**Winnipeg Fanviews Here**

Gimme Some Truth

StillSmokin wrote:

Yeah I think the Winnipeg boot is the best of the bunch for the Canadian tour.

i must have listened to it like 20 times straight through i can't get over it, i Really hope they come back to the Peg when the New album was out Ed said "see you guys next time" which i know doesn;t mean much but i think it would be pretty lickelly for them to come back with the Tickets sales being so good and the crowd being amazing

YieldInHiding

bigeyedfish wrote:

this is my official review of the concert (as opposed to my rambly one on page one).



Music.

Sometimes it’s all you need. No fancy light show. No video screens. No elaborate stage design. No circus midgets. Sometimes, just sometimes, the music is enough.

Pearl Jam proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt last night at the MTS Centre in front of 16,000 screaming fans and you’d be hard pressed to find a single complaint from anyone there.

Armed with only their instruments and some bare bones lighting, the pioneers of grunge showed why they are one of the only surviving bands from the infamous “Seattle scene.” With no new album since 2002’s Riot Act and not a lot of promotion leading up to the concert, Pearl Jam played to a record (and deafening) crowd at the arena and proved that like a fine wine, they only get better with age.

Even before they took the stage and started playing the opening notes of Betterman, the energy in the arena was overwhelming. They ploughed through almost three hours of material that ranged from set-list rarities such as Sad, In My Tree and In Hiding to grunge anthems Jeremy, Alive and Black. They took old classics like EvenFlow and Daughter and turned them into eight-minute jam sessions and improvs (during Daughter a fan’s cell phone made it onto the stage and lead singer Eddie Vedder led the crowd with a sing-a-long into the phone that may go down in history as the greatest voice mail ever to be received). They took a song like Do The Evolution and used it to turn the entire MTS Centre into a giant pogo-ball. They took all the energy that Winnipeg could muster and gave it right back to us. And yet the crowd just wouldn’t stop giving.

“We have to say that this is without a doubt the loudest crowd,” said Vedder when he finally addressed the crowd after ripping through the first five songs. “The pre-show crowd, it was insane out here, we didn’t know what the f*ck was going on, and all we could think was, we hope they’re pacing themselves.”

And pace ourselves we did.

For almost three hours fans were taken on a roller coaster ride of music and emotion. From the 58-second intense rocker Lukin to the beautifully haunting Indifference to the arm raising Given To Fly, fans couldn’t help but sing and cheer. For years Winnipegger’s have seen all the impostors come and go. Nickleback, Creed, Default, Lifehouse. Each one trying to imitate Vedder’s booming baritone. But last night, Vedder showed why he can’t be duplicated. It’s not just about his arena filling voice or his trademark wails, it’s about the emotion and honesty that he puts behind every word and action that he does. From his gut wrenching screams during Blood that evoke all the pain of being ripped apart from the inside, to the sincere heart-breaking whisper of, “we didn’t belong…we didn’t belong together,” at the end of Black, Vedder shows that music means more when you mean it yourself.

But this wasn’t just the Eddie Vedder show. The rest of Pearl Jam played like it was 1992 all over again. Guitarist Mike McCready was by far the most animated of the group. Between his giant jumping windmills or smiling and interacting with the fans by simply pointing and nodding, McCready played with all the appreciation and energy of someone performing in front of an audience for the very first time. Bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard kept pace with McCready while drummer Matt Cameron proved why he is arguably one of the best drummers alive today. The group has also added keyboardist Boom Gasper to their touring line-up and watching the give-and-take that he and McCready did during the extended Crazy Mary solo was nothing short of musical magic.

And just in case the near three-hour, two encore, 29-song show wasn’t enough, the boys from Seattle decided to end the evening with two songs from “Uncle Neil” (Neil Young) to the rabid delight of hometown fans. And as the first notes started to play on the evening’s final song, Rockin in the Free World, the house lights were completely up and the sight within the arena was absolutely spectacular. All 16,000 people still going strong, still standing, still clapping and still singing loud enough to almost drown out the music.

“Winnipeg, I’m gonna say this and I mean it,” said Vedder smiling and looking all around the arena in awe, “you’ve been absolutely f*cking amazing!! Absolutely…f*cking…amazing!!!!”

The thing is, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone there who wouldn’t say the same thing about them.

Just goes to show, sometimes, just sometimes, the music is enough.

No fancy lighting, elaborate stages, fancy video projectors.

Just the music.

