You know what's dumb? Complaining about a show and calling it sub-par when you were not there. Does anyone really think it impresses anyone (Pearl Jam included) when the show is judged by a list of tunes 5 minutes after it ends by a group of people that were not there? With fans like that.... who needs critics?
Barrie 1992
Toronto 2003
Kitchener 2005
London 2005
Toronto 1 2006
Cleveland 2006
Toronto 2009
Toronto 2011
Hamilton 2011
London, Ont 2013
Buffalo 2013
Detroit 2014
Toronto 1 2016
Toronto 2 2016 Hamilton 2022 Toronto 2022
wow what a night....I couldn't sleep all night I was still so excited when I got home!!!! Fuck that was a good show. I love Present Tense as the opener!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Thunder Bay - 2005
Toronto - 2003
Cincinnati - 2000
You know what's dumb? Complaining about a show and calling it sub-par when you were not there. Does anyone really think it impresses anyone (Pearl Jam included) when the show is judged by a list of tunes 5 minutes after it ends by a group of people that were not there? With fans like that.... who needs critics?
I couldn't agree more. Hey everyone who wasn't there, STFU and let those who were give a credible critique.
We can all be free
Maybe not with words
Maybe not with a look
But with your mind
-Cat Power
My first ever Pearl Jam show!!!!!!
Eddie came out and played Hide Your Love Away
Then the supersuckers came out and did their thing!!! Mike "Fuckin'" McCready joined the SuperSuckers on stage for a song and wailed on that guitar. Then they brought out another guest... eddie joined them for Poor Girl and I Believe in Miracles!!!! then supersuckers rocked some more.. intermisson
then Pearl Jam kicked ass in Thunder Bay!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The two best quotes of the night were: "this is the smallest city on the tour and the smallest arena as well.. how the fuck do you play hockey here???"
and
Eddie was talking about losing his hearing 10-15 years ago and he said "I might have lost my hearing but I can fuck like a rabbit".
Pearl Jam is so tight as a band and their stage presence and energy is amazing. The band was totally feeding off of the crowds energy.... i could see the band members looking at each other with this wow look!!!!!! I will never go to another concert in my life and think that it would match up to the musical talent and amazing performance and how amazing Eddie is as a performer.
I am still riding the Pearl Jam high didnt sleep all nite!!!!!!!!!
Photos??? My disposable screwed up!!!!!!!! :( Thanks!!!!!!!!!!
Was I the only person that heard them play "In the Moonlight" last night? Unbelievable show. A little short because of how ridiculously hot it was in there, but it was awesome.
1/12/1879, 4/8/1156, 2/6/1977, who gives a shit, ...
Haven't read many of the other posts so it may have been mentioned already . . . but what was it like with only about 4800 people? Must have been fantastically intimate . . .
Barrie 08/22/98 Montreal 10/04/00 Toronto 10/05/00 Toronto 06/28/03 Kitchener 09/11/05 Ottawa 09/16/05 Toronto 08/21/09 Toronto 09/11/11 Ottawa 09/14/11 Buffalo 10/12/13 Ottawa 05/08/16 Chicago 08/20/18 Ottawa 09/03/22 Nashville 09/16/22
Haven't read many of the other posts so it may have been mentioned already . . . but what was it like with only about 4800 people? Must have been fantastically intimate . . .
Ya it was really cool, nice and cozy. Although the bigger crowds are better for singing along with.
The girl I took with me last night was a casual PJ fan...until last night. She says she's hooked now. haha. I'm making her a CD of the show as we speak, or type I should say.
Thunder Bay - 2005
Toronto - 2003
Cincinnati - 2000
Here's my very extended notes. I'd edit them for length, but I need sleep. I haven't slept since getting yup at 8am on Friday to drive from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay.
