it was very nice reading these last posts, thank you all...
almost a week and a half after my first Pearl Jam concert ever and i still can not believe what i witnessed... it was like one of those dreams where you dream good things and everything is great and you actually are not aware that you are dreaming and everything seems like its so real ... that happend with me... probably i need a few more concerts to be sure i was at Pearl Jam concert but for real ...
i am so sorry i didn't write earlier but not having internet at home is one of my biggest problems, still expensive here in Macedonia and i really cannot afford it, so 10 days later, here i am to somehow explain what happend to me last tuesday night and actually what was happening the whole day , the greatest day of my life till now...
I remember a great friend of mine, Marsha(PureandEasy), talking about her first concert here on the board and how she remembers every single detail from that day... i understand her now, i will always remember the whole day-of-the-concert experience... i will remember how we were singing pearl jam songs together with 70 other Macedonians in the bus(we were organized by a guy who actually was a singer in a "grunge" band from Macedonia), i will remember the jokes we were telling on the road, i will remember Zagreb and how beautiful it was to walk around the city in that wonderful tuesday afternoon, i will remember all the people i met in front of the concert hall a couple of hours before the show(you know who you are *waves to all of you *)... it was just amazing experience, i remember some people here talking like "Pearl jam is my religion" and i totally understand now what they were talking cause it really felt like some kind of organized religios meeting , it all was in the athmosphere around the hall, you only had to be there to know ... people from all around the world in one place chating and drinking before the concert, heard a Mexican guy singing very good and playing very good under a big tree in front of the hall(wave to you buddy, although i didnt shake hands with you, i saw you, you were really good)... the croatian people, the bosnian people, serbian people, my macedonian people all were great and i still can not believe how great, how nice and how friendly all of them were... definitely, pearl jam has the best fans... i couldn't resist but i must mention some of them here : Katja, Emi, Kristijan, Sid, Tomislav(C2V3N), Doctor, Marin, killroy, sarah, siljo, pajo, my macedonian people: goran, sashe, niksi, ace, and many other people i cannot remind of them at the moment...
all of you that were not at the concert and read this i must tell you that this setlist should have been the longest on the European leg IF the organization people did their job good and let people get in the hall earlier, cause the concert had to start at 8PM at which time almost 1/3 of the people were still outside the concert hall... thats why it started in 8:30PM and we got "only" 28 songs and "only" 2,5 hours(almost) of pearl jam ... just kidding here, ok ...
well finally i have to start talking about the show cause i suppose you already are exhausted of my "kinda" long post ...
when i got in the hall it was probably 1/3 full so i was little afraid will i be able to get in the front of Mike(that was my mission cause Stone is very calm(but still cool) for my taste and the front of Ed is "reserved" for the first 50 people that got in and i was not one of them )... the biggest THANK YOU for C2V3N(Tomislav) who i met outside the venue and recently we were managing a trade so i saw him in the 3rd row and asked him if i can go closer to where he is and he actually let me be in front of him, mind you he was with a 10C ticket and i was with GA ticket ... i couldnt believe how great i felt when i reached the 3rd row because of him, thank you buddy soooo much... just before the show started i was chating with him about HIS first concert in Viena and he was talking to me about his experience...
soooo...
light go off and a lot of screamings from everywhere in the hall, girls louder of course with their high pitched voices ...
Severed Hand - the intro started without band on stage... screamings are louder than the sound of the speakers... third time in repeat we hear the intro and suddenly Stone appears in his place with the guitar on and right behind him there he is, our leader Ed walking to his guitar and taking it, Mike also appears and Matt and Jeff and they all are "armed".. after the fourth playing of the intro Matt starts punching his drumkit and Eddie jumps in the air for his first riff... suddenly the audience including me cannot believe what is actually happening on the stage, is it for real... i mean we were waiting for so long and now they are here and playing for us... nooo, its not them... we dream ... but the dream is amazing... and the sound is also great, i can hear all of them very good ... maybe Mike should be a litttle louder , he deserves that ... than moshing started... it was very very tough... but the positive side of that is - i landed in the second row and didn't leave till the end although i must admit i had a couple of big "fights" to keep my place cause so many people wanted to be closer to the stage... I was amazed how many people knew the new songs, i was expecting a crowd that will know the hits and a few would know the new ones, but damn i was wrong... i suppose the first 10 rows maybe more, knew 90% of the song lyrics that it was so great... remembering "I said yeeeahhhh" being very loud from where i was...
Corduroy - remembering the audience was very loud, and Mike's solo was great... remembering him how he was singing some parts of the song while playing in front of us and smiling a little... so cool...
Hail, Hail - Mike, and Jeff were very animated on this one, great to hear something off of No Code...
WWS - i was amazed that people around me knew WWS even more than Corduroy, how great is that
there were not long pauses between the songs maybe because of the curfew which is 11pm i think so they had to play 25+ songs so after 5 or 6 songs Ed talked a little in Croatian(which was really good) and he said that the band thanks the crowd for asking them to come and thanked us for waiting for so long and that it would be a great night...
Small Town - you're right, great singalong, of course ...
Given To Fly - one of the highlights for me... its one of the best songs ever if you ask me and a favourite one i wanted them to play ...
Unimployable - sounding great, much better live, "OH oh oh oh" parts sang loud by the audience... from the start of the show till now Mike was picking people in front of me and pointing to them, throwing picks all the time, so much love from him... so i decided to get a reaction from him to point at me, so while Ed was singing and everyone was looking at him i was staring at Mike waiting for him to look at me , so he was with his eyes closed and when he opened them watching towards me i pointed to him and he pointed quickly to me which made my night even more special ...
