***The VIC Fanviews Here, Aug 2, 2007***

voodoopug wrote:

After giving this overnight to sink in...what a wonderful night. As a White Sox Fan, I didn't care for the Cubs song, but many appreciate it, so fine....

Ed's opening set was a nice surprise and quite entertaining with Dead Man Walking being the highlight for me.

All or None was a great opener as it threw all of us a curveball and following that by Education (very high energy from the crowd during this one!) was as good as it has gotten for me at a PJ show.

The highlights for me were, in no order, now that I have had time to let it sink in:

1. The quality of fans in the line. I had a great time talking to fans from all over and everyone was very good about holding spots in line when you left for food/water/bathroom/etc. It was also nice to see everyone sharing their food/water.

2. Love Reign O'er Me - This was intense, I don't think I will ever get that feeling again at a show, Boom was on fire and Eddie nailed the vocals to the point where Roger would have tipped his cap.

3. Undone - We were standing right in front of Stone for this one and the band nailed this one. I surely did not expect to here this one.

4. Why Go - Normally not a big favorite of mine, but in between all the Lost Dogs songs, this just seemed to fit nice in the set and the crowd ate it up.

5. Sonic Reducer - high point for crowd energy for the night (with Gods Dice up there too)

6. Black Diamond - I gotta admit, I was a bit worried that this would suck when they couldnt get it started (looked like a problem with Jeff's Bass, but also perhaps with the memory of how to play the song too?), but once it got going, it was a trip, anytime I go to a show and here the debut of a song, its special.

7. Cooperation of the fans near me. it was a pure treat to see the group in our front section holding spots for someone when they ran to the can.

8. Seeing Ryan Dempster drinking and out late the night before a day game. Hopefully he will be hungover and unable to pitch well today as well as have severe "Beer SH*ts" today!

Great time for sure, I will hopefully post some pictures tonite

Sawyer wrote:

....nothing jotted in a forum could do this experience justice.......but i would equate it to having a child:)

Jason P wrote:

Wow . . .

As many have noted, the quality of the fans in line (and inside) was phenomenal.

After standing in 95 degree heat for almost six hours, I was rewarded with getting a spot about 10 feet from the stage on Mike’s side. Right before the band came on, two weasels worked their way into the crowd and stopped right in front of me, completely blocking my view. But the crowd united, got security’s attention, and the dirt bags were ejected . . . very nice!

The energy from the crowd was amazing, and after seeing 18 shows, I have never seen the band as loose, and energized as they were last night. The wives and kids of the bands were seated on the side balconies and the band seemed to be feeding off of their energy and enthusiasm energy.

All for None was a complete surprise! I didn’t even consider it a possibility and was blown away. If All for None was (boxing analogy) the left hook to my kidney’s, then Education was the strong right uppercut to my jaw. After that, I knew we were in for a very special evening.

Sad really seemed to get the crowd going full throttle, but In Hiding was one of the highlights of the show. Mike, as usual, was flying around like a mad man. The crowd was fucking loud. So loud in fact, that Vedder’s vocals were getting overpowered by the fans screaming the lyrics. I took time to look around 360 and was blown away by the positive energy in the room.

The band let the crowd settle down a little (which was nice considering it was like a sauna down on the floor) with the trifecta of Parachutes, I’m Open, and Wishlist, then they revved back up to full-speed with Down.

Undone was performed flawlessly (Gorge had just a small little hiccup).

Ed was extremely intense during Hard to Imagine and the crowd was at full tilt. It seemed like there were several times Mike started to improv at the end of songs, but then he would back off a little as if he wasn’t quite ready to lead the band into uncharted territory.

Rats was very cool and at the end Ed brought out his G.W. Bush mask (which fell off his mic stand and was gobbled up by a lucky fan).

Mike was constantly throwing guitar pics into the crowd which would cause a feeding frenzy of fans crawling around on all fours. Stone, as usual, played as if god only bestowed him with a single pick. (a funny side note – a guy a met afterwards was going throw his camera shots, and one photo he accidentally took while the camera was pointing at the floor revealed a Ed Ved pick next to his foot . . . he had no idea).

Why Go was just plain nuts! After being fed rarities all night, this song seemed to have perfect timing. It was just plain deafening!!!

The encore was nice with Inside Job and Lowlight, but I was completely blown away by Reign O’er Me. For whatever reason, I never downloaded the single or heard it on the radio or listened to the original Who version, so it was a special treat to hear this amazing song live for the first time. I was simply speechless after it was over.

Black Diamond was also just plain nuts to witness. It was like watching the band in a live studio trying to work a song out for the first time. Matt has a “hair band” quality to his vocals and he nailed the song. It was just plain fun to watch.

Sonic Reducer (with a prelude of Comatose) returned the crowd to full frenzy. Ed started to climb the amps as if he was going to jump up to the balcony his family was seated in. I was concerned that the amps were going to topple and crush the fans standing to my left, but Ed quickly retreated back to the stage. He then ran across the stage giving high-fives to everyone in the crowd.

I was 95% certain that Ben Harper would make a surprise visit and I was not disappointed. I have wanted to hear this song live for a long time and they nailed it. The perfect ending to the perfect show.

Thank you to all the cool fans in attendance. I made some good friends (Justin, Ryan, Dave). Thanks for the beers at Trader Joes (I think that was the name of the bar). Thank you to the band for a great show. I’ve been to 18 concerts (including some Santa Barbara ’03 and all of the Gorge shows) and this was hands-down the best concert I’ve ever been to.

Peace.