The crowd takes a long time to get in the arena as the security is doing a very thorough job of searching and doing pat downs. As a result, most people are either outside or still at the merchandise table when Ed hits the stage for a hauntingly beautiful version of Hide Your Love Away. Following his performance, the Supersuckers hit the stage. It's their last show of the tour and they are determined to do their best to bring the house down. Mike McCready joins them on stage for one song, followed by Ed joining them, this time without his mask on. First up is X's Poor Girl followed by The Ramone's I Believe in Miracles. A fan in a Ramone's shirt is brought up on stage to sing with Ed. When the band finally hit the stage at about 9:00 the crowd is pumped and the temperature within the arena is sweltering. Bathed blue light they start into Present Tense. The crowd does not seem to be too into the song as their isn't much of a sing along, and Ed's timing is a little bit off, but they recover by the end and finish off the song on fire. Immediately they go right into Corduroy and just nail it. Their performance on stage seems too big for the arena, but in a very good way. By the end of the song Mike has removed his T-shirt and is wearing a white tank top with CCFC written on it. During Animal, Jeff is particularly on fire, playing slap bass like a mad man. The crowd is now fully into the show, counting of "1-2-3-4-5 against one . . . " along with Ed. During Given To Fly Ed's voice is soaringly powerful. The crowd pogos along during the chorus and gives one of the biggest cheers of the night following the song. It is 9:20 before Ed first addresses the crowd saying:
"Thanks. This is the smallest gig on the tour, and I predict it is going to be the hottest. How the fuck do you play hockey in here. I can tell you in the future, when we're looking at a globe, or a map and we look at Thunder Bay, we're going to be able to close our eyes and know that it's a good feeling. This song is called Cropduster."
By the time they play Even Flow, the guys are drenched in sweat. Ed looks maniacal as he belts out the chorus. My notes say, "Ed is somewhere else. The heat has transported him to another time." As always, Mike nails the solo, which is absolutely huge. Up next Ed takes a minute to talk to the crowd about the situation in New Orleans. He says that it's hard to go out and have a good time when you know that something so horrible is going on, and the people who are supposed to be helping out, to be taking charge, aren't doing a very good job. But that you have to do what you can. He then goes on to thank Canada for doing what they can, for sending aide, and personnel, and supplies. For going beyond the call of duty for a neighbor. And that after you've done what you can do, and you get an opportunity to go out and have fun, it is your responsibility to have the time of your life. Throughout, the crowd is cheering Ed on, especially when he thanks Canada and says that the band is going to be doing a couple of things (unfortunately he does not go into specifics). Following Lukin there is a brief pause before the band explodes into State of Love and Trust. Ed is caught away from the microphone trying to get some water when the lyrics are supposed to start. Fortunately the crowd is shouting out the words, and Ed just turns to the mic to the crowd and smiles, giving them an "OK" symbol after he starts singing. During Jeremy it hits me where Ed has been transported, he's back in 1992. He is drenched in sweat, physically exhausted and climbing up onto the side stage monitors shaking all over as he sings. During the jam at the end of the song Ed heads over to Mike's corner of the stage and grabs onto the rope ladder that goes up to the rigging. You can tell that he is thinking of climbing, but settles for just swinging out briefly over the first row of fans. Porch is given a bluesy intro (reminiscent of My Generation Blues), with just add playing guitar during the first verse. The set is closed out with an extended solo and jam to end the song. When they hit the stage for the first encore, Ed introduces Boom (the crowd was shouting Booooooom" and says that he's from Hawaii, so he's used to the heat. He then says if the crowd is good then they are going to keep going. Nothingman, I Am Mine, and Black are played with all the band members sitting on stools. You can tell they are exhausted and the heat has taken a lot out of them. Mike looks particularly worn out, and is hunched over for long stretches. But the band soldiers on, giving the fans the best that they have. They're back on their feet for Alive and the crowd gives the band the best that they have, Ed starts the second encore by saying that it look like their is a little club forming behind the stage. He then climbs into the stands and everyone scatters from their seats to surround them. He tells Matt to hit it whenever he's ready and goes on to perform Last Kiss while in the stands, with the band also playing to the back of the stage. They invite the Supersuckers on stage to join them for a song by "Uncle Neil". They are joined by Eddie Spaghetti's son on tambourine. This version of Rockin in the Free world is just amazing, with both Ed's trading verses, the Supersucker's guitarist playing ukulele and everyone taking turns jamming and playing solos. Eddie Spaghetti's son even works the mic with his dad and shouts out "Hey" along with the music. At one point Ed tries to get him to assist him in a call and response with the crowd. At the end Ed gives him a tambourine to toss into the crowd. Yellow Ledbetter closes out this shorter than usual set, but with the temperature in the building you can't blame the band. It seems like they wanted to go longer, but physically they were drained.
