*** Camden 1 Fanviews Here 6/19/2008 ***

The crowd tonight blew the 2006 crowd away- much more energy! Had a lot of fun tonight- can't wait for tomorrows show.

my first PJ show. i am blown away, wish i was going tomorrow night now too. i've been to quite a few concerts now and that definitely ranks highly. awesome awesome awesome. best atmosphere ever

INCREDIBLE SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!Great energy, Setlist, Weather and Poster made for the perfect show.

Still letting it sink in. What a phenomenal show tonight and what a way for me to start my tour. I got the one song I had wanted to hear forever - Light Years. It was the only studio song I had yet to see live. Plus opening with HTI, getting my favs off Yield, Binaural and Vs. all in the same show - In Hiding, Grievance and Rats, being lucky enough to hear PJ cover my fav Who song a 2nd time, getting Leash dropped down on me again, and of course hearing my fav song SOLAT. What an amazing night!!! Had fifth row in front of Stone and he was on fire. I CAN'T wait for tomorrow and the rest of the tour.

jesus christ, just got back from driving 3 hours and 20 minutes

amazing fuckin show....Rats and LROM were my two highlights...good lord, wish i was going tomorrow but i cant :(

the sing along for hard to imagine was amazing!!! Porch to close?! light years, you, rats, who you are (!!!!!!), mike was absolutely incredible all night....ahhh cant wait for DC

in hiding sing along was SO FUCKIN LOUD...my ONLY complaint was SOLAT was very sloppy and i don't like how they played Leash right after Black, they needed another song to get the crowd pumped for Leash...doesnt even compare to the camden 1 06 version...but HOLY FUCKIN SHIT...ajsdiofhasoidbf THANK YOU


one more thing...section 200 SUCKS, you people dont move!

quotes of the night:
"this is for all the selfish assholes in the world,.......you women!....ahhh common!! I gotta take the guys side for once!"
"10$ a beer? 10$ a beer? I guess thats another thing we have to blame george bush for"

HailHailVitalogy wrote:

the sing along for hard to imagine was amazing!!! Porch to close?! light years,

were you one of those 5,000 people who left early? YL closed.

I posted this for another site, but I guess I'll put it here too.
_____________________
Brrrrrrrrrr... I am so drained right now and probably a little high from the experience. In many ways it was the greatest show I've ever seen and in many other ways the whole thing was really weird for me. I forego any crappy formal review and just talk about the event as best I can. All I really wish to do is fall asleep to Stangest Tribe and prepare myself to go through this again tomorrow, but I feel like if I don't talk about this right now, I won't feel the same way. This post will definitely be fresh off of the moment. It really just consumes you. For 2 and a half hours, you are at the hands of 5 human beings (and a monster in Boom Gaspar) and with every single one of your senses completely focused on them. That must be pretty empowering. I've waited over two years for this, gone through many nights closing my eyeswhile listening to a bootleg and just throwing myself into that experience. For it to actually be happning right in front of my eyes, it was surreal. I little felt like I was dreaming at points... and I don't mean "pinch me I'm in heaven" type of dreaming but seriously caught in a dream that I can't wake up from.

With a bootleg pumping into my ears on countless nights, I can recall many dreams that I have had of me tossing myself into a Pearl Jam concert and just taking it in. It's weird to say this, but tonight's show actually felt like it could have been one of those times. On one hand, I'm thinking to myself "I've been waiting for this moment right now for years... and now it's here." But on another, I couldn't help but get the feeling like I've done this so many times before, like it was just me in my room with a bootleg in my head and me envisioning everything like I often do. And to top it off... they played the PERFECT setlist. Ok, maybe not perfect, but close to it. I've been saying that Hard to Imagine would make a fantastic opener, and they actually did it for me. As a matter of fact, a lot of this concert played out exactly how a typical dream for me would have.

So, my buddy and I pull up to the arena at 8:30, as we were both running late and had a 2+ hour drive to the arena. Pearl Jam is scheduled to go on at 8:45, but I know that they usually will come out 5 to 9, maybe 9 o'clock so I figure that I have some time. I purchased my tickets through the 10 club as so the tickets needed to be picked up from will call at the box office. I think to myself that most of the 10 club members probably got to the show a long time ago, as it's a ****ing ritual, religious experience for most of them, so the line at the box office shouldn't be long. WRONG. It was filled. There was a long ****ing line that just wasn't moving. This was my nightmare. It's a classic dream. I'm at the show. They are about to play. And I'm not going to see it because I don't have my ****ing ticket. By the time we get to the window it is 9:15, and we run to the gates thinking...knowing that we've missed 2-3 songs.