In Hiding - considering it was my first concert, while in awe because of seeing pearl jam live for the first time in my life i didnt understand how special and rare song we were listening to... it is one of the best from Yield and a great one to hear but as i said it was special to me as much as all the other songs ...
Even Flow - amazing to hear this song for the first time live... great classic... audience was amazing on this one, singing and jumping and moshing... Mike soloed a few minutes to the people on the side stage which was amazing and earned ovations from them...
Education - not many knew this song but its great to hear something rare and not well known... for the die hards, yeah...
Do The Evolution - so much jumping on this one and singing of course... especially the part "its evolution baby" so loud...
Jeremy - first song with great crowd participation... the first chorus and the screaming at the end, it was unbelievable, just unbelievable... like 92 all over again, the whole audience jumping, singing , screaming....
Army Reserve - Ed spoke in croatian something like "george bush spent 300 billion dollars tax money for war and this is a song for a soldier's woman"... great to hear it live... kinda REM-ish, loved it ...
Gimme Some Truth - first time he spoke english, as i remember, he said "we gonna play a song as a request from someone who had seen us a couple of times on this tour so he wont have to go to more shows to see us and smiled and looked at him"
Whipping - amazing, amazing, amazing... i love this one and it was great live...
Life Wasted - before the concert i prayed, if they play new songs they better play Life Wasted cause its kinda my favourite of the new record and they did and as the last song on the first set... i was screaming my loungs out on this one till i lost my voice completely, but i am not complaining cause it was for Life Wasted ... remembering how i tried the next few songs to sing but i just couldn't hit the right key cause i ruined my voice and my throat hurt ...
encore break
Thin Air - Ed sat down on a chair as the other ones except Stone(dont know why?) and spoke again in croatian "we find out today that our friend is gonna get married *cheering* so we wanna play this song in his honor and their love and happiness *cheers* " ... it was great, many people knew the words and sang together on this gem...
Thumbing My Way, All or None - 2 of my favourite pearl ballads, so great to hear them... such a unique athmosphere in the crowd with the lights up and mellow singing, Mike's soloing in All Or None, Ed sitting and holding the microphone while with his head down and being so much into it... was just great great great ... also one of my highlights for me and for so many ...
Black - what can i say about the greatest pearl jam ballad when seeing live for the first time... just remind of your first time and you'll know maybe how great it was for me, for us... the whole crowd sang the last "toro to to tororo" while Mike was soloing, even after he finished his solo, 2 minutes after that the crowd didnt stop, Ed was emotional, some people in the first few rows were singing loud "we belong together" line so i suppose he might listened to it or not, who knows, but as i said after 2 or 3 minutes audience singing, Ed got back to the mike and sang 'we belong together' tag kinda in a special way, i think it was very rare... repeating together a couple of times... when he finished, the crowd again continued "toro to to tororo" maybe for 2 more minutes till Ed gave us a little sign with his hand to finish... fenomenal... these emotions while hearing this song live are not able to be explained... understand only those who experienced the same thing, others just wonder as i was wondering till this day...
Wasted Reprise - quick one, the audience singing very nice and Boom first time getting a spot on him...
Better Man - great version, Ed didnt open his mouth till the line "talking , to herself..." cause the audience replaced him of course... at the end-jam , Ed came to Mike and 2 of them were leaning towards another , while Mike soloing some great solos ... great energy by the crowd and by the band also...
Porch - now this one was maybe the best highlight of the night... i think they even didnt change any of the instruments, right after the BetterMan Ed started slow Porch intro... when "all the bills go lying..." line started, incredible moshing happend, something like those specials in TB2K of the crowds in Europe- people jumping and singing... after the first part of the song ended and the band started improvising , Ed like a Spiderman quickly climbed this thing that holds their light show i think and it is just on the left corner of the stage and he climbed 10+ meters which made crowd act like prisoners,everyone going crazy... he was holding himself up there only with one arm and holding his microphone with the other while holding his head towards floor and staying a few minutes like that... finally he started singing some vocal parts and audience repeating him a couple of times... then the build up started and when the last chorus had to be sang i thought he gonna go down and sing it from the stage but he stayed there to the end of the song which was astonishing watching at him 10 meters high and singing the last chorus... i have a couple of great pics that a friend of mine took with his camera so i'll try to upload them somewhere then you'll see how high he actually was... you remember Even Flow video jumping into the audience... this was even higher , but no jump this time ...
encore break 2
they came back on stage after 2 minutes cheering and Ed said something like "now the last song" and everyone was like "what the f***" and he then said in a sarcastic way "the last one till now, there is always the next after the last one" something like that and the crowd cheered ...
Blood - the hardest part of the show, if someone got hurt or lost something or something bad happend to him/her at this concert than it should have been while Blood was played... it was unfucking amazing... Jeff jumping all over, Matt punching the drums so hard, Eddie screaming his lungs out and Mike and Stone were animated as well by the audience... they showd how hard rocking can be if they want...
after this one Ed asked if he can talk in English now and he said that people think that the last concert is the best but he said that actually its always the one before the last concert and for the Euro tour it was Zagreb and everyone cheered so loud and it was also one of the highlights that made us feel special about attending this show...
Alive - other than the Life Wasted, Alive was one of the songs i wanted them so much to play live and they did ... i wanted so bad to hear this classic live and i can not tell how great it was to sing it together with 9000 fans who knew all of the words of course... at the end the "Yeah , Yeah" screaming part while pointing to Mike or Ed and finally the whole crowd was standing up and cheering this special song and special concert that happend to us and that happend to this city of Zagreb...
