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Belgium -> Canada (the report)
Angus
Posts: 376
Ok, I finally came around to writing a little (sorry about the quantity...) about everything I've been to. don't read it if you don't want it. I still can't believe I actually did it. And I didn't plan to write about it that much, but there's a few people I really need to thank.
And I could have added it to the Canadian tour highlights, but I'm an attention seeker.
-> First of all, I would like to thank a few people:
1. My Mexican friends with whom I've traveled during a week. Carlos, Mónica, Rodolfo, Hector, Armando & Liz, you made my trip unforgettable. I really hope I will see you guys again sometime somewhere. Special thanks to Carlos & Mónica here. Really. I love you, both!
2. Joe (Moloko21) from Connecticut. You're the best! Thank you for having patience with us, for giving me a place in the car from Kitchener to London, to Hamilton to Montreal and to Ottawa, thank you for getting me into the USA, for showing me the Niagara Falls, for taking my Belgian flag up to the front row in Ottawa. I saw Stone, Eddie, Matt & Boom looking at it. Thank you for everything! Hereby I also thank Joe (CT) who was in the car and Ric from Texas.
3. Thank You Matt aka StupidCorporateWhore. I'm really sorry you couldn't make it to the shows, hope you had a good time at the Gorge and Vancouver and really hope to meet you someday. You've been a great help in everything.
4. Joe (on the run) from Newfoundland who hitchhiked the whole way through Canada. You gave me some great sories and some great time at several post-parties. I'm sorry I couldn't help you with the Toronto ticket, but I'm very glad I could help you and your friend with my pair of Ottawa tickets. I was a great pleasure for me to see you running out of the building, into the heavy rain, shouting "Best Fucking Show Ever!!!!!". Hahaha.
5. Thank You Ben Bell from Philadelphia for the ride from the Corel Centre in Ottawa to the hotel. Dammit, I really don't know how wet we would have gotten if you wouldn't have helped us out there. Thank you so much! And it was my pleasure to sell you my extra Kitchener poster.
6. Thank you Allan aka Lbc72 and your wife to offer me the picture you took from me and my flag at the Hamilton show. You were a fantastic neighbour at the shows. You were so funny practically without a voice at Hamilton. Your reaction to 'U' in Hamilton will stay on my mind forever I think.
7. Thank You Foxy_Mop aka Laura for some great times at pre and post parties.
8. Thank You PissBottleMan for doing the whole Crohn's & Colitis thing. I didn't "got guts" to come and talk to you (I'm sorry for that), but I do have the deepest respect for you and I'll try to do what I can to try to make a Crohn's & Colitis pre-party at as many European shows as possible too, if necessary.
9. Thanks to the hostel owner in London. He took over my extra ticket for the show and he was a great companion for me! Amazing. He was a fan, but not the biggest, and there he was, hoping to get RITFW as a closer, which we did. I was so glad for him. He got to know PJ thanks to Neil. I went the other way round. I was so happy he told me afterwards this was one of the finest concerts he's seen.
10. Thanks all other people who I've met. From the first ones outside the Kitchener venue at about 3pm on the day of the show "Oooooh, so you're the guy from Belgium?! I've read you'd come here and here you are. So you don't have any friends who came with you? Well, here are your friends!! (points at the people around us). That was great! To all the ones somewhere on the road. the Touring Van, the Brazilian girl. The girl originally from Oshawa at the Toronto show who held up my flag too during 1/2 Full, Eddie went so close of it, goddammit! To the guy from N-C at the Toronto show. I'm glad I could sell you my ticket! And thanks for talking to me about some interesting American politics stuff. Thanks to the conciergo at the Delta Chelsea in Toronto. That man has been a great help for me. And he congratulated on my nice T-shirt (the red Canadian tour shirt) two days before the Toronto show. Thanks to the business guy from Ottawa on the plane towards Canada who told me a lot about Canada. Thanks to the young couple from Hamilton on the way back to Amsterdam. The guy was a huge Springsteen fan. Respect! Thanks to everyone I'm forgetting. I'm so sorry. But just too many things happened during those 11 days in Canada. I just cannot remember all of it.
11. Thank you Ten Club. Seriously, without the possibility of ordering my tickets through the Ten Club, I would have never considered going to Canada. This is an unbelievable service and worth way much more than the small amount of dollars we pay per year.
12. last but not least a big thank you to my parents. I remember at the end of april when the tour was announced and I had a sort of confirmation from the local concert promotors that PJ were not coming to Europe this year, I was so afraid to ask my parents if I could go to Canada. You know, I'm a young, shy guy. I have no travel experience at all. And now this... it was a huge step forward for me. And it makes me so proud I made it without any major problems. But they gave me the chance to do it. And I'm very grateful for that. And I'm very grateful they had no troubles at all understanding why Pearl Jam is so important to me.
