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Pearl Jam: June 1, 2003
Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
support: Idlewild
Main Set:
Long Road
Do The Evolution
Animal
Save You
Green Disease
Grievance
I Am Mine
You Are
Even Flow
Not For You
Corduroy
Habit
Daughter/(It Rains On Me)
Thumbing My Way
Present Tense
1/2 Full
Insignificance
Go
Encore 1:
Love Boat Captain
Elderly Woman
Better Man
Crazy Mary
Alive
Porch
Encore 2:
Know Your Rights
Bushleaguer
Fuckin' Up
Notes: Here is part of the ridiculously long journal entry I wrote a few days after the show:
My seats were pretty good. Eighth row wasn't so bad because the rows are
tiered, so I had an excellent view. We were a bit higher than the stage,
actually.
My friend Mark came and sat in the empty seat next to me and ended up
staying there for the whole show, which was a treat for me, because we'd
never seen PJ together and we're the same breed of nutty fan, so we rock out
in similar ways. hehehe.
Alright, the show itself:
They came out around 8:45 and goddamn, was it good to see them again! They
opened with "Long Road," which I have a big soft spot for. I don't think I'd
gotten it since San Diego '98, so it was good to hear it again. It's kind of
a sad song, though, so I have mixed feelings about it being an opener on a
night that I want to be light and fun. It puts off a heavier mood, one of
burden and lost loved ones. But it's such a beautiful song...
That was followed with "Do the Evolution." It's ev-o-lu-tion, baby! Woohoo!
"Long Road"'s great but the rockers are what I like the best because of
their energy. Following that: Animal, Save You (and MAN was it great to hear
that one!), Green Disease and Grievance. I had a sweat worked up by the
fourth song and was starting to wonder how I might survive the evening if
they kept up the pace. I was dancing, I was pogoing, I was singing, I was
clapping. I was in a state of pure joy that I've not been in for a very long
time. Nothing could touch me or bring me down.
The pace slowed a bit for "I Am Mine" and "You Are." I was happy to hear
"You Are," as I'd heard a lot about how cool the lights were during this
song. They were indeed quite different from what I've seen PJ use in the
past. It was like they had lots of tiny spotlights firing off in different
directions and they matched the sound of the song quite well. Very cool.
After that came Even Flow, which I always enjoy because it's a lot of fun. I
love the simultaneous jumps from 2-3 members of the band before McCready's
extended solo.
More rockers after that: Not For You, Corduroy, and Habit.
Then they played Thumbing My Way. bleh! I think that's my new least-favorite
Pearl Jam song. Even Wishlist beats it. Hell, even Last Kiss beats it! I
just cannot stand it! But Mark, Tricia and I had our arms around each other
and we swayed back and forth while I prayed for it to be over soon. I
clapped enthusiastically when it was. hahahaaa. Sorry, TMW-fans.
After that was Daughter...meh, another slow one. But we all need breaks to
regain some energy for the next attack of rockers, right? And what came next
made up for a lot.
Eddie prefaced the song by saying they'd only played it a couple of times
this year and just he and Mike start it. I knew it what it was before they
started: Present Tense. I gave Mark and Trish a big hug, and we did that
arms-around-each-other thing again. I've heard PT once before, in 1998, but
that was it. It just isn't played that much. It's kind of a shame, because
it is an amazing song, but then it's also kind of nice that they keep it
"special," too. You can bet big money on getting "Even Flow" or "Corduroy"
at every show...not so with "Present Tense." So yeah, I felt very blessed to
hear it. I think it is probably my favorite PJ song and it means A LOT to
me. I cannot describe how it makes me feel, other than to say that the
feeling is awesome and out of this world.
That was followed by "1/2 Full," which is my second favorite song on
Riot Act. I was quite happy to hear it. At the end, Eddie held up a
mirror and directed light out on the audience. Two more rockers:
Insignificance and Go, finished the set.
The first encore started out with a bunch of snoozers: Love Boat Captain,
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, and Betterman. They're
nice for the singalongs, but putting three of them together kinda of kills
the momentum for me. Betterman was fun because Eddie gave the first verse to
the crowd, but there was no "Save It For Later" tag. =( I *love* the
Betterman from this year's St. Louis show, because the crowd takes the first
verse absolutely perfectly, and there's an extended SiFL tag at the end. It
makes Betterman a lot more interesting! I loved that song when I first heard
it, but it's been played to death now. =/
Next up was "Crazy Mary." I was happy to see this back in '00 but now it's
gotten a little old on me. This year it's cute to watch keyboardist Boom and
guitarist Mike get into a solo-jam duel at the end, but it felt like it went
on for a loooong time. But the band seemed to be having so much fun, so I
don't want to knock that.