House light on and
RITFW - crowd so happy with the song, everyone singing and cheering, noone wanted to end this amazing night, Mike's solos were superb, not boring at all, Ed punching his 2 tambourines, of which the 2 of them ended in the hands of some lucky fans... during the last solo Ed got down in the T zone, in the free space between the bariers and some people that shoke hands with him still dont wash their hands ...
At the prolonged end the band was prepared to go but Ed saw on his watch that there are 5 minutes left so Mike took the guitar and Ed signalized to him and to the crowd with his right thumb "one more" and Mike approved and started it to a great crowd ovation...
Yellow Ledbetter - audience singing very well, people holding their hands together, hugs everywhere, Mike's great solos with nostalgic melodies melted our hearts and noone couldnt believe it was almost over... at the final solo Ed laid down in front of his speakers while watching Mike solo and sometimes he would turn the head to watch the crowd clapping and cheering... so emotional... unbelievable to explain, there are no words to explain all of the things we experienced and emotions that we felt that night...
at the end all of them huged each other and bowed down a couple of times to the audience smiling and waving...
some of the people in the first row started "we want more chant" which was not good in my opinion so Ed heard them and while others walking off the stage he got back to the microphone stand, took it and threw it in the air 5 meters high and it droped and crashed down which was very funny to watch... he did that with smile on his face...
i stayed even for the time while the band crew started to pack the speakers and all of the things on the stage, it was interesting to see that... tried to find a guitar pick, almost everyone around me got one except me so i was looking for 20 minutes or more on the floor by the stage to maybe find one but unluckily i didn't... i was just planning to buy a guitar if i save some money this winter so i could play with Mike's pick sometimes and to remind of this great concert and great day in general...
after the concert i found a couple of friends and said goodbuy to them, to others i didn't meet after the concert, "see you next Year" as Ed said at the end but it was in sarcastic way as he does many times hehe ... but we believe and we will be waiting for pearl jam to come again in Zagreb cause even they were satisfied with the audience and Eddie a couple of times gave us a nod for our singing,you'll hear on the boot ...
i am young, 21 years, and in my life i've been to many concerts and some of them were big bands in front of 10 000 people or so but after i experienced Pearl Jam , now i know why they are one of the greatest bands on Earth... they connect with the audience... the audience is actually part of the show... every one in the venue feels the connection with the band and feels special that this band gives so much feelings on stage and recognizes their fans and actually cares about them... its not just some rockstar musicians playing professionaly their songs and leave the gig without even knowing in which city they are(and i have witnessed this) and the standard thank yous at the end ...
now i also know why pearl jam gains new fans all the time while not letting the old ones go... although must not to forget they are talented musicians and great performers the main reason is : because every show is somewhat special, every show is different and the most of the people that "get it" leave the venue in awe that they witnessed something very very unique... and you even dont have to be a fan, just open to their honesty and emotions they show at the concert, ...
THANK YOU EDDIE, THANK YOU MIKE, THANK YOU PEARL JAM SOOO MUCH...
FOR EVERYTHING...
Sasho from Macedonia
"things were different then.... all is different now... i'll try to explain.... somehow..."
At the prolonged end the band was prepared to go but Ed saw on his watch that there are 5 minutes left so Mike took the guitar and Ed signalized to him and to the crowd with his right thumb "one more" and Mike approved and started
Yellow Ledbetter - audience singing very well, people holing their hands together, hugs everywhere, Mike's great solos with nostalgic melodies melted our hearts and noone couldnt believe it was almost over... at the final solo Ed laid down in front of his speakers while watching Mike solo and in time watch the crowd clapping and cheering... so emotional... unbelievable to explain, unbelievable to finf the right words to explain - maybe there are no words to explain all of the thing we experienced and emotions we felt that night...
at the end all of them huged each other and bowed down a couple of times to the audience smiling and waving also...
some of the people in the first row started "we want more chant" which was not good in my opinion so Ed heard them and while others walking off the stage to back he got back to the microphone stand, took it and threw it in the air 5 meters high and droped it and it crashed down which was very funny to watch... he did that with smile on his face...
i stayed even for the time while the band crew started to pack the speakers and all of the things on the stage, it was interesting to see that... tried to find a guitar pick, almost everyone around me got one except me so i was looking for 20 minutes or more on the floor and in the peoples legs to maybe find one but unluckily i didn't... i was just planning to buy a guitar if i save some money this winter so i could play with Mike's pick sometimes and to remind of this great concert and great day in general...
after the concert i found a couple of friends and said goodbuy to them, to others i didn't meet after the concert "see you next Year" as Ed said at the end but it was in sarcastic way as he does many times hehe ... but we believe and we will be waiting for pearl jam to come again in Zagreb cause even they were satisfied with the audience and Eddie a couple of times gave us a nod for our singing...
i am young, 21, and in my life i've been to many concerts and some of them were big bands in front of 10 000 people or so but after i experienced Pearl Jam , now i know why they are one of the greatest bands on Earth... they connect with the audience... the audience is actually part of the show... every one in the venue feels the connection with the band and feels special that this band gives so much feelings on stage and recognizes their fans and actually cares about them... its not just some rockstar musicians playing professionaly their songs and leave the gig without even knowing in which city they are(and i have witnessed this) and the standard thank yous at the end ...