-> Linda from Long Island, NY
I'm looking for this lady. She told me her nickname was something like JenintheBox, but that's someone else apparently. Or maybe I'm confused here. Anyway, we met her in Kitchener. She asked me to buy her a poster, which I did. But afterwards I couldn't give it to her. We tried to arrange something but failed. And I wanted to offer my excuses to Linda for not being able to give her that poster. I'm so sorry. Anyway, if anyone has an idea who she is. She's from Long Island, she does social work, she was pregnant (and I wish her all the best with the baby, hope it's very healthy!) and her first PJ show was 31/12/92. Linda, I'm so sorry.
And I could have added it to the Canadian tour highlights, but I'm an attention seeker.
-> First of all, I would like to thank a few people:
1. My Mexican friends with whom I've traveled during a week. Carlos, Mónica, Rodolfo, Hector, Armando & Liz, you made my trip unforgettable. I really hope I will see you guys again sometime somewhere. Special thanks to Carlos & Mónica here. Really. I love you, both!
2. Joe (Moloko21) from Connecticut. You're the best! Thank you for having patience with us, for giving me a place in the car from Kitchener to London, to Hamilton to Montreal and to Ottawa, thank you for getting me into the USA, for showing me the Niagara Falls, for taking my Belgian flag up to the front row in Ottawa. I saw Stone, Eddie, Matt & Boom looking at it.
Thank you for everything! Hereby I also thank Joe (CT) who was in the car and Ric from Texas.3. Thank You Matt aka StupidCorporateWhore. I'm really sorry you couldn't make it to the shows, hope you had a good time at the Gorge and Vancouver and really hope to meet you someday. You've been a great help in everything.
4. Joe (on the run) from Newfoundland who hitchhiked the whole way through Canada. You gave me some great sories and some great time at several post-parties. I'm sorry I couldn't help you with the Toronto ticket, but I'm very glad I could help you and your friend with my pair of Ottawa tickets. I was a great pleasure for me to see you running out of the building, into the heavy rain, shouting "Best Fucking Show Ever!!!!!". Hahaha.
5. Thank You Ben Bell from Philadelphia for the ride from the Corel Centre in Ottawa to the hotel. Dammit, I really don't know how wet we would have gotten if you wouldn't have helped us out there. Thank you so much! And it was my pleasure to sell you my extra Kitchener poster.
6. Thank you Allan aka Lbc72 and your wife to offer me the picture you took from me and my flag at the Hamilton show. You were a fantastic neighbour at the shows. You were so funny practically without a voice at Hamilton. Your reaction to 'U' in Hamilton will stay on my mind forever I think.
7. Thank You Foxy_Mop aka Laura for some great times at pre and post parties.
8. Thank You PissBottleMan for doing the whole Crohn's & Colitis thing. I didn't "got guts" to come and talk to you (I'm sorry for that), but I do have the deepest respect for you and I'll try to do what I can to try to make a Crohn's & Colitis pre-party at as many European shows as possible too, if necessary.
9. Thanks to the hostel owner in London. He took over my extra ticket for the show and he was a great companion for me! Amazing. He was a fan, but not the biggest, and there he was, hoping to get RITFW as a closer, which we did. I was so glad for him. He got to know PJ thanks to Neil. I went the other way round. I was so happy he told me afterwards this was one of the finest concerts he's seen.
10. Thanks all other people who I've met. From the first ones outside the Kitchener venue at about 3pm on the day of the show "Oooooh, so you're the guy from Belgium?! I've read you'd come here and here you are. So you don't have any friends who came with you? Well, here are your friends!! (points at the people around us). That was great! To all the ones somewhere on the road. the Touring Van, the Brazilian girl. The girl originally from Oshawa at the Toronto show who held up my flag too during 1/2 Full, Eddie went so close of it, goddammit! To the guy from N-C at the Toronto show. I'm glad I could sell you my ticket! And thanks for talking to me about some interesting American politics stuff. Thanks to the conciergo at the Delta Chelsea in Toronto. That man has been a great help for me. And he congratulated on my nice T-shirt (the red Canadian tour shirt) two days before the Toronto show. Thanks to the business guy from Ottawa on the plane towards Canada who told me a lot about Canada. Thanks to the young couple from Hamilton on the way back to Amsterdam. The guy was a huge Springsteen fan. Respect! Thanks to everyone I'm forgetting. I'm so sorry. But just too many things happened during those 11 days in Canada. I just cannot remember all of it.
11. Thank you Ten Club. Seriously, without the possibility of ordering my tickets through the Ten Club, I would have never considered going to Canada. This is an unbelievable service and worth way much more than the small amount of dollars we pay per year.
