7 years. 7 fucking years! 7 years since I got to see the one and only Pearl Jam. The last time my wife and I saw them was our 2nd concert together and my 23rd birthday. Wow! Unfortunately Pearl Jam is such a monster of a live band that they perform on these huge overseas tours and very rarely grace America with their presence. When they do play the US, it is tour stops in the big cities, NYC, Boston, Philly, Chicago, LA and Seattle usually skipping the entire south and much of the middle, I am guessing for political reasons as well as the fact that there isn't much going on in the middle or the south. Finally, this tour in support of an amazing new album, they are playing many US cities, including Charlottesville, VA, Baltimore, MD, and Charlotte, NC. Of course those are all on school nights so we were not able to attend any of these. We were lucky enough to get tickets to the most in demand show of the whole tour, Saturday night, night two at the one and only state of the art Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. This of course was also a good excuse to visit some family as the in-laws came down with the grandparents for a weekend in the greatest damn city in the whole wide world. More on that trip later. Lets talk Brooklyn! Pearl Jam! Wow! Barclays center is easily the coolest and dopest indoor venue I have every been to. The mystique of the Garden gets taken away by how old and tight it is in comparison with something like this (think troughs) The Barclays had free wi-fi, comfortable seats with great leg room, huge walkways, unbelievable food (Brooklyn pizza, Fro-Yo, NY cheesecake, hipster beers, fresh vegetables and fruits, and all the other fancy shit that you would find in the hipster capital of the world) Plus, location is unreal. It is the heart of Brooklyn where the damn Dodgers could have played if only stupid politicians would have gotten their shit together back then. You come up the from the subway to look at a state of the art monstrosity in the middle of Brooklyn. After all this, comes out Pearl Jam to a sold out (cheapest seat being scalped $300) with fucking energy that only this borough of this city could bring. Eddie was on fire the band was on fire and was probably top show that I have ever seen of any band anywhere. We had seats directly behind the stage and low, 3 rows back what a view what a show, 3 hours of music with little to no stops anywhere, 2 encores, one full acoustic encore. What a show. Celebrity citing of Dennis Rodman as well as many others in attendance. I got to hear every song that was on my "wishlist" and it was quite a ride. This was the band that I got sober too, this is the band that is tatooed on my arm, and after 7 years and almost 10 sober, what a fucking night! Highlights: Nothingman, In Hiding, Down, Sirens, Present Tense, Rats, State of Love and Trust, Given to Fly, Betterman, Footsteps, All Those Yesterdays, Future Days, Go, Porch, Blood, Leaving Here, Black, Alive, Rocking In The Free World, and Yellow Ledbetter. Unreal! Eddie Vedder best performer of his time.
Setlist:
Pendulum
Wash
Nothingman
Lightning Bolt
Mind Your Manners
Last Exit
Hail, Hail
In Hiding
Down
Sirens
Even Flow
Infallible
Present Tense
Rats
Unthought Known
Immortality
State Of Love And Trust
Once
Given To Fly
Better Man
Encore 1
Footsteps
Yellow Moon
All Those Yesterdays
Future Days
Do The Evolution
Go
Porch
Encore2
Whipping
Blood
Leaving Here
Black
Alive
Rockin' In The Free World
Yellow Ledbetter
