Setlist:
Interstellar Overdrive, Corduroy, Grievance, Spin the Black Circle, Dissident, Brain of J, Animal, Given to Fly, Nothing As it Seems, Even Flow, Pilate
Lukin, Light Years, Betterman (Save it for Later), Leatherman, Not for You
Black, Insignificance, Go. First Encore:, Throw Your Arms Around Me
Do the Evolution, State of Love and Trust, Crazy Mary, Elderly Woman Standing Behind a Counter in a Small Town
Last Kiss, Rearviewmirror. Second Encore: Indifference, Rockin’ in the Free World

It was a lovely Midwestern evening when Sonic Youth hit the stage. Most people in the crowd sat around with interesting looks on their faces as Sonic Youth got down to their typical soundwave bending shtick. Evidently today’s Pearl Jam crowd (in the Midwest anyway) is not familiar with Sonic Youth. It was really a pleasure to see them live though for the seven or eight of us in the audience who vaguely remembered 1992. The set was a bit awkward considering the rather lame crowd and the fact that Sonic Youth has never been an arena rock band. They really performed well and with plenty of energy and did a great job setting Pearl Jam up. There are very few other bands I would have rather seen open the show…and Supergrass is definitely not one of them.

Anyway…at some point during the night, Pearl Jam took the stage and ran through a little over a minute of Pink Floyd’s Interstellar Overdrive…definitely a cool way to open a show. Through the first few songs Pearl Jam seemed kind of like they were just going through the moves, but eventually they loosened up, had some fun, and enjoyed the lovely weather. Ed’s wine drinking and the full moon clearly visible from the stage undoubtedly helped the mood. Right…so anyway, I’ve listened to quite a few Pearl Jam concerts. I was going into this show kind of expecting a lot, and to be honest, this show really blew me away. I was very happy at the end of the first set: Lukin rocked, Mikes guitar improv on Black was very cool, Save it for Later was nice, Pilate and Leatherman were cool to hear, all the new stuff sounded great. However, my jaw dropped and heart soared when Ed came out on stage to play Throw Your Arms Around Me at the beginning of the first encore. The song was played for Ed’s brother who was in the audience that night. Thank you Ed’s brother. I really love that song and did not expect to hear it at all. I think it was played only one other time during a soundcheck on the 2000 tour. Wow…what a cool moment to spend with one’s significant other! The next 3 songs were almost too much to take. DTE, State of Love and Trust, and Crazy Mary are all among my favorites and sounded excellent. Crazy Mary was particularly sweet with Mike doing his thing once again. Elderly woman was okay…they had to play it because they were in the Midwest, and I was kind of hoping they wouldn’t play Last Kiss. It’s okay though, the second encore made up for Last Kiss. Indifference is one of my all time favorite Pearl Jam songs and Ed still sings it like the world is out to get him. Rockin’ in the Free World was the ideal closer for the show…energetic and fun. I’m sure half the people were wanting to hear Yellow Ledbetter, but they should have known that Ed was picking the setlist for me. It was a very awesome show from when Sonic Youth took the stage to when the final cheers died down. I’m already looking for the next tour, and the next set of bootlegs of course.