Thanks for including my little moment in your review. It was unbelievable!

bigeyedfish

no worries....sorry i didn't say anything about the nice grab you made when he threw it back....did he actually leave a message or was he talking to someone or had the phone disconnected...i was always curious about that.

and to the girl who got up and sang and danced with ed (the Smile Girl....i think kim was your name).......i didn't realize till after i wrote the review and posted it that i left that part out by accident.....please accept my apologies and here's hoping we can still be good strangers.

YieldInHiding

bigeyedfish wrote:

no worries....sorry i didn't say anything about the nice grab you made when he threw it back....did he actually leave a message or was he talking to someone or had the phone disconnected...i was always curious about that.

and to the girl who got up and sang and danced with ed (the Smile Girl....i think kim was your name).......i didn't realize till after i wrote the review and posted it that i left that part out by accident.....please accept my apologies and here's hoping we can still be good strangers.

My friend says he got no message. I called him right before the "incident" and left a message. Then, when Ed motioned for me to throw my phone up there, I quickly dialed his number again and passed the phone up. Someone may have pressed a button on the way up or something. Or maybe Ed did. That fucker. I couldn't believe I made the grab...I was SO nervous!

Too bad no one got a pic of me standing up on my chair after I made the catch. :(

Nolee

If there was EVER a time when I felt like seriously kicking my own ass for leaving Winnipeg..... rofl....

Gimme Some Truth

bump this baby to the top! still can't get over the show

tboneo

I'm Bumping this cause
a) the show rocked
b) when they said they were comming back to winnipeg, i came back to the board, and someone said it was so cute that all these people are comming out of hidding. well i'm still here and i don't see them around anymore.
c) I want to.

Joanne

Nice to see this show still inspires. I know it does for me.

allgonzo

New to the forum. PJ was an unbelievable experience and i don't think MTS centre has come close to the PJ capacity yet. I waited 10 years to see them again and now, after only 4 months since the show. I can't wait for the next one. Next Time i'm gonna do it right though. Next time i'm gonna get my PJ fix in a major way. Next time i'm goin for the long haul. From Vancouver to Montreal, atleast. Plans are already underway. fer sure. Rock on all you PJ forum people. ROCK ON.

Wookiee_Blaylock

I know what you mean. This was the last show I saw, and what a great taste to leave in one's mouth. I recently had a little brain wave. First off, I'd hate to say this folks but, I can't see them coming to back to places like Winnipeg or Calgary (well, maybe Calgary 'cause it's not too too far from that Boise/Missoula region, but even still) simply 'cause they were just there, and there's only so much tour time/so many places they can be at once. Originally I was thinking of trying to make it to as many US shows as possible. Now I'm thinking that maybe I should just fly to the UK and see as many shows in the areas as possible. Venues are more concentrated = less travel expenses and so on, and it would be a great chance/excuse to see some of Europe. I guess I could also fly to like New York or Boston and do the same sort of thing as well. Hmmmmm. If I'm lucky I might have a place to stay in Sheffield. If I spent more time on here maybe I'd meet more fine chaps from abroad to hook up with wherever I decide to bring a friend and go.

But yeah, Winnipeg was gold.

wolfbear

We were there. Winnipeg was special. The crowd was amazing. So loud and into it. But also the trip to us was amazing. Really good people in Winnipeg. Good memories.

Joanne

two posts, months apart.

Just listening to this concert again after a long hiatus and reliving the dream.

HughFreakingDillon

gremmiegal said:

I'm Kim from the show and that was definitely one of the highlights of my life. When I get home I'll write up a review. What a night.

listening to this boot right now. we were all so jealous of you!

HughFreakingDillon

cellophane_star said:

The girl who was on stage and sang Smile? The girl who I am currently very jealous of? I wasn't at the show but my friends were and when they told me, I was so jealous! Congradulations though... why did they pick you in particular? DETAILS!

I know this question is old, but......she had been wearing a shirt that said "Smile" on it the entire Canadian tour. Ed said he was concerned that she hadn't washed it, and wanted to save the people around her from the smell, so they'd better play it. it was awesome.

coachchris

HAHA My wife and I were beside Kim during the tour and we were on our Honeymoon so it was a super funny comment to us. I helped Kim over the barricade and you can hear me yell "get up there!" So happy for her. Great gal!

HughFreakingDillon

coachchris said:

HAHA My wife and I were beside Kim during the tour and we were on our Honeymoon so it was a super funny comment to us. I helped Kim over the barricade and you can hear me yell "get up there!" So happy for her. Great gal!

AWESOME!