12. last but not least a big thank you to my parents. I remember at the end of april when the tour was announced and I had a sort of confirmation from the local concert promotors that PJ were not coming to Europe this year, I was so afraid to ask my parents if I could go to Canada. You know, I'm a young, shy guy. I have no travel experience at all. And now this... it was a huge step forward for me. And it makes me so proud I made it without any major problems. But they gave me the chance to do it. And I'm very grateful for that. And I'm very grateful they had no troubles at all understanding why Pearl Jam is so important to me.
-> Linda from Long Island, NY
I'm looking for this lady. She told me her nickname was something like JenintheBox, but that's someone else apparently. Or maybe I'm confused here. Anyway, we met her in Kitchener. She asked me to buy her a poster, which I did. But afterwards I couldn't give it to her. We tried to arrange something but failed. And I wanted to offer my excuses to Linda for not being able to give her that poster. I'm so sorry. Anyway, if anyone has an idea who she is. She's from Long Island, she does social work, she was pregnant (and I wish her all the best with the baby, hope it's very healthy!) and her first PJ show was 31/12/92. Linda, I'm so sorry.
*****
00: 7/2 (cancelled...)
05: 9/11,9/12,9/13,9/15,9/16,9/19
06: 8/23,8/30, 9/9, 9/11
07: 6/26, 6/29
*****
00: 7/2 (cancelled...)
05: 9/11,9/12,9/13,9/15,9/16,9/19
06: 8/23,8/30, 9/9, 9/11
07: 6/26, 6/29
*****
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I was nervous as hell. My dad dropped me at the airport and there I was. On my own. On my way to Canada. On my way over the ocean. On my way to Pearl Jam. I think during the flight to Toronto I've been listening to Given to Fly a hundred times. Anyway, anything went without any problems. Plane to Toronto, bus to the hotel. And there he was. Carlos, waiting for me! Mexico City and Belgium, united. And then we went to eat and drink something in the Hard Rock Café in Toronto. Met the other supernice Mexicans. Decided that it would of course be Long Road that would open the Kitchener show (you see I was right?!
-> Day 2: Sunday September 11th
Waking up and realising this way the day I've been looking forward to so incredibly much. Ever since June 2nd 2000 (PJ canceled at Werchter festival, Belgium), I had waited for this day. And here it was. We took a Greyhound bus to Kitchener, which appeared to be full of Pearl Jam fans. Which was great to see. Really, to that point I had never seen so many Pearl Jam fans together in my life. That's when we met Linda, checked in in the Walper Terrace Hotel, went to the venue to pick up the tickets (my very first Pearl Jam Ten Club enveloppe
I was nervous as hell at this point. I had been nervous for weeks, months. I am always nervous, every time I do an exam, go to a show I'm looking forward to, talk to a girl I'd like to start a relationship with, ... But it was never as bad as today. We were there early, bought some merchandise, posters, and went to our seats. We had great seats, so close to Mike McCready we could almost hear him breathe.
And 7pm turned into 7.30pm and there it goes... the lights go out and I'm excited to see Sleater-Kinney for the first time as well. And I like that band very much. And who enters the stage? The man of all my posters-pictures-dreams-songs. I hadn't seen the Thunder Bay setlist before I left to Canada, but on the previous ones I had not once seen a pre-set. And here he was! Here I stand, head in hand... Unbelievable. He left saying "it would be a great night". How right he was!! Sleater-Kinney played a great set. Full of songs of the Woods, which I love.
And then the waiting continued. But a lot of my nerves were gone. I had seen Eddie perform a song. I knew for sure they weren't going to cancel this time. I knew I was going to see a Pearl Jam show. I looked at all the people around us. I looked at Carlos next to me. I looked at the stage where in a few moments the band I love so much would play I felt so incredibly happy. One last time we had our bet. I said Long Road would open, Carlos kept Love Boat Captain I think. Hahaha! I win! I win!
And then the lights went out again. This was it. There they were. I won't even try to describe what I felt and heard and saw them. This is what I saw:
set: Long Road, Last Exit, Animal, Save You, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly, Love Boat Captain, Corduroy, Insignificance, Gimme Some Truth, Faithfull, Jeremy, Even Flow, Leatherman, Habit, Blood
first encore: Soon Forget, Can't Keep, Man of the Hour, Elderly Woman..., Daughter/(W.M.A.), Black, Alive
second encore: In My Tree, Indifference, Better Man, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter
Highlights for me:
*my very favourite song ever. The song that represents me. The song I feel is written for me.
*Insignificance. "I was alone and far away, when I heard the band start playing". I almost cried. One of my favourite PJ songs. And there it was!