Minneapolis : 06/30/1998 - Chicago : 10/09/2000 - Vancouver : 05/30/2003 - Fargo : 06/15/2003 - Winnipeg : 09/08/2005 - Thunder Bay : 09/09/2005 - St. Paul : 06/26/2006 - Chicago : 08/23/2009 - Chicago : 08/24/2009
Here's my very extended notes. I'd edit them for length, but I need sleep. I haven't slept since getting yup at 8am on Friday to drive from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay.
The crowd takes a long time to get in the arena as the security is doing a very thorough job of searching and doing pat downs. As a result, most people are either outside or still at the merchandise table when Ed hits the stage for a hauntingly beautiful version of Hide Your Love Away. Following his performance, the Supersuckers hit the stage. It's their last show of the tour and they are determined to do their best to bring the house down. Mike McCready joins them on stage for one song, followed by Ed joining them, this time without his mask on. First up is X's Poor Girl followed by The Ramone's I Believe in Miracles. A fan in a Ramone's shirt is brought up on stage to sing with Ed. When the band finally hit the stage at about 9:00 the crowd is pumped and the temperature within the arena is sweltering. Bathed blue light they start into Present Tense. The crowd does not seem to be too into the song as their isn't much of a sing along, and Ed's timing is a little bit off, but they recover by the end and finish off the song on fire. Immediately they go right into Corduroy and just nail it. Their performance on stage seems too big for the arena, but in a very good way. By the end of the song Mike has removed his T-shirt and is wearing a white tank top with CCFC written on it. During Animal, Jeff is particularly on fire, playing slap bass like a mad man. The crowd is now fully into the show, counting of "1-2-3-4-5 against one . . . " along with Ed. During Given To Fly Ed's voice is soaringly powerful. The crowd pogos along during the chorus and gives one of the biggest cheers of the night following the song. It is 9:20 before Ed first addresses the crowd saying:
"Thanks. This is the smallest gig on the tour, and I predict it is going to be the hottest. How the fuck do you play hockey in here. I can tell you in the future, when we're looking at a globe, or a map and we look at Thunder Bay, we're going to be able to close our eyes and know that it's a good feeling. This song is called Cropduster."
By the time they play Even Flow, the guys are drenched in sweat. Ed looks maniacal as he belts out the chorus. My notes say, "Ed is somewhere else. The heat has transported him to another time." As always, Mike nails the solo, which is absolutely huge. Up next Ed takes a minute to talk to the crowd about the situation in New Orleans. He says that it's hard to go out and have a good time when you know that something so horrible is going on, and the people who are supposed to be helping out, to be taking charge, aren't doing a very good job. But that you have to do what you can. He then goes on to thank Canada for doing what they can, for sending aide, and personnel, and supplies. For going beyond the call of duty for a neighbor. And that after you've done what you can do, and you get an opportunity to go out and have fun, it is your responsibility to have the time of your life. Throughout, the crowd is cheering Ed on, especially when he thanks Canada and says that the band is going to be doing a couple of things (unfortunately he does not go into specifics). Following Lukin there is a brief pause before the band explodes into State of Love and Trust. Ed is caught away from the microphone trying to get some water when the lyrics are supposed to start. Fortunately the crowd is shouting out the words, and Ed just turns to the mic to the crowd and smiles, giving them an "OK" symbol after he starts singing. During Jeremy it hits me where Ed has been transported, he's back in 1992. He is drenched in sweat, physically exhausted and climbing up onto the side stage monitors shaking all over as he sings. During the jam at the end of the song Ed heads over to Mike's corner of the stage and grabs onto the rope ladder that goes up to the rigging. You can tell that he is thinking of climbing, but settles for just swinging out briefly over the first row of fans. Porch is given a bluesy intro (reminiscent of My Generation Blues), with just add playing guitar during the first verse. The set is closed out with an extended solo and jam to end the song. When they hit the stage for the first encore, Ed introduces Boom (the crowd was shouting Booooooom" and says that he's from Hawaii, so he's used to the heat. He then says if the crowd is good then they are going to keep going. Nothingman, I Am Mine, and Black are played with all the band members sitting on stools. You can tell they are exhausted and the heat has taken a lot out of them. Mike looks particularly worn out, and is hunched over for long stretches. But the band soldiers on, giving the fans the best that they have. They're back on their feet for Alive and the crowd gives the band the best that they have, Ed starts the second encore by saying that it look like their is a little club forming behind the stage. He then climbs into the stands and everyone scatters from their seats to surround them. He tells Matt to hit it whenever he's ready and goes on to perform Last Kiss while in the stands, with the band also playing to the back of the stage. They invite the Supersuckers on stage to join them for a song by "Uncle Neil". They are joined by Eddie Spaghetti's son on tambourine. This version of Rockin in the Free world is just amazing, with both Ed's trading verses, the Supersucker's guitarist playing ukulele and everyone taking turns jamming and playing solos. Eddie Spaghetti's son even works the mic with his dad and shouts out "Hey" along with the music. At one point Ed tries to get him to assist him in a call and response with the crowd. At the end Ed gives him a tambourine to toss into the crowd. Yellow Ledbetter closes out this shorter than usual set, but with the temperature in the building you can't blame the band. It seems like they wanted to go longer, but physically they were drained.