"things were different then, all is different now..." one of my favourite Ed lines... now i also know why pearl jam gains new fans all the time and not letting the old ones go... thats because every show is somewhat special, every show is different and the most of the people that "get it" leave the venue in awe that they witnessed something very very unique... and you even dont have to be a fan, just sensitive and open to their honesty and emotions they show at the concert, although must not to forget they are talented musicians and great performers...
THANK YOU EDDIE, THANK YOU MIKE, THANK YOU PEARL JAM SO MUCH, SOOOO MUCH... FOR EVERYTHING...
And thank you for your review, made me cry (in a good way).. PM me your address and I'll send you a Mike pick (I got 2 anyway, you deserve it)
I was just listening to the Zagreb boot and can't believe how I actually just re-lived the whole concert.Wooooooohooooooow.I was seeing pictures almost all the time, got goosebumps, shivering, serious heart pounding and by RITFW I almost exploded as I remembered how Eddie shook my hand and looked me in the eyes...It's great how you can hear the crowd but it's still so silent in comparison to the experience. I recall that often I didn't even hear the band..
It was soooo......amazing...
Best best concert ever!
Eddie I hope you meant it with "See you next year". If not Croatia then Italy (that seems to be very special to the band) or maybe Slovenia..:)
The worst enemies of music? Money and Mathematics. Combined with music, they both do the exact opposite of what they're supposed to do. Money makes music cheap, mathematics makes it stupid and predictable.
____
Zagreb 2006/ Munich 2007/ Venice 2007/ Berlin 2009 / Venice 2010 / 2 x Berlin 2012 / Stockholm 2012 / Milan 2014 / Trieste 2014 / Vienna 2014 / Florence (EV) 2019 / Padova 2018 / Prague 2018 / Imola 2022 / Budapest 2022 / Vienna 2022 / Prague 2022
Oh Sasho, I'm so excited reading this. I printed it out and am reading it on my smoke breaks Only got through the first couple of pages so far as I am slowing taking it all in. Printed out it's 6+ pages.
So far, it is a wonderful read. I love the way you describe your experiences, I always have. Through our emails and letters over the years, I have actually been able to FEEL what you're feeling.
Thanks so much for the details - I can picture the experience in my mind and it makes me so happy for you.
At the prolonged end the band was prepared to go but Ed saw on his watch that there are 5 minutes left so Mike took the guitar and Ed signalized to him and to the crowd with his right thumb "one more" and Mike approved and started it to a great crowd ovation...
Yellow Ledbetter - audience singing very well, people holding their hands together, hugs everywhere, Mike's great solos with nostalgic melodies melted our hearts and noone couldnt believe it was almost over... at the final solo Ed laid down in front of his speakers while watching Mike solo and sometimes he would turn the head to watch the crowd clapping and cheering... so emotional... unbelievable to explain, there are no words to explain all of the things we experienced and emotions that we felt that night...
at the end all of them huged each other and bowed down a couple of times to the audience smiling and waving...
some of the people in the first row started "we want more chant" which was not good in my opinion so Ed heard them and while others walking off the stage he got back to the microphone stand, took it and threw it in the air 5 meters high and it droped and crashed down which was very funny to watch... he did that with smile on his face...
i stayed even for the time while the band crew started to pack the speakers and all of the things on the stage, it was interesting to see that... tried to find a guitar pick, almost everyone around me got one except me so i was looking for 20 minutes or more on the floor by the stage to maybe find one but unluckily i didn't... i was just planning to buy a guitar if i save some money this winter so i could play with Mike's pick sometimes and to remind of this great concert and great day in general...
after the concert i found a couple of friends and said goodbuy to them, to others i didn't meet after the concert, "see you next Year" as Ed said at the end but it was in sarcastic way as he does many times hehe ... but we believe and we will be waiting for pearl jam to come again in Zagreb cause even they were satisfied with the audience and Eddie a couple of times gave us a nod for our singing,you'll hear on the boot ...
i am young, 21 years, and in my life i've been to many concerts and some of them were big bands in front of 10 000 people or so but after i experienced Pearl Jam , now i know why they are one of the greatest bands on Earth... they connect with the audience... the audience is actually part of the show... every one in the venue feels the connection with the band and feels special that this band gives so much feelings on stage and recognizes their fans and actually cares about them... its not just some rockstar musicians playing professionaly their songs and leave the gig without even knowing in which city they are(and i have witnessed this) and the standard thank yous at the end ...
now i also know why pearl jam gains new fans all the time while not letting the old ones go... although must not to forget they are talented musicians and great performers the main reason is : because every show is somewhat special, every show is different and the most of the people that "get it" leave the venue in awe that they witnessed something very very unique... and you even dont have to be a fan, just open to their honesty and emotions they show at the concert, ...
THANK YOU EDDIE, THANK YOU MIKE, THANK YOU PEARL JAM SOOO MUCH...
FOR EVERYTHING...
Sasho from Macedonia
"things were different then.... all is different now... i'll try to explain.... somehow..."
Great review, have the boot on the way, will think about you guys while listening to it!!!
Astoria Crew
Troubled souls unite, we got ourselves tonight...
Astoria, Dublin, Reading 06
Katowice, Wembley 07
SBE, Manchester, O2 09
Hyde Park 10
Manchester 1&2 12
This is just g'bye for now...
Over the years I’ve been corresponding with Sasho, he told me that he told his mother that he has a friend in the States that is old enough to be his mother. And today, after reading this review, I feel as proud as a mother could ever feel. I’ve witnessed his growth in life through our correspondence, and have seen his grasp of the English language grow year after year.