*Long Road "I have wished for so long, how I wished for you today". So appropiate. How can you not love this song?!! The feeling, the lyrics, the opening D-chord. Ok, this is the first and only time I really cried at the Pearl Jam concerts. I went close a few times again. But when, at the end of the song, Eddie's voice went high up when singing 'how I wished for you Todaaaaaayyyyy', I was too overwhelmed to fight against it. Sorry.
*In My Tree. This one was on my list of songs hoping to hear it without hoping too much not to be disappointed too much. In the end I heard it 4 times. Hah. Can anyone wake me up from this dream? I even loved Boom's solo, which I never liked too much on bootlegs.
*Man of the Hour. "Thank you for listening to this one", Eddie said. Can you believe it? Eddie, thank you for writing such an incredibly beautiful song. I don't know if he's rather ashamed of it, or afraid the fans love the older stuff more than that new gem. But my god, Man of the Hour is so beautiful!!
*Yellow Ledbetter. Really, the crowd noise when Eddie seemed to be ending the show after Baba and Mikey took another guitar to play YL. Unbelievable! And then the song. I don't care how many times they close with it. How can you end a show better than this?
*Every other song played that night.
After the concert, we went back to the post-party at the pub and had some great time. Drank quite a few beers. Met the funniest guy ever just outside who was imitating Eddie. Haha. I still need to laugh at that. He was so drunk. Met the great Joe & Maria from Charlotte. Met Joe, my driver for the next week. Met Newfie Joe. I just didn't want the day to end, cause I knew it was until that point (and still until this point) the best day of my life. Kitchener. It was a small city. Nothing compared to Montreal & Toronto I would see later. But it will be remembered so much more in my mind. Lots of people told me after the show that I had picked a damn fine show as my first one. Hehe. You bet it was! Thank you Kitchener!
-> Day 3: Monday September 12th
(I'm taking a break now
00: 7/2 (cancelled...)
05: 9/11,9/12,9/13,9/15,9/16,9/19
06: 8/23,8/30, 9/9, 9/11
07: 6/26, 6/29
*****
East Troy Chicago Greenville '98
Charlotte Greensboro Atlanta '00
Raleigh Nashville Atlanta Camden 1&2 '03
MSG 1&2 Hershey '03
Asheville Kissimmee '04
Kitchener London Hamilton '05
Pitt Cincy Hollywood Santa Barbara SF 1/2/3 '06
Portland Gorge 1&2 '06
this was a long time ago
00: 7/2 (cancelled...)
05: 9/11,9/12,9/13,9/15,9/16,9/19
06: 8/23,8/30, 9/9, 9/11
07: 6/26, 6/29
*****
you just want to read the Ottawa part.
I think it's in full somewhere on RM. I'll see if I can find and copy it.
00: 7/2 (cancelled...)
05: 9/11,9/12,9/13,9/15,9/16,9/19
06: 8/23,8/30, 9/9, 9/11
07: 6/26, 6/29
*****
you was in ottawa sid?
I wave to all my Friends... Yeah!
how do you feel about the Canadian tour as a whole?
And how do the Euro tours compare to what you saw in Canada?
Because for me, nothing will ever come close to Canada. I had great nights in Europe, met awesome people, had so much fun, saw great shows, but still ... for me, the Canadian tour is still the greatest thing the band has ever done. I think I know about every show by heart, including the ones I wasn't at.
00: 7/2 (cancelled...)
05: 9/11,9/12,9/13,9/15,9/16,9/19
06: 8/23,8/30, 9/9, 9/11
07: 6/26, 6/29
*****
Well, Angus. I think you and I both have different aspects on this tour. and both tours, but esp this one.
I went to 2 shows just because I was on the contintent, and was fairly close to those two cities...and HAD to make it, but thats not the point really.
You planned the whole trip, went to many shows, I went to 2 and had a blast.
That was a totally different experinece from Euro tours, and I was so psyched to see them in a foriegn country, after 5+ years. It was definitely out of this world. Esp Ottawa show
For Europe, what i have to say is that...Well, after 6+ years after PJ not playing here, it was an awesome feeling to see them again! I was so happy and overhwelmed the whole time, at first and the last shows especially, and nothing will top that. Playing in my country for the first time ever, and the show was the best for me, everything was perfect and amazing, and I just couldnt believe Im seeing my favorite band at home
A perfect tour closure. then BAM! They announce a tour and come back in June. I do 4 shows, meet so many ppl, new friends, ppl from last tour, had an amazing time. FOrgot to mention the ETB which was THE BEST probably. Id do it again in a heart beat. even the whole tour (just need a job and some money first, lol).
Ok, I think Europe wins for me, but only cause its home and I didnt experience Canada like you. Canada was amazing for me too, tho, and Id be back there to see PJ again, cause I loved Canadians and their country. Met some cool ppl there, not as many as in Europe, but I was still young and unexperienced, haha