Were you at the Winnipeg show as well?? any Comparisons?
that was a fucking amazing show even if only 23 songs. He plaed hide your love away before the supersuckers came on. PLayed poor girl and believe in miracles with the supersockers. Tons of energy especially by ed and the most amzing part was when the all of a sudden ran the the bakc of the stage climbed up into the crowd and had everyone swarming him. The fans were sweet and they let him get to the very to and everyone in the back ran over and bunched up in a circle around him leaving him enough space to sing. He told the band to start it up and they played the fucking best versiopn of alst kiss iv ever heard. only 23 songs but fucking amzing.
This tour seems wicked compared to 2003. and I LOVED 2003!!!!
All these amazing reviews make it all seem so crazy and wild like back in the day. Maybe its all that clean cold canadian air, or all that strong Canadian beer
I miss you already, I miss you always
I miss you already, I miss you all day
Oh man, this show was amazing! It was my first PJ show even and even standing outside FWG wating to get let in, I still couldn't believe they were playing T-Bay!
Glad I got in early. My aunt and I had seats in section L, right up at the top which would be the corner on Stone's side of the stage, mostly behind it. We ended up just standing at the top beside one of the commentator booth things and had a perfect view of the whole band.
As soon as the lights went out, you could smell the weed. It was pretty bad but by the time the band got on I didn't really notice it anymore. Ed sounded excellent, even if he was stumbling around and knocking things over [He tripped and fell backwards over a speaker thing when he was out with the Supersuckers, knocked over a mic stand and a guitar from what I can remember] Though, it was freakishly hot and I guess the stage is probably a lot smaller than what they're used to.
I can't get over how great they sounded. I could actually hear them as opposed to just garbled noise, which it was like at the last arena show I went to [Our Lady peace at the Winnipeg Arena in '03]. I'll definitely be getting a bootleg of it. Everything was spot-on and it was so cool when Ed went out into the crowd. I wasn't able to get anywhere close to him when he went to the back, but it was still awesome to see him climb over all that equipment and up into the cheap seats.
The highlight of the night had to be when they played Jeremy. Oh man, that was amazing. The crowd was singing along with everything. We may be small, but dammit, we're loud! My aunt saw them in '03, in Minneapolis I think, and she said this show was much better than that.
Definitely the best concerts I've ever been to, and I'll be hard pressed to find a better one.
I hope Pearl Jam will come back here next time they tour Canada. T-Bay 's PJ
Were you at the Winnipeg show as well?? any Comparisons?
You know, I don't think anything will compare to the Winnipeg show, but I'm biased since I'm from there.
The TBay crowd was into it, but it simply can not compare to a crowd of 16000 people going nuts.
In terms of the actual music played, I liked that the set lists were pretty varied between the two. Again, I think the bands performance suffered a bit due to the heat, however I think it just kept pushing Ed further and further. When he was at Mike's corner during Jeremy, I was right in front of him in the 4th row, and that look in his eye. I haven't seen it since the mid 90's. You could tell he was thinking "This looks familiar" and trying to gauge whether he should do it or not. If it were a general admission show, with a seething pit below him, I think he would have done it because he could have just jumped into the crowd. But with the seating on the floor, it would have been anti-climactic watching him climb back down the ladder.
