Unemployable), I haven't felt this alive (no pun intended) in years. Probably not since the State College show in '03. When the doors opened at 4:30, they checked our IDs a few times and let us in. They arranged us on the hardwood floor in the Roseland by ticket number that they gave us individually when we walked in. Wifey and I were #11 & #12. We stood there for what seemed like an eternity, but it was probably less than an hour. Finally, the Letterman crew started walking us out of the Roseland and to the Letterman set. The entire walk, I felt like we were kids again, on a field trip for school. "Don't leave your buddy! Hold hands!" I could hear teachers yelling that in my head.

So here we are walking to the Letterman entrance, being #11 and #12 to get in the venue. I am thinking, "Wow, we are going to be up front for this!" We walk in, and the air left me like it leaves a punctured balloon. When we walked in, there were probably at least 100 "VIP's" with tickets already in line, in front of us, waiting in line at the main door. I cannot believe for a minute I doubted PJ. For the next 30 minutes, I actually doubted them. I stood there thinking, this band is going to let people who haven't heard their new songs yet sit in the front, while the die-hard 10C members sat in the sun all day in line on a dirty sidewalk sit behind them? I was upset to be honest, thinking that MTV and the media hoarded these VIP tix from their friends who work at CBS and Letterman. Let me be the 1st to apologize for having such nasty thoughts. Why would this band ever ignore their socialist trends towards the 10C? We walked in, and the VIP people had to go to the left, to the stairs!! That meant the front rows, bottom section was for the 10C!!! OH MY GOSH!! My wife and I ran in, in awe. We sat 2nd row, dead center from Ed. My arm hairs were standing straight up, at least 4 feet high. I swear.

While the crew was setting up the band's equipment, one of the 10c members started passing out copies of a "LEASH" sign. Not being a fan of "Leash," my wife and I took a sharpie out and wrote on the back in big font "SMILE" with some crooked hearts on it. We have always wanted to see this live as its 'our song'. Seeing PJ about 30 times, I have never seen this played live. The funniest thing then happened. Out of the corner of the set, behind a wall...came a sign saying something to the effect of "Leash will not be played." It was funny. The band and/or the crew was interacting with us already, making it feel very personal.

Ok, enough of that- let's get to the songs. The band came out and when Ed had the e-bow, I knew what was coming. I turned to my wife and said "WWS, he has the e-bow." I was right. I think Ed changed some of the lyrics but I couldn't tell. I don't think the "hell manmade" lyric was used in the song, but no big deal, the song is amazing live. The next few songs, were all from the new album. Let me say this now, these songs are 10000 times better live then on the record. "Severed Hand" is mind blowing. "Life Wasted" should be on the radio, it will be played a million times by the corporate. stations. It was as if the band was in the back of the car, on our ride to the train station, hearing my conversation with my wife where I said that I had hoped they only play the fast paced, rocking stuff from the new cd. They must be like GW, spying on me, listening to my conversations!

"Comatose" is probably the best song to hear live. Mike was just on fire. Actually, the entire band looked like they were in mid-season form. Boom was into it. Matt, Jeff, and Stone gave us everything. Ed was acting at times, like he had the energy of his days when he was in his 20's and not in his early 40's. What a great live band. After the new stuff was done, I could not help thinking, what is next? What could they do? I was really hoping they wouldn't just go into their radio hits to appease the non PJ fans that were there. Not that anything is wrong with "Even Flow" or "Better Man" but I was wishing for them to save these for the live shows. When I saw just Mike up there with Ed, I had this weird feeling, and I was right...Present Tense!!! I started to cry. I know, I know, a 31 year old man crying at a Pearl Jam show. This song got me thru some really hard times back in 1996 and has a really deep, special meaning to me, that no one can understand. I couldn't control myself. It was as if they were playing this song just for me. What were the odds? They were probably going to do 9 or 10 songs right? And out of the 9 or 10, they picked Present Tense. Wow. What a great live band!!

PJ knows how to do a live gig. They went into some of their absolutely best, live stuff and it was such a gift. They absolutely blew the roof off that joint with "Why Go," "DTE" and "Porch." They could not have picked a better setlist (well "Smile" and "Bushleaguer" and "Out of My Mind" would have been cool but no one here is complaining). They are absolutely amazing. As I type this, I am shaking my head in disbelief.

Thank you Pearl Jam. Thank you for giving us fans so much to get us thru our lives. Thank you for such beautiful lyrics and music. Thank you for always taking care of us 10c members 1st despite our flaws such as always wanting a bit more from you. Thank you to the 10c for making this happen. Tim and everyone, thank you thank you thank you! Props to Letterman, CBS, and their crew as well for making is a flawless event.And one last thing- what a great live band. Did I mention that yet?

Dave & Deb S., South Jersey