Postcards from... a Pearl Jam Fan?

Well, I have one word regarding last night...
holyshitthatconcertfuckingrocked!

I find it quite humorous to think back to five minutes prior to winning these tickets... I was thinking to myself as I listened to the 'new' single (and I quote) "I hate Pearl Jam - they suck now".

You know how you hear these stories of people losing their faith in religion only to have a near death experience and 'see god' again... well, I guess this was a similar experience.

The last few Pearl Jam albums have not only been un-interesting, but they have been completely absent from my cd rack. Since Vitalogy, I have lost my enthusiasm for their music, appreciating only the odd song from each subsequent album. So, when this latest album was released last tuesday, I had no problems passing it over for David Gilmour's latest and Hawksley Workman (the 2 I purchased with the b-day cards).

When the ticket giveaway came around, I even passed that up and only decided to follow through because I ended up knowing the answer (and I'll never turn away from a free concert if I can help it).

Having said all that, after winning the tickets, I went out and purchased the new album. I had noticed in earlier shows, out of 20 songs, PJ played all 13 from their new album, so I wanted to become familiar with them.

First time through the album, my opinion was not changed, but rather reinforced. Pearl Jam had lost the sound that made me fall for them in the beginning. However on the 3rd listen through, it begged for another listen... then another... and another. I love this album! So much so, that I was actually disappointed in it's representation last night.

Now, major disclaimer needed on that last comment. I would have liked to see more from that album as opposed to the 3 songs that I had not recognized from earlier albums I never became familiar with.

Ok, so the concert...

We got there just as the opening act was playing their last song. It was about 8:20 and just like popcorn at the movies, our beer was finished long before the real show was to begin.

8:50, lights down, crowd up, and the opening ambient music present on TEN filled the arena - the band takes the stage. Expecting a new song, I was shocked to hear 'Release'. It was at that moment, I knew we were all in for a great concert.

The next 5 songs consisted of 4 newbies, and a classic 'Hail Hail'. Little did I know that was going to be (with a very small exception) the last we heard of the new self titled album. Song 7 kicked in and I was in heaven - my absolute favourite PJ song - 'Dissident'.

My mouth remained open as I was in awe for the remainder of the show. Following 'Dissident' came 'Evenflow'. This song is great on it's own, but when combined with a 10 minute all out solo/jam, it becomes the greatest live performance ever!

They played on for a total of 19 songs before taking a break - with quite a few long 'jams' that broke out during several songs. Eddie would just leave the stage while the band 'rocked out'. They then returned for 2 encores consisting of 11 songs - that's right - ELEVEN song encore! They had turned the arena lights on as a hint I think for them to get off the stage when 11:30 rolled around.

They played 15 minutes shy of 3 hours. All in all they played 6 additional songs to the previous nights show. And of course, Eddie did say that this night was much better than the first, and schyeahh, I believed him.

The set list:

Set 1
Release
World Wide Suicide
Life Wasted
Severed Hand
Hail Hail
Unemployable
Dissident
Even Flow
Corduroy
I Am Mine
Low Light
Whipping
You Are
I Got Id/(Cinnamon Girl)
Better Man
Jeremy
Marker In The Sand
Black
Rearviewmirror
Encore 1
Wasted Reprise
Man Of The Hour
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
State Of Love And Trust
Do The Evolution
Alive
Encore 2
Go
Crazy Mary
Fuckin' Up
Indifference
Yellow Ledbetter

So that's that!

Cheers.