Minneapolis : 06/30/1998 - Chicago : 10/09/2000 - Vancouver : 05/30/2003 - Fargo : 06/15/2003 - Winnipeg : 09/08/2005 - Thunder Bay : 09/09/2005 - St. Paul : 06/26/2006 - Chicago : 08/23/2009 - Chicago : 08/24/2009
It was a very good show. Yeah, it was short on songs but still lasted a little over 2 hours i think. And in that heat, it was plenty. I got stuck in section W, which was straight back from Eddie. It actually wasn't too bad, the place was small enough that you were close no matter what. That said, I saw a lot of people just sitting around, waiting for them to be wowed onto their feet. And everytime you heard an early song, up they went. But not everyone can be a huge PJ fan I guess. The Supersuckers were damn good if not a little distorted. Luckily, that distortion was not really heard during PJ's set. It was a good show, I enjoyed it, but next time its the floor or bust.
By the way, it was one of the loudest shows I have been to. My ears were still ringing this morning. ANd the coolest thing about the trip, the Border Patrol Officer asked me about the show. And I am pretty sure I was one of the first across the border into MN this morning. Thanks PJ
You know what's dumb? Complaining about a show and calling it sub-par when you were not there. Does anyone really think it impresses anyone (Pearl Jam included) when the show is judged by a list of tunes 5 minutes after it ends by a group of people that were not there? With fans like that.... who needs critics?
eactly
"oh that show looked like it sucked." How do you know you weren't in the Room.
"it feels like it's the end of the world and we all got a good seat. you know -- step right up, get your tickets...here we go."
Oh man, this show was amazing! It was my first PJ show even and even standing outside FWG wating to get let in, I still couldn't believe they were playing T-Bay!
Glad I got in early. My aunt and I had seats in section L, right up at the top which would be the corner on Stone's side of the stage, mostly behind it. We ended up just standing at the top beside one of the commentator booth things and had a perfect view of the whole band.
As soon as the lights went out, you could smell the weed. It was pretty bad but by the time the band got on I didn't really notice it anymore. Ed sounded excellent, even if he was stumbling around and knocking things over [He tripped and fell backwards over a speaker thing when he was out with the Supersuckers, knocked over a mic stand and a guitar from what I can remember] Though, it was freakishly hot and I guess the stage is probably a lot smaller than what they're used to.
I can't get over how great they sounded. I could actually hear them as opposed to just garbled noise, which it was like at the last arena show I went to [Our Lady peace at the Winnipeg Arena in '03]. I'll definitely be getting a bootleg of it. Everything was spot-on and it was so cool when Ed went out into the crowd. I wasn't able to get anywhere close to him when he went to the back, but it was still awesome to see him climb over all that equipment and up into the cheap seats.
The highlight of the night had to be when they played Jeremy. Oh man, that was amazing. The crowd was singing along with everything. We may be small, but dammit, we're loud! My aunt saw them in '03, in Minneapolis I think, and she said this show was much better than that.
Definitely the best concerts I've ever been to, and I'll be hard pressed to find a better one.
I hope Pearl Jam will come back here next time they tour Canada. T-Bay 's PJ
great review there.
i'm still waiting to hear from my sister. it was her first pj show, too.
The Thunder Bay show was not a good as Winnipeg, but it was a good show with Ed really giving it up.
A friend and I got up and left Winnipeg around 8:00 am for the show and arrived in TB around 6:00 or so. Since it was only a 20 minute walk from the Days Inn to the venue we walked and hoped to grab a few beers before the show. By the time we got to the venue we failed to see any bars or even any gas stations on the way. Half of the walk was throught a residential neigborhood and I really couldn't believe PJ was playing in this town. The town seemed pretty dead. The arena was a total dump. It probably made some of those Vote for Change arenas PJ played look like MSG.
Once we got the good patdown from security I picked up my tickets (6th row, in front of Stone)....thanks 10C! We proceeded to catch the Supersuckers act. They played much of the same songs from the previous night. The highlight was when the kid in the Ramones shirt got to go on stage and sing I Believe in Miracles. Evidently he couldn't believe it either because Ed pointed at him a few times before he got on stage.
Was great hearing Present Tense as an opener. I see they only played 23 songs but it seemed longer...I think the show went around 2 hours and 10 minutes. As other people have mentioned it was freaking hot! I was soaked through much of my shirt. Ed was very interesting as he went into the crowd for Last Kiss, sung on a speaker for one song and dangled on a ladder of some sort on another. Almost seemed like the early 90's again.