After that we went back to 1991 for "Alive" and "Porch." Jentwo likey! I
hadn't heard "Alive" since 1998, since they didn't play it on the US tour in
'00. I have missed that song! It doesn't quite have the same oomph that it
did in '92, but it's like an old friend, and I never tire of hearing it. I
remember Eddie stumbling and falling during this song but it's not like
that's something that doesn't happen at least once during a show. ;-P
And Porch, aaaah, Porch. "Present Tense" may be my favorite PJ song, but I
think "Porch" is my favorite PJ song heard live. I just feel this instant
reaction in my gut when I hear, "1, 2, 3, 4...whatthefuckisthisworld..." For
me, a PJ show without Porch is like sex without an orgasm. Now, I fully
believe that sex without an orgasm can still be fun, so I'm not necessarily
dissing a Porch-less PJ show, but I'd have to say it's the one song above
all others that, if not played, will be the first one I notice and miss.
"Great show, excellent setlist but...no Porch."
Now, because I make the sex analogy, people think that Porch is a sexual
song for me. It's not. It makes me feel very powerful and manic. There is a
sense of anger and loss and regret in the song, so it tugs on my
heartstrings a bit, but it doesn't leave me feeling defeated. It doesn't
necessarily leave me feeling very happy, either. It's kind of like a chance
to confront and kick the ass of my demons. An exorcism, really.
At the beginning of the middle section, Mike went up the walkway next to the
wall on his side of the stage, and Eddie took off in a similar manner on the
other side of the audience. I believe there's a railing semi-separating the
seats from the walkway, and security was right there with each of them to
keep them out of trouble. A ton of people rushed over to Ed's side, though,
and I was glad I wasn't in that mess. At the end of the song, Eddie stepped
out into the crowd in the front center section and let them hold him up
while he sang. I love when he does that, but then again, I don't want to be
in the midst of the knot of chaos that inevitably follows him anytime he
nears the edge of the stage.
Encore 2 consisted of: Know Your Rights, Bushleaguer, and lastly, Fuckin'
Up.
Know Your Rights was cool, but I really want them to play it in Vegas when
Kim is there, so I hope that wasn't my one lone KYR for the tour.
Bushleaguer...glad to see it back in the game since there had been talk of
them not playing it anymore. Alas, no more silver lamé jacket and Bush Jr.
mask on Ed, though. ;-(
When the drums started up for "Fuckin' Up," I knew what it was and I was
delighted, because I've wanted to hear that song for almost a decade and I
*finally* got it!
They called it a night after that. Twenty-seven songs, two and a half hours.
I was thoroughly exhausted from all of the bouncing around I did, and my
throat and mouth were dry and sore from all of the singing I did, but I was
more than thoroughly satisfied.
Other little details:
- Ed talked about how they'd played Shoreline Amphitheatre more than
any other venue. There was Lollapalooza one year, five years of Bridge
School Benefit gigs, and even their own headlining shows this year and
in 2000. He said something about still having visions of
Mike in his Village People costume from the Halloween '00 show,
waking up in the middle of sweat-soaked sheets, clutching his pillow and
shouting "no!" as visions of Mike went through his head. It was
hilarious! The crowd was cheering and Mike was covering his face and
shaking his head in em-bare-ass-ment. muahahahaaa...
- Ed said they will likely be back in October for Bridge School! Woo!
- The weather was perfect that night. It was a bit warmer than the
Coldplay show, but I was also down in the active fanclub section and
moving around a lot, so I was quite comfortable without a sweater or
jacket or even long sleeves. It was the perfect setting: Shoreline in
the summer with PJ on stage. After sitting in the 100's section, it's
going to be mighty hard to settle for 200's again in the future! That
venue has developed a special place in my heart, too. I've been there
more than any other venue, mostly for PJ and the Bridge School benefits.
Some people praise it, others knock it, but I dig it. I love the clear
Christmas lights in the trees, the pictures of past performers, and the
sight of those two peaks in the canopy over the seats.
After the show I just wanted to dance around and sing. I was a happy little
camper and I felt like there was an extra bounce in my step. Trish and I met
up with Gardner and Mike. I ran into and caught up with some old friends and
eventually we made it back to my car and then back to the motel, with a stop
at Jack in the Box on the way. I wanted to stay up all night talking about
the show, but we needed to get to sleep so we could get an early start the
next morning and head to Pleasanton.
(June 3, 2003))
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