Review Of Pearl Jam Show
July 8, 2003
MSG in NYC

OH MY GOD! What a f--king amazing show! This band blew me away at Saratoga 2000 and again at Albany 2003. Let me tell you, those two shows paled compared to the first of two MSG gigs. I'm being totally sincere in this statement. Yeah baby, its coming from the heart and soul.

Start with the beginning, which was way back in late January, when we 10 Club members first heard the tix were going on sale for North American tour. Sadly, I had messed up on my membership, which I wasn't able to renew until after the deadline for concert tix. All was not lost ... my dear PJ fan/friends Josee and Michelle came to bat for me. [A big thanks from bottom of my heart & enjoy those rumballs. More to come at Xmas time.] They were both coming to NYC for the shows and I said your more than welcome to stay at my place. Save on those pricey hotels in Manhattan.

Ordering tix via the 10 Club, upon submitting info/money, member got two tix for show of request. One could go to as many shows as one wanted, as long as one had the funds to cover price of tix. The average tix was about $40 each and thats darn good. Anyhow ... Josee offered me her first night extra tix and Michelle offered me her second night extra tix. I paid them for the tix back in February. WooHoo! As the dates were drawing nearer, we three had to coordinate on arrival times and pickup destination. Got a little bit anxious on some things, but it all worked out in the end. Michelle flew into Newark Airport, then a bus to Port Authority and Josee took a bus down from Canada to Port Authority. I picked them both up on
the evening of July 7th.

Now about the show! Yeah baby! We got thru security with no difficulties and they seemed pretty cool. In the main lobby of MSG the four of us [ie: my Texas pal Erica was with us] picked a spot to "meet up" after the show. Michelle and Erica went their way and I ambled off with Josee. We checked out the merchandise booths, as Josee wanted to purchase a poster and t-shirt. Posters were sold out, but she got a really cool black/red t-shirt. Found our seats, which were on the floor, row W, about a little center-right. I'm thinking ... holy shit ... I've never been this close to the stage in MSG. We saw Michelle [her Ticketmaster tix were just behind the stage, which she later said provided her with some interesting views] and waved to her. Erica stopped by to chat for abit and pointed to her front row seat. Her stepmom was attending the gig with her. Josee noticed Michelle waving at us again, but pointing behind us. We looked around and I saw my friend Andrea waving at me from the section behind ours. I went up to the barrier and managed to talk the security guard in letting Andrea come over to chat with me for five minutes. It was great seeing her again and she too is also a big "jeff ament" admirer like me. Sigh!

Back at my seat, we waited for 7:30pm to roll around, for when the Buzzcocks came on stage as the warmup band. Their a British punk band thats been around for about 25 years or so. They played their set at a fast pace with little breather space in between songs. Josee said its the same setlist, as she'd seen them open for Pearl Jam in Detroit, Montreal and Toronto, before coming to NYC. Personally, I thought their set wasn't that bad and better than the group SPARTA, who opened for Pearl Jam in Albany. Both Josee and I noticed Eddie standing on stage right. He was watching the set and enjoying it. On the left, I noticed Jeff trying to hide behind the speakers and then Mike joined him. For the last song ["Why Can't I Touch It?] on the Buzzcocks set they were joined on stage by Jeff, Eddie and Mike. What a treat for us fans. They ended the set and all left the stage. Now comes the suspence of waiting for the main band ... Pearl Jam. only 30 minutes or so, but it seemed like an eternity.