The crowd was pretty good and it was an interesting dymanic. I think about all of the ten clubers traveled a good distance to get the show. Most of the people in the non 10 club seats were locals. Walking through the corridors everyones seemed to know each other. There were also many younger fans that looked high school aged. So it was cool they would have a chance to see PJ in their hometown.
Left the show and headed back to the motel. Cleaned up a little bit and hit the Roxy. Being 30 years old I felt a little like the dirty old man being there but it was fun.
Comments
LOL....Kids in the hall...that was a classic show....friggin funny
*Official Marker in the Sand Fan Club Junkie*
Member # 0003
wont let the light escape from me
wont let the darkness swallow me
terrific show that pisses off all you idiots who don't like Binaural.
rock.
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"
Cropduster is just plain bad.
i can understand why you wouldn't like it thought... tis different.
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"
Toronto 2003
Kitchener 2005
London 2005
Toronto 1 2006
Cleveland 2006
Toronto 2009
Toronto 2011
Hamilton 2011
London, Ont 2013
Buffalo 2013
Detroit 2014
Toronto 1 2016
Toronto 2 2016
Hamilton 2022
Toronto 2022
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Toronto - 2003
Cincinnati - 2000
:-)
THanks PJ and 10c!!!
Toronto - 2003
Cincinnati - 2000
Uhhh, you must have missed st louis 2003 when they opened with this song.
I couldn't agree more. Hey everyone who wasn't there, STFU and let those who were give a credible critique.
Maybe not with words
Maybe not with a look
But with your mind
-Cat Power
I can't wait for a full review!!!! I can't believe he climbed into the stands!!!!
Present tense must have been surreal in that 3000 person audience!!!
I miss you already, I miss you all day
My first ever Pearl Jam show!!!!!!
Eddie came out and played Hide Your Love Away
Then the supersuckers came out and did their thing!!! Mike "Fuckin'" McCready joined the SuperSuckers on stage for a song and wailed on that guitar. Then they brought out another guest... eddie joined them for Poor Girl and I Believe in Miracles!!!! then supersuckers rocked some more.. intermisson
then Pearl Jam kicked ass in Thunder Bay!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The two best quotes of the night were: "this is the smallest city on the tour and the smallest arena as well.. how the fuck do you play hockey here???"
and
Eddie was talking about losing his hearing 10-15 years ago and he said "I might have lost my hearing but I can fuck like a rabbit".
Pearl Jam is so tight as a band and their stage presence and energy is amazing. The band was totally feeding off of the crowds energy.... i could see the band members looking at each other with this wow look!!!!!! I will never go to another concert in my life and think that it would match up to the musical talent and amazing performance and how amazing Eddie is as a performer.
I am still riding the Pearl Jam high didnt sleep all nite!!!!!!!!!
Photos??? My disposable screwed up!!!!!!!! :( Thanks!!!!!!!!!!
Montreal 10/04/00
Toronto 10/05/00
Toronto 06/28/03
Kitchener 09/11/05
Ottawa 09/16/05
Toronto 08/21/09
Toronto 09/11/11
Ottawa 09/14/11
Buffalo 10/12/13
Ottawa 05/08/16
Chicago 08/20/18
Ottawa 09/03/22
Nashville 09/16/22
Ya it was really cool, nice and cozy. Although the bigger crowds are better for singing along with.
The girl I took with me last night was a casual PJ fan...until last night. She says she's hooked now. haha. I'm making her a CD of the show as we speak, or type I should say.
Toronto - 2003
Cincinnati - 2000
The crowd takes a long time to get in the arena as the security is doing a very thorough job of searching and doing pat downs. As a result, most people are either outside or still at the merchandise table when Ed hits the stage for a hauntingly beautiful version of Hide Your Love Away. Following his performance, the Supersuckers hit the stage. It's their last show of the tour and they are determined to do their best to bring the house down. Mike McCready joins them on stage for one song, followed by Ed joining them, this time without his mask on. First up is X's Poor Girl followed by The Ramone's I Believe in Miracles. A fan in a Ramone's shirt is brought up on stage to sing with Ed. When the band finally hit the stage at about 9:00 the crowd is pumped and the temperature within the arena is sweltering. Bathed blue light they start into Present Tense. The crowd does not seem to be too into the song as their isn't much of a sing along, and Ed's timing is a little bit off, but they recover by the end and finish off the song on fire. Immediately they go right into Corduroy and just nail it. Their performance on stage seems too big for the arena, but in a very good way. By the end of the song Mike has removed his T-shirt and is wearing a white tank top with CCFC written on it. During Animal, Jeff is particularly on fire, playing slap bass like a mad man. The crowd is now fully into the show, counting of "1-2-3-4-5 against one . . . " along with Ed. During Given To Fly Ed's voice is soaringly powerful. The crowd pogos along during the chorus and gives one of the biggest cheers of the night following the song. It is 9:20 before Ed first addresses the crowd saying:
"Thanks. This is the smallest gig on the tour, and I predict it is going to be the hottest. How the fuck do you play hockey in here. I can tell you in the future, when we're looking at a globe, or a map and we look at Thunder Bay, we're going to be able to close our eyes and know that it's a good feeling. This song is called Cropduster."