This is one of the best reviews I have ever read, even with the mistakes that he was too tired to fix.
Thank you Sasho for opening yourself up to all of us here and giving us such an intimate look into this show that will no doubt go down as one of the best PJ shows ever.
And thanks to all of you who've shared your experiences of this show as well.
pj17mkd ...... you just made me cry ........ can`t remember word on english - NAJEŽILA SAM SE i prolazili su me trnci dok sam citala.......
really beautiful and powerfull words....... bravo....you should be a poet.....:) hehe.....
Over the years I’ve been corresponding with Sasho, he told me that he told his mother that he has a friend in the States that is old enough to be his mother. And today, after reading this review, I feel as proud as a mother could ever feel. I’ve witnessed his growth in life through our correspondence, and have seen his grasp of the English language grow year after year.
This is one of the best reviews I have ever read, even with the mistakes that he was too tired to fix.
Thank you Sasho for opening yourself up to all of us here and giving us such an intimate look into this show that will no doubt go down as one of the best PJ shows ever.
And thanks to all of you who've shared your experiences of this show as well.
It sounds like a very special evening indeed
thank you Marsha... your kind words mean a lot to me ... you are one of my Very Important Persons in my life ... i am soo glad that i met you, even on a massage board ..
i'll try to get a copy to you of this concert soon so you'll be able to hear all i wrote in that long review, the longest thing i've ever wrote ...
greetings to all the people that were in Zagreb, all the people that i met and what to say other than "Pearl Jam, please come back soon, dont wait for another 6 years 'cause you mean to us a lot more than you think...... We'll wait for you "
thank you Marsha... your kind words mean a lot to me ... you are one of my Very Important Persons in my life ... i am soo glad that i met you, even on a massage board ..
i'll try to get a copy to you of this concert soon so you'll be able to hear all i wrote in that long review, the longest thing i've ever wrote ...
greetings to all the people that were in Zagreb, all the people that i met and what to say other than "Pearl Jam, please come back soon, dont wait for another 6 years 'cause you mean to us a lot more than you think...... We'll wait for you "
ciao
oh Sasho, I'm so glad I got to see this. I'm leaving in about an hour and heading to San Fran this weekend to see . . . Pearl Jam at Bridge
I'm thrilled that you finally got to see them and please know that you are very special to me as well.
I hope your dream comes true and that they return again, and I have a feeling they will
take care, I have to clean up things here at work and head out
Sandra i got the things you sent to me ... my brother called me yesterday from my hometown to tell me that some CDs arrived at home so considering i don't expect anything else at the moment, thats it... i will give you a report how much i like the stuff(and i am sure i'd love it ) after the weekend cause right now i am in Skopje(the capital) studying at the university and i am going home in my small town Kichevo for the weekend...
Sandra i got the things you sent to me ... my brother called me yesterday from my hometown to tell me that some CDs arrived at home so considering i don't expect anything else at the moment, thats it... i will give you a report how much i like the stuff(and i am sure i'd love it ) after the weekend cause right now i am in Skopje(the capital) studying at the university and i am going home in my small town Kichevo for the weekend...
ciao...
Great...I was starting to worry..almost 2 weeks to Macedonia by Airmail...started to resemble 10c mail :rolleyes:
Okay...it very hard to say, what Pearl Jam realy mean to me.
Especially in my broken English. It's hard to say right, but I believe, that real jam-fans will understand me.
I am a Pearl Jam fan.
I know every single song of them.
But I was only in Zagreb.
I have never been on their concert before. And on 26th October I realized, what I have missed all these years.
You know, I was standing there, singing and dancing and crying and laughing....
It was like 2 and a have hours of absolute happines.
I wasn't so happy never ever in my life.
It is realy hard to say.
I was just standing. I can hardly remember what I was thinking.
And then I heard myself. I was screaming: "Eddie, Eddie..."
Like everyone else.
And it was... Porch.
I know. It's true.
I wasn't standing right by the stage. I did'nt see his look.
"'cept the look...the look...."
His fatal look...
I mean and I believe, that if you look directly in his eyes,you can realy feel a special energy.
Kindness mixed with love and brave, which lead to a feeling, called "dare to do something different".
Ok. I didn't see it.
But I was there. I heard my Pearl Jam.
I was living.
My dreams came true.
And now...a month after the Zagreb. I still have something left.
An inspiration. A motivation.
To live.
For something I love.
To write every single day. To make someone happy.
To love. And learn.
Listen music, that gives me a strength.
Like he says.
And...Sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky.
A human been that was given to fly.
Thank you Pearl Jam.
For your music. For Zagreb.
For Corduroy.
I just want to scream...
...hello!!!
My god its been six years...
never dreamed...
...you'd return.
Omg, I cant believe its been a month since this show! And what a show it was! Im listening the boot, and Im there again... Thank you, yes, thank you for coming and making so many ppl happy... Finally, lots of ppl from these places have seen PJ live cause they came to Zagreb. And makes me so proud and happy...and what a show that was! ah....
*made it to Croatia had a smoke in a tree...*
Since that night I always get goosebumps and shivers down my spine whenever I put PJ on my CD player.
The best night in my life, something I will tell my grandchildren about (if I live enough to get few ).
PJ were at their best, and we, the crowd, were more than good, we were one happy bunch of lucky bastards having the time of our lives
I just hope that Ed will fulfill his promise - 'See you next year'.
