Thursday, June 19, 2008
10:42 a.m. EST

Pearl Jam, in my eyes, is the greatest band of my generation, and arguably the greatest American Rock band ever.

On March 20, 2008 Pearl Jam announced a short, ten-date east coast tour. Two of these ten shows will be at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ just across the Delaware River from my native Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love has always been good to the band, and in return, PJ has played the Philadelphia metropolitan area at least twice during every North American tour since 1998. In 2003 and 2005, they made 3 stops. It's been two years and 22 days since my last show, and tonight is my 12th overall, with the first coming on September 28, 1996 in New York's now demolished Downing Stadium on Randall's Island. While I was a huge music fan and attended at least 20 concerts before that particular one, my first Pearl Jam show changed the way that I perceive music. Ironically, it's the only Pearl Jam that I've been to that I don't have a copy of, whether it be in digital or CD format, but I digress.

For my girlfriend, a musician who will be a guest writer for the 4th of July weekend, it will be her first Pearl Jam show. She is indeed in for a treat. I have assembled a crew of roughly 15 people to tailgate with before the concert, with around the same number for Friday's show. We will be grilling burgers and dogs while sipping some Sweaty Betties and Riverhorse Brewer's Reserve. In addition, I have my fan club seats, or "dork seats" as Brooke calls them, for tonight's show. My are definitely in for a show of epic proportions.

More to come later in the day.

Friday, June 20, 2008
11:32 a.m. EST

In a word, wow. Last night, Pearl Jam tore through a 2 and 1/2 hour, 26 song set that left the crowd anxious for tonight's performance. The band threw in a few rarities, including U, All Night, Rats, No More (unreleased), and Hard to Imagine, along with two covers, Love Reign O'er Me and Save it For Later, originally recorded by The Who and English Beat, respectively. Eddie was his typical self. His vibrato voice ripped though the night as the band attacked the crowd with powerful riffs and electric guitar solos. Eddie kept his standard political rants short, but ultimately made his stance known before going into his acoustic anti-war song, No More.

We have a moral right and responsibility in this country to never let this happen again.

While the band's activism may bother some people, I find it refreshing. Living in an era in which the almighty dollar is king, Pearl Jam has always been willing to speak out against social injustices, following in the footsteps of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. We need more bands to do this, and they need to do it now.

For tonight's show, I expect no repeated songs from last night's performance. Many fan favorites, such as Alive, Rearviewmirror, Jeremy, and Hail, Hail were not played, so we're in for another big night.

I'll check back in sometime over the weekend to update. Oh, and by the way, Brooke agrees with my assessment of the band after last night's show.

Saturday, June 21, 2008
9:41 a.m. EST

Pearl Jam never ceases to amaze me. Year after year, show after show, this band always leaves everything on the stage. Last night's 26 song setlist was much more powerful, with hard-rocking songs like Animal, Brain of J, Lukin, and Comatose. And while I feel that the setlist from Friday was better, the band was much more energetic on Saturday.

I was glad to hear Down, Footsteps, Brain of J Low Light, and W.M.A. There were five repeats from Friday, which bugged me a little, but I'm really in no position to complain. The songs that they did repeat are some of my favorites.

There were a few songs that I wanted to hear, but didn't, like World Wide Suicide, Faithful, I Got Id, and of course, Present Tense. Again, not complaining, just throwing it out there.

The best individual song of the two shows was a cover of The Who's Love Reign O'er Me. It was indescribable.

Until next time, fellas. Just please, don't make it another two-year hiatus.