When they did finally come on stage, all 19,000+ fans stood up and cheered wildly. Its show time! They started off the set with LOVE BOAT CAPTAIN, then ripping into LAST EXIT [Jeffs bopping all over the stage] and SAVE YOU. Two kick ass rocker tunes. Josee and I are bouncing and dancing with absolute joy. We later learned that there were 7,000 Ten Club members at this show and 8,000 at second show. WOW! Next song was GREEN DISEASE and then a slightly different version of IN MY TREE, which I liked. Through all this one could tell that some folk were lighting up and smoking pot. Thankfully it wasn't as "thick" as it was at Albany show. Anyhow ... next up was a wonderful rendition of CROPDUSTER, followed by one of my fav songs, EVEN FLOW. This song really lets Mikey showcase his terrific guitar solo skills. Then they do a John Lennon song called GIMME SOME TRUTH, followed by the bands first single [I AM MINE] off of latest LP called RIOT ACT. What's up next, oh my gosh, a song they hardly ever do and a fav of mine off YIELD. Its a Jeff song called LOW LIGHT and they follow with another YIELD song called FAITHFULL. Both are favs with 10 Club members. Up next one of my least fav Pearl Jam songs ... WISHLIST ... but the tag is cool which is the Buzzcocks WHY CAN'T I TOUCH IT? If I remember correctly, it was around this time that some guy shows up and tries to take Josee's seat. Claiming it was his seat, we're like NO WAY DUDE! Looked at his tix and he's suppose to be in row Y, not W. Geez! Next up is the fast paced LUKIN. The next five songs [ie: GRIEVANCE, 1/2 FULL, BLACK, SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE & REARVIEWMIRROR] are more favs of mine and the band is sooooo on fire. Eddie is in fine form this evening, Mike's a live wire & playing amazing solos, Matt as always is a powerhouse on the drums, Stone is providing groovy rhythm and watching Jeff play that bass makes me sooooo happy. Plus his jumps on stage were amazing.

The arena is going nuts during the break between main set and 1st encore. The guys come back out on stage to near deafening cheers from the fans. And kick off the 1st encore with the funky song YOU ARE utilizing strobe lights. These type of lights usually bother my eyes, so I spent most of the song with closed eyes and bent head. Every so often they throw in a quiet song and this time its THUMBING MY WAY. The next song is DAUGHTER and during the tag Eddie brings out Ben Harper to help out. The tag is a Harper song called WITH MY OWN TWO HANDS. This is a terrific surprise. Harper is there with his girlfriend, the actress Laura Dern. Josee and I damn near flip out when they roll into the next song, after some chatter from Eddie, plus passing wine bottle to Jeff and Stone. We were like ... OMG ... their doing CROWN OF THORNS ... which is a Mother Love Bone song. Then to add to our euphoria ... BREATH! Great song! I knew it was bound to happen, they did another of my least fav Pearl Jam songs ... BETTERMAN. What makes it interesting is the audience sing-along response, their reveling in this song, which is about spouse abuse. [Earlier that evening I saw a young chap wearing a t-shirt that said "Betterman Club". Very strange.] They cap off the 1st encore with DO THE EVOLUTION. The audience during the next break before 2nd encore is even more deafening. Everyone is rocking on all four cylinders. WooHoo! OMG!

Back on stage Eddie mentioned to us that they were told the stage only bounced up and down that much [which freaked them abit] for three other bands. Can you guess? Well it was the Grateful Dead, Iron Maiden and Bruce Springsteen. That last mention got a Bruuuuuce chant from the crowd. They start off 2nd encore with CRAZY MARY. Love this song live and Boom Gaspar plays a great keyboard solo. At this point I mention to Josee ... how will the band top this fantastic show tomorrow evening. It boggles the mind. Eddie brings Ben Harper out again and they duet the next song ... INDIFFERENCE. So sweet! Then Tony from the Buzzcocks comes out on stage to play bass for the next song, while Jeff sits this one out. Another fav
cover song of mine ... SONIC REDUCER. Did I mention the band was on fire this evening? Hell yeah! They close out the evening with an amazing rendition of The Who song BABA O'RILEY. And the show closing number is another fav of mine ... YELLOW LEDBETTER. Which again showcases Mikey's guitar prowness. They played a 2 1/2 to 3 hour show with such energy and enthusiasm. Everyone was excited and pumped afterwards. Josee and I met up with Michelle at our designated spot. We got to chatting with other cool fans ... mostly those that Michelle knew via Synergy BBS. We were all hot, sweaty and dying of thirst. Found a vendor outside the venue and quenched our thirst. One of the best concert experiences I've had in a long time.