Comments
five, five, against one
it was very nice reading these last posts, thank you
almost a week and a half after my first Pearl Jam concert ever and i still can not believe what i witnessed... it was like one of those dreams where you dream good things and everything is great and you actually are not aware that you are dreaming and everything seems like its so real
i am so sorry i didn't write earlier but not having internet at home is one of my biggest problems, still expensive here in Macedonia and i really cannot afford it, so 10 days later, here i am to somehow explain what happend to me last tuesday night and actually what was happening the whole day
I remember a great friend of mine, Marsha(PureandEasy), talking about her first concert here on the board and how she remembers every single detail from that day... i understand her now, i will always remember the whole day-of-the-concert experience... i will remember how we were singing pearl jam songs together with 70 other Macedonians in the bus(we were organized by a guy who actually was a singer in a "grunge" band from Macedonia), i will remember the jokes we were telling on the road, i will remember Zagreb and how beautiful it was to walk around the city in that wonderful tuesday afternoon, i will remember all the people i met in front of the concert hall a couple of hours before the show(you know who you are *waves to all of you
all of you that were not at the concert and read this i must tell you that this setlist should have been the longest on the European leg IF the organization people did their job good and let people get in the hall earlier, cause the concert had to start at 8PM at which time almost 1/3 of the people were still outside the concert hall... thats why it started in 8:30PM and we got "only" 28 songs and "only" 2,5 hours(almost) of pearl jam
well finally i have to start talking about the show cause i suppose you already are exhausted of my "kinda" long post
when i got in the hall it was probably 1/3 full so i was little afraid will i be able to get in the front of Mike(that was my mission cause Stone is very calm(but still cool) for my taste and the front of Ed is "reserved" for the first 50 people that got in and i was not one of them
soooo...
light go off and a lot of screamings from everywhere in the hall, girls louder of course with their high pitched voices
Severed Hand - the intro started without band on stage... screamings are louder than the sound of the speakers... third time in repeat we hear the intro and suddenly Stone appears in his place with the guitar on and right behind him there he is, our leader Ed walking to his guitar and taking it, Mike also appears and Matt and Jeff and they all are "armed".. after the fourth playing of the intro Matt starts punching his drumkit and Eddie jumps in the air for his first riff... suddenly the audience including me cannot believe what is actually happening on the stage, is it for real... i mean we were waiting for so long and now they are here and playing for us... nooo, its not them... we dream
Corduroy - remembering the audience was very loud, and Mike's solo was great... remembering him how he was singing some parts of the song while playing in front of us and smiling a little... so cool...
Hail, Hail - Mike, and Jeff were very animated on this one, great to hear something off of No Code...
WWS - i was amazed that people around me knew WWS even more than Corduroy, how great is that
there were not long pauses between the songs maybe because of the curfew which is 11pm i think so they had to play 25+ songs so after 5 or 6 songs Ed talked a little in Croatian(which was really good) and he said that the band thanks the crowd for asking them to come and thanked us for waiting for so long and that it would be a great night...
Small Town - you're right, great singalong, of course
Given To Fly - one of the highlights for me... its one of the best songs ever if you ask me and a favourite one i wanted them to play ...
Unimployable - sounding great, much better live, "OH oh oh oh" parts sang loud by the audience... from the start of the show till now Mike was picking people in front of me and pointing to them, throwing picks all the time, so much love from him... so i decided to get a reaction from him to point at me, so while Ed was singing and everyone was looking at him i was staring at Mike waiting for him to look at me , so he was with his eyes closed and when he opened them watching towards me i pointed to him and he pointed quickly to me which made my night even more special
In Hiding - considering it was my first concert, while in awe because of seeing pearl jam live for the first time in my life i didnt understand how special and rare song we were listening to... it is one of the best from Yield and a great one to hear but as i said it was special to me as much as all the other songs
Even Flow - amazing to hear this song for the first time live... great classic... audience was amazing on this one, singing and jumping and moshing... Mike soloed a few minutes to the people on the side stage which was amazing and earned ovations from them...
Education - not many knew this song but its great to hear something rare and not well known... for the die hards, yeah...
Do The Evolution - so much jumping on this one and singing of course... especially the part "its evolution baby"
Jeremy - first song with great crowd participation... the first chorus and the screaming at the end, it was unbelievable, just unbelievable... like 92 all over again, the whole audience jumping, singing , screaming....
Army Reserve - Ed spoke in croatian something like "george bush spent 300 billion dollars tax money for war and this is a song for a soldier's woman"... great to hear it live... kinda REM-ish, loved it
Gimme Some Truth - first time he spoke english, as i remember, he said "we gonna play a song as a request from someone who had seen us a couple of times on this tour so he wont have to go to more shows to see us and smiled and looked at him"
Whipping - amazing, amazing, amazing... i love this one and it was great live...
Life Wasted - before the concert i prayed, if they play new songs they better play Life Wasted cause its kinda my favourite of the new record and they did and as the last song on the first set... i was screaming my loungs out on this one till i lost my voice completely, but i am not complaining cause it was for Life Wasted
encore break
Thin Air - Ed sat down on a chair as the other ones except Stone(dont know why?) and spoke again in croatian "we find out today that our friend is gonna get married *cheering* so we wanna play this song in his honor and their love and happiness *cheers* " ... it was great, many people knew the words and sang together on this gem...
