Setlist:
Release, Breakerfall, Brain of J, Get Right, Ghost, Immortality, Whipping, Not for You, Off He Goes, Help Help, Half Full, MFC, You Are, Betterman, Save You, Encore Break, Go, Corduroy, Glorified G, Even Flow, Alive, Encore Break, Fuckin' Up, Baba O'Riley

I got to Sandstone...uh Verizon Wireless Amphitheater about half way through Idlewild's set. Things seemed to be going nicely. Idlewild is a band is a little bit of punk and a fair amount of pop to their sound. One might say they are kind of like the European version of Emo or something. Idlewild isn't well known over here, but they've been around for a few years and they have developed a pretty decent sound. I couldn't name any of the songs they played, but I can tell you that they can write a decent melody, and they can open an amphitheater as well or better than most bands of their stature could. The crowd was pretty into them even though not too many people seemed to know who they were. Toward the end of Idlewild's set sprinkles started to fall, and as they were finishing up, sprinkles turned to rain. Smartly, Idlewild packed up and got the hell out of there. The rest of us, it seemed, weren't going anywhere for awhile...and no Snickers or rain gear for that matter!

It took a couple hours for the rain to die down enough for Pearl Jam to take the stage, or maybe they just figured they'd better get it over with. By that time the crowd, even the lucky ones with rain gear, was cold and soaked. Thankfully when Pearl Jam finally started their set off with Release, the temperature seemed to rise a few degrees, or maybe my heart just started beating again...I'm not really sure. The crowd of course was ready to let loose and to try to forget about the rein that continued to fall. There were big cheers every time lightning flashed across the sky, and of course Pearl Jam (Ed) made a point to patronize the crowd for enduring the cold and the wet.

The set was pretty short for a Pearl Jam show, only 22 songs, but it was a memorable one. Only three songs from Ten were played: Release, the opener; and in the first encore, Even Flow and Alive, the song Pearl Jam has played more than any other live. The set included five songs from Vitalogy, which the crowd really seemed to appreciate. Immortality is always a favorite, and Ed even got the words right. Ed prompted the crowd to sing along with Betterman by introducing the song with "this is becomin like a sing a long and the crowds have been singin', lets see if you can beat the rest, yeah? I'm feelin' it". The crowd, of course, responded in a rather impressive way and after the verse Ed says "You win...and I'm being honest about that".

The new stuff was pretty decent although there were other songs I would like to have heard. Half Full is one of my least favorite songs. I would rather have heard Love Boat Captain or Thumbing my Way, but whatever. I'm not complaining. I was glad that they played Ghost as it is one of my favorite new songs. Help Help and Save You were awesome. Riot Act really comes to life in a live setting where the guys can just let go and perform. You Are was also very cool to hear live with the guitar/drum machine effect going on, and I wasn't expecting them to pull out Glorified G. The closers, Neil Young's Fuckin' Up and The Who's Baba O'Riley were familiar crowd pleasers. I'm not a huge fan of Baba, but I've heard Ledbetter more than plenty of times. Fuckin' Up did it for me though. I can't say that I like McCready's guitar better than Young's, but Ed's vocals more than do the song justice.

This was a pretty up beat show, which was good because the crowd needed to stay moving to stay warm. When I left the show my hand and arms were so cold that they were numb. I think next time I go to an outdoor Amphitheater type show I'm going to try to be a little bit more prepared. I've been through concerts in the rain before, but this was just freakin' cold.

I was kind of anxious to see what Pearl Jam would be like in 2003, but they guys laid my fears to rest. There is something sad about aging rockers up there fakin' it for the kids and the burnouts. This, thankfully, is not the case for Pearl Jam. The music has changed and become more mature and Pearl Jam continues to remain in the present. It is a bit strange hearing the newer songs next to Even Flow and Alive. They're just not the same band that wrote and played those songs more than a decade ago. I wasn't surprised or disappointed that they only played three songs from Ten. I wouldn't have been upset if they dropped Even Flow and Alive. These songs sounded so much better back in the day when Ed would put a fierce energy into the performance. Help Help is a notable new song that has the same type of effect and energy as those songs once did. I can really feel it when Ed sings "Let me tell ya...war is hell".