I’ve just returned home from the second show of Media Decay’s Pearl Jam week.  Tonight was the first of a 2 night run at Madison Square Garden.  Pearl Jam has played some legendary shows at the Garden and is best known for the show they eventually wound up releasing as a dvd(note please buy it through that link and get an awesome show and help support us bringing you features like these).  It’s like their second home and people fly in from around the world to see them play there.  As such not only are both shows sold out, but the fan club tickets were nearly impossible to get.  The server crashed before they even actually went onsale.  But I managed to get them and as such found myself sitting dead center on the floor of Madison Square Garden.

The Black Keys

Alright first let’s talk about tonight’s opener, The Black Keys, who like Newark’s (and tomorrow’s) opener Band of Horses apparently also had a new album out on Tuesday (Amazon).  I enjoyed them. They were sort of blues run through a hipster filter.  They took the stage at 7:29 and did a 40 minute set.

Now onto the main event.  Pearl Jam took the stage at 8:50 again.  The set started with the inspirational Sometimes but for the most part kept things high energy, except the beginning of the first encore where they were joined by a string quartet.  Some highlights were State of Love & Trust, Mankind (sung by Stone Gossard), Just Breathe, and a cover of The Who’s Love Reign O’er Me.

The thing about being on the floor for a Pearl Jam show at MSG is that it’s both good and bad.  The bad part is if you’re vertically challenged like me it’s hard to see much.  The good is you get this incredible energy pouring down on you from all around.  It’s incredible and indescribable.  Songs like Do The Evolution are true masterpieces when you look around and see everyone singing like a choir, or tonight in Indifference Ed didn’t sing the song’s big line “I will scream my lungs out till it fills this room”, he left that to the crowd who really did fill the room with some insanely loud singing.  Ed was also feeling a little bit literal tonight like when he actually passed a bottle of wine around to a lucky few in the front during Crazy Mary.  Also he didn’t seem to happy doing Jeremy as he just stood in place and sung it pretty blandly.  Mike was having a ball on that though, so it was probably something he felt like playing.

Another thing you notice at these shows is that although Pearl Jam have been at this for a very long time now and are all husbands and fathers and generally speaking “old”, they rock out like a group of 20 year olds.  Running around the stage, jumping, and overall really performing.  Ed and Mike especially.  Also Ed genuinely has a childlike sense of joy on his face when the crowd is really feeling it and the whole arena is singing along and reacting.  It’s really something every live music lover must experience.

Overall the 2 and a half hour set was a total winner and I can’t wait till tomorrow (well my body can, but that’s another story).  Super bad photo’s below (sorry not only does the camera suck but it’s hard to get pics when you’re holding the camera over your head) and the official setlist as posted by the fan club.  Once again no audio as this show will be available to purchase in a wonderfully mixed download or cd in a couple of weeks at Pearl Jam’s official site.

Set List
Sometimes
Breakerfall
Last Exit
Animal
The Fixer
Severed Hand
Small Town
I Am Mine
Comatose
Force Of Nature
Even Flow
Low Light
Down
I Got ID
Army Reserve (dedicated to Lt. Colonel John McDonough)
Insignificance
Unthought Known
Do The Evolution
1st encore
The End (with string quartet)
Lukin (with string quartet)
Just Breathe (with string quartet)
You Are
Love, Rein O’er Me (Townshend) [Ed has crowd wish Pete Townshend “Happy Birthday”]
State Of Love And Trust
Once
Porch
2nd encore
Jeremy
Leash
Mankind
Crazy Mary (Williams)
I Believe In Miracles (Ramone, Ray) [dedicated to Joey Ramone]
Alive
Indifference