Thumbing My Way, All or None - 2 of my favourite pearl ballads, so great to hear them... such a unique athmosphere in the crowd with the lights up and mellow singing, Mike's soloing in All Or None, Ed sitting and holding the microphone while with his head down and being so much into it... was just great great great
Black - what can i say about the greatest pearl jam ballad when seeing live for the first time... just remind of your first time and you'll know maybe how great it was for me, for us... the whole crowd sang the last "toro to to tororo" while Mike was soloing, even after he finished his solo, 2 minutes after that the crowd didnt stop, Ed was emotional, some people in the first few rows were singing loud "we belong together" line so i suppose he might listened to it or not, who knows, but as i said after 2 or 3 minutes audience singing, Ed got back to the mike and sang 'we belong together' tag kinda in a special way, i think it was very rare... repeating together a couple of times... when he finished, the crowd again continued "toro to to tororo" maybe for 2 more minutes till Ed gave us a little sign with his hand to finish... fenomenal... these emotions while hearing this song live are not able to be explained... understand only those who experienced the same thing, others just wonder as i was wondering till this day...
Wasted Reprise - quick one, the audience singing very nice and Boom first time getting a spot on him...
Better Man - great version, Ed didnt open his mouth till the line "talking , to herself..." cause the audience replaced him of course... at the end-jam , Ed came to Mike and 2 of them were leaning towards another , while Mike soloing some great solos ... great energy by the crowd and by the band also...
Porch - now this one was maybe the best highlight of the night... i think they even didnt change any of the instruments, right after the BetterMan Ed started slow Porch intro... when "all the bills go lying..." line started, incredible moshing happend, something like those specials in TB2K of the crowds in Europe- people jumping and singing... after the first part of the song ended and the band started improvising , Ed like a Spiderman quickly climbed this thing that holds their light show i think and it is just on the left corner of the stage and he climbed 10+ meters which made crowd act like prisoners,everyone going crazy... he was holding himself up there only with one arm and holding his microphone with the other while holding his head towards floor and staying a few minutes like that... finally he started singing some vocal parts and audience repeating him a couple of times... then the build up started and when the last chorus had to be sang i thought he gonna go down and sing it from the stage but he stayed there to the end of the song which was astonishing watching at him 10 meters high and singing the last chorus... i have a couple of great pics that a friend of mine took with his camera so i'll try to upload them somewhere then you'll see how high he actually was... you remember Even Flow video jumping into the audience... this was even higher
encore break 2
they came back on stage after 2 minutes cheering and Ed said something like "now the last song" and everyone was like "what the f***" and he then said in a sarcastic way "the last one till now, there is always the next after the last one" something like that
Blood - the hardest part of the show, if someone got hurt or lost something or something bad happend to him/her at this concert than it should have been while Blood was played... it was unfucking amazing... Jeff jumping all over, Matt punching the drums so hard, Eddie screaming his lungs out and Mike and Stone were animated as well by the audience... they showd how hard rocking can be if they want...
after this one Ed asked if he can talk in English now and he said that people think that the last concert is the best but he said that actually its always the one before the last concert and for the Euro tour it was Zagreb and everyone cheered so loud and it was also one of the highlights that made us feel special about attending this show...
Alive - other than the Life Wasted, Alive was one of the songs i wanted them so much to play live and they did
House light on and
RITFW - crowd so happy with the song, everyone singing and cheering, noone wanted to end this amazing night, Mike's solos were superb, not boring at all, Ed punching his 2 tambourines, of which the 2 of them ended in the hands of some lucky fans... during the last solo Ed got down in the T zone, in the free space between the bariers and some people that shoke hands with him still dont wash their hands
(continuing on the next post
At the prolonged end the band was prepared to go but Ed saw on his watch that there are 5 minutes left so Mike took the guitar and Ed signalized to him and to the crowd with his right thumb "one more" and Mike approved and started it to a great crowd ovation...
Yellow Ledbetter - audience singing very well, people holding their hands together, hugs everywhere, Mike's great solos with nostalgic melodies melted our hearts and noone couldnt believe it was almost over... at the final solo Ed laid down in front of his speakers while watching Mike solo and sometimes he would turn the head to watch the crowd clapping and cheering... so emotional... unbelievable to explain, there are no words to explain all of the things we experienced and emotions that we felt that night...
at the end all of them huged each other and bowed down a couple of times to the audience smiling and waving...
some of the people in the first row started "we want more chant" which was not good in my opinion so Ed heard them and while others walking off the stage he got back to the microphone stand, took it and threw it in the air 5 meters high and it droped and crashed down which was very funny to watch... he did that with smile on his face...
i stayed even for the time while the band crew started to pack the speakers and all of the things on the stage, it was interesting to see that... tried to find a guitar pick, almost everyone around me got one except me so i was looking for 20 minutes or more on the floor by the stage to maybe find one but unluckily i didn't... i was just planning to buy a guitar if i save some money this winter so i could play with Mike's pick sometimes and to remind of this great concert and great day in general...
after the concert i found a couple of friends and said goodbuy to them, to others i didn't meet after the concert, "see you next Year" as Ed said at the end
i am young, 21 years, and in my life i've been to many concerts and some of them were big bands in front of 10 000 people or so but after i experienced Pearl Jam , now i know why they are one of the greatest bands on Earth... they connect with the audience... the audience is actually part of the show... every one in the venue feels the connection with the band and feels special that this band gives so much feelings on stage and recognizes their fans and actually cares about them... its not just some rockstar musicians playing professionaly their songs and leave the gig without even knowing in which city they are(and i have witnessed this) and the standard thank yous at the end ...
now i also know why pearl jam gains new fans all the time while not letting the old ones go... although must not to forget they are talented musicians and great performers the main reason is : because every show is somewhat special, every show is different and the most of the people that "get it" leave the venue in awe that they witnessed something very very unique... and you even dont have to be a fan, just open to their honesty and emotions they show at the concert, ...