By the time they play Even Flow, the guys are drenched in sweat. Ed looks maniacal as he belts out the chorus. My notes say, "Ed is somewhere else. The heat has transported him to another time." As always, Mike nails the solo, which is absolutely huge. Up next Ed takes a minute to talk to the crowd about the situation in New Orleans. He says that it's hard to go out and have a good time when you know that something so horrible is going on, and the people who are supposed to be helping out, to be taking charge, aren't doing a very good job. But that you have to do what you can. He then goes on to thank Canada for doing what they can, for sending aide, and personnel, and supplies. For going beyond the call of duty for a neighbor. And that after you've done what you can do, and you get an opportunity to go out and have fun, it is your responsibility to have the time of your life. Throughout, the crowd is cheering Ed on, especially when he thanks Canada and says that the band is going to be doing a couple of things (unfortunately he does not go into specifics). Following Lukin there is a brief pause before the band explodes into State of Love and Trust. Ed is caught away from the microphone trying to get some water when the lyrics are supposed to start. Fortunately the crowd is shouting out the words, and Ed just turns to the mic to the crowd and smiles, giving them an "OK" symbol after he starts singing. During Jeremy it hits me where Ed has been transported, he's back in 1992. He is drenched in sweat, physically exhausted and climbing up onto the side stage monitors shaking all over as he sings. During the jam at the end of the song Ed heads over to Mike's corner of the stage and grabs onto the rope ladder that goes up to the rigging. You can tell that he is thinking of climbing, but settles for just swinging out briefly over the first row of fans. Porch is given a bluesy intro (reminiscent of My Generation Blues), with just add playing guitar during the first verse. The set is closed out with an extended solo and jam to end the song. When they hit the stage for the first encore, Ed introduces Boom (the crowd was shouting Booooooom" and says that he's from Hawaii, so he's used to the heat. He then says if the crowd is good then they are going to keep going. Nothingman, I Am Mine, and Black are played with all the band members sitting on stools. You can tell they are exhausted and the heat has taken a lot out of them. Mike looks particularly worn out, and is hunched over for long stretches. But the band soldiers on, giving the fans the best that they have. They're back on their feet for Alive and the crowd gives the band the best that they have, Ed starts the second encore by saying that it look like their is a little club forming behind the stage. He then climbs into the stands and everyone scatters from their seats to surround them. He tells Matt to hit it whenever he's ready and goes on to perform Last Kiss while in the stands, with the band also playing to the back of the stage. They invite the Supersuckers on stage to join them for a song by "Uncle Neil". They are joined by Eddie Spaghetti's son on tambourine. This version of Rockin in the Free world is just amazing, with both Ed's trading verses, the Supersucker's guitarist playing ukulele and everyone taking turns jamming and playing solos. Eddie Spaghetti's son even works the mic with his dad and shouts out "Hey" along with the music. At one point Ed tries to get him to assist him in a call and response with the crowd. At the end Ed gives him a tambourine to toss into the crowd. Yellow Ledbetter closes out this shorter than usual set, but with the temperature in the building you can't blame the band. It seems like they wanted to go longer, but physically they were drained.
Were you at the Winnipeg show as well?? any Comparisons?
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"
This tour seems wicked compared to 2003. and I LOVED 2003!!!!
All these amazing reviews make it all seem so crazy and wild like back in the day. Maybe its all that clean cold canadian air, or all that strong Canadian beer
I miss you already, I miss you all day
Glad I got in early. My aunt and I had seats in section L, right up at the top which would be the corner on Stone's side of the stage, mostly behind it. We ended up just standing at the top beside one of the commentator booth things and had a perfect view of the whole band.