THANK YOU EDDIE, THANK YOU MIKE, THANK YOU PEARL JAM SOOO MUCH...
FOR EVERYTHING...
Sasho from Macedonia
"things were different then.... all is different now... i'll try to explain.... somehow..."
where the hell have you been?!
btw. nice words
five, five, against one
It was soooo......amazing...
Best best concert ever!
Eddie I hope you meant it with "See you next year". If not Croatia then Italy (that seems to be very special to the band) or maybe Slovenia..:)
____
Zagreb 2006/ Munich 2007/ Venice 2007/ Berlin 2009 / Venice 2010 / 2 x Berlin 2012 / Stockholm 2012 / Milan 2014 / Trieste 2014 / Vienna 2014 / Florence (EV) 2019 / Padova 2018 / Prague 2018 / Imola 2022 / Budapest 2022 / Vienna 2022 / Prague 2022
next year ljubljana, zagreb and belgrade. please.
So far, it is a wonderful read. I love the way you describe your experiences, I always have. Through our emails and letters over the years, I have actually been able to FEEL what you're feeling.
Thanks so much for the details - I can picture the experience in my mind and it makes me so happy for you.
I think it's time for another smoke break
you've really made me smile this morning buddy
what a nice thing to do. I know he doesn't get on here much so I'll pm you his address. Thanks, he's going to love it.
Great review, have the boot on the way, will think about you guys while listening to it!!!
Troubled souls unite, we got ourselves tonight...
Astoria, Dublin, Reading 06
Katowice, Wembley 07
SBE, Manchester, O2 09
Hyde Park 10
Manchester 1&2 12
This is just g'bye for now...
bravo Pegasus! Bravo!
Over the years I’ve been corresponding with Sasho, he told me that he told his mother that he has a friend in the States that is old enough to be his mother. And today, after reading this review, I feel as proud as a mother could ever feel. I’ve witnessed his growth in life through our correspondence, and have seen his grasp of the English language grow year after year.
This is one of the best reviews I have ever read, even with the mistakes that he was too tired to fix.
Thank you Sasho for opening yourself up to all of us here and giving us such an intimate look into this show that will no doubt go down as one of the best PJ shows ever.
And thanks to all of you who've shared your experiences of this show as well.
It sounds like a very special evening indeed
really beautiful and powerfull words.......
five, five, against one
L
thank you Marsha... your kind words mean a lot to me
i'll try to get a copy to you of this concert soon so you'll be able to hear all i wrote in that long review, the longest thing i've ever wrote
greetings to all the people that were in Zagreb, all the people that i met and what to say other than "Pearl Jam, please come back soon, dont wait for another 6 years 'cause you mean to us a lot more than you think...... We'll wait for you
ciao
oh Sasho, I'm so glad I got to see this. I'm leaving in about an hour and heading to San Fran this weekend to see . . . Pearl Jam at Bridge
I'm thrilled that you finally got to see them and please know that you are very special to me as well.
I hope your dream comes true and that they return again, and I have a feeling they will
take care, I have to clean up things here at work and head out
talk to you later my friend
five, five, against one
hey sandra.. how are you? love the picture with sid looking up. ahhhh good times
ha ha... can tell the wife wasn't there... like it!
ciao...
Especially in my broken English. It's hard to say right, but I believe, that real jam-fans will understand me.
I am a Pearl Jam fan.
I know every single song of them.
But I was only in Zagreb.
I have never been on their concert before. And on 26th October I realized, what I have missed all these years.
You know, I was standing there, singing and dancing and crying and laughing....
It was like 2 and a have hours of absolute happines.
I wasn't so happy never ever in my life.
It is realy hard to say.
I was just standing. I can hardly remember what I was thinking.
And then I heard myself. I was screaming: "Eddie, Eddie..."
Like everyone else.
And it was... Porch.
I know. It's true.
I wasn't standing right by the stage. I did'nt see his look.
"'cept the look...the look...."
His fatal look...
I mean and I believe, that if you look directly in his eyes,you can realy feel a special energy.
Kindness mixed with love and brave, which lead to a feeling, called "dare to do something different".
Ok. I didn't see it.
But I was there. I heard my Pearl Jam.
I was living.
My dreams came true.
And now...a month after the Zagreb. I still have something left.
An inspiration. A motivation.
To live.
For something I love.
To write every single day. To make someone happy.
To love. And learn.
Listen music, that gives me a strength.
Like he says.
And...Sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky.
A human been that was given to fly.
Thank you Pearl Jam.
For your music. For Zagreb.
For Corduroy.
...hello!!!
My god its been six years...
never dreamed...
...you'd return.
*made it to Croatia had a smoke in a tree...*
We were all flying...and we still are I believe!
thank you for that, made mi smile
hail hail the lucky ones...
nice...... you made me cry......:) beautiful..............
The best night in my life, something I will tell my grandchildren about (if I live enough to get few
PJ were at their best, and we, the crowd, were more than good, we were one happy bunch of lucky bastards having the time of our lives
I just hope that Ed will fulfill his promise - 'See you next year'.
And he did fulfill his promise and we saw each other this year...couple of times
A year ago today
Definitely the best show of the tour
Not only Ed's opinion
Will listen to the boot today
I'll dedicate most of the day to boot and thinking of this great show!
hope to hear and see you again!:)
*~~munich 12.6.2007~~*~~chorzow 13.6.2007~~*