As soon as the lights went out, you could smell the weed. It was pretty bad but by the time the band got on I didn't really notice it anymore. Ed sounded excellent, even if he was stumbling around and knocking things over [He tripped and fell backwards over a speaker thing when he was out with the Supersuckers, knocked over a mic stand and a guitar from what I can remember] Though, it was freakishly hot and I guess the stage is probably a lot smaller than what they're used to.
I can't get over how great they sounded. I could actually hear them as opposed to just garbled noise, which it was like at the last arena show I went to [Our Lady peace at the Winnipeg Arena in '03]. I'll definitely be getting a bootleg of it. Everything was spot-on and it was so cool when Ed went out into the crowd. I wasn't able to get anywhere close to him when he went to the back, but it was still awesome to see him climb over all that equipment and up into the cheap seats.
The highlight of the night had to be when they played Jeremy. Oh man, that was amazing. The crowd was singing along with everything. We may be small, but dammit, we're loud! My aunt saw them in '03, in Minneapolis I think, and she said this show was much better than that.
Definitely the best concerts I've ever been to, and I'll be hard pressed to find a better one.
I hope Pearl Jam will come back here next time they tour Canada. T-Bay
Thank you PJ!
You know, I don't think anything will compare to the Winnipeg show, but I'm biased since I'm from there.
The TBay crowd was into it, but it simply can not compare to a crowd of 16000 people going nuts.
In terms of the actual music played, I liked that the set lists were pretty varied between the two. Again, I think the bands performance suffered a bit due to the heat, however I think it just kept pushing Ed further and further. When he was at Mike's corner during Jeremy, I was right in front of him in the 4th row, and that look in his eye. I haven't seen it since the mid 90's. You could tell he was thinking "This looks familiar" and trying to gauge whether he should do it or not. If it were a general admission show, with a seething pit below him, I think he would have done it because he could have just jumped into the crowd. But with the seating on the floor, it would have been anti-climactic watching him climb back down the ladder.
By the way, it was one of the loudest shows I have been to. My ears were still ringing this morning. ANd the coolest thing about the trip, the Border Patrol Officer asked me about the show. And I am pretty sure I was one of the first across the border into MN this morning. Thanks PJ
eactly
"oh that show looked like it sucked." How do you know you weren't in the Room.
- EV
great review there.
i'm still waiting to hear from my sister. it was her first pj show, too.
Almost as good as the Pegger.
What a tour. Good for us
xox Alternagirl
"You never know where you're going to meet a jammer"
A friend and I got up and left Winnipeg around 8:00 am for the show and arrived in TB around 6:00 or so. Since it was only a 20 minute walk from the Days Inn to the venue we walked and hoped to grab a few beers before the show. By the time we got to the venue we failed to see any bars or even any gas stations on the way. Half of the walk was throught a residential neigborhood and I really couldn't believe PJ was playing in this town. The town seemed pretty dead. The arena was a total dump. It probably made some of those Vote for Change arenas PJ played look like MSG.
Once we got the good patdown from security I picked up my tickets (6th row, in front of Stone)....thanks 10C! We proceeded to catch the Supersuckers act. They played much of the same songs from the previous night. The highlight was when the kid in the Ramones shirt got to go on stage and sing I Believe in Miracles. Evidently he couldn't believe it either because Ed pointed at him a few times before he got on stage.
Was great hearing Present Tense as an opener. I see they only played 23 songs but it seemed longer...I think the show went around 2 hours and 10 minutes. As other people have mentioned it was freaking hot! I was soaked through much of my shirt. Ed was very interesting as he went into the crowd for Last Kiss, sung on a speaker for one song and dangled on a ladder of some sort on another. Almost seemed like the early 90's again.
The crowd was pretty good and it was an interesting dymanic. I think about all of the ten clubers traveled a good distance to get the show. Most of the people in the non 10 club seats were locals. Walking through the corridors everyones seemed to know each other. There were also many younger fans that looked high school aged. So it was cool they would have a chance to see PJ in their hometown.
Left the show and headed back to the motel. Cleaned up a little bit and hit the Roxy. Being 30 years old I felt a little like the dirty old man being there but it was fun.
See you in Toronto PJ.