We walk into the arena, and to my amazment, and the rest of the crowds anger, the show hasn't started. As soo as I sit my ass down at 9:15... piano intro, lights go down, Hard to Imagine is played. This is going to sound extremely self-centered, and I know it's complete bull****, but in my head, they were waiting for me to get there. They couldn't go out there on to the stage until they knew that I was attendance. The stage crew was yelling at them, yet they kept assuring them that they will not go on until I was in my seat ready to hear them play. This is only solidified by them opening with Hard to Imagine. Obviously it didn't happen like this, but it's the way I'm going to remember it. To go from that fear, and anxiousness that your entire concert experience is ruined (let's face it, the opener is everything) to that jubilation and reassurance... that's straight from a dream.

Ok, I'll start speaking in reality. The band was on fire tonight, playing some of my favorite songs. Ahhhhh Black... the song will never get old for me. It's the one song that unifies the hardcores and the casuals for a great experience. Ed left himself in that song like he always does and taking lead on the do do do do's was an honor for me and everyone else in attendance. You can tell when the Rats or the Grievances were played that the casual fan sort of loses themselves and with the Even Flows or the Bettermans, you kind of get the eyerolls from the "freaks." Black is something that everyone gets behind and it makes it that much better. And then they ****ing drop the leash after Black. That was unreal aswell. To go from raw emotion to raw aggression in seconds... AGH... how does this band do it. You're on a rollercoaster from start to finish if you allow yourself to be.

Ed had a few good moments with the audience, as a he read from the newspaper about tonight's show which warned people stay away from the drunks and freaks tailgating for hours in the parking lot and also the $10 beers. Someone corrected him to $12. Eddie in full fledged form was able to turn this around and make it a shot at Bush. Crap, does he hate that man. Also, he dedicated a song to the "selfish people.....women" That got a big laugh especially from the mostly male audience, but there were definitely a strong female showing in attendance, moreso than I remember the band ever getting atleast. They also talked about the band's early history and the part that Philly has played in it. Straight-forward concert discussions.

A really beautiful moment, and maybe the concert highlight was the dedicationa dn playing of Light Years to Tim Russert, whose son is actually good friends with Eddie. He talked about the rainbow that shot out across Washington yesterday and that he could feel it in Camden tonight. I swear, he knows exactly what to tells us to get a huge cheer, but we'll give in to him every single time. That performance was really heartfelt and the dedication made it even more special of a song that it is.

I've gotten to the point where the band is just engrained in me. For example, when U came on, I couldn't tell you the name of it even though I was singing every word. I had no idea what song it was other than the fact that I knew exactly what song it was. Complete oxymoron. I don't know if that is good or bad, but it definitely speaks about something. So that's pretty much my concert experience. I had no time to really take it in, as I got there late, but I definitely plan on getting there to see Ted Leo and the Pharmacists tomorrow night. Peruse the merc stand and maybe grab a poster if I get there in time. My throat is sore from sreaming, my brain is exploding, eyes are strained, incredibly thirsty, smell like ****, sweaty, hungry, and I can't wait to do it all over tomorrow night. Thank you for reading if you've gotten this far.

awesome set list, absolutely top drawer,

could have left rats for me, think its shit, but still its a rarity so people love it, I understand that

over_bends wrote:

I posted this for another site, but I guess I'll put it here too.
_____________________
Brrrrrrrrrr... I am so drained right now and probably a little high from the experience. In many ways it was the greatest show I've ever seen and in many other ways the whole thing was really weird for me. I forego any crappy formal review and just talk about the event as best I can. All I really wish to do is fall asleep to Stangest Tribe and prepare myself to go through this again tomorrow, but I feel like if I don't talk about this right now, I won't feel the same way. This post will definitely be fresh off of the moment. It really just consumes you. For 2 and a half hours, you are at the hands of 5 human beings (and a monster in Boom Gaspar) and with every single one of your senses completely focused on them. That must be pretty empowering. I've waited over two years for this, gone through many nights closing my eyeswhile listening to a bootleg and just throwing myself into that experience. For it to actually be happning right in front of my eyes, it was surreal. I little felt like I was dreaming at points... and I don't mean "pinch me I'm in heaven" type of dreaming but seriously caught in a dream that I can't wake up from.

With a bootleg pumping into my ears on countless nights, I can recall many dreams that I have had of me tossing myself into a Pearl Jam concert and just taking it in. It's weird to say this, but tonight's show actually felt like it could have been one of those times. On one hand, I'm thinking to myself "I've been waiting for this moment right now for years... and now it's here." But on another, I couldn't help but get the feeling like I've done this so many times before, like it was just me in my room with a bootleg in my head and me envisioning everything like I often do. And to top it off... they played the PERFECT setlist. Ok, maybe not perfect, but close to it. I've been saying that Hard to Imagine would make a fantastic opener, and they actually did it for me. As a matter of fact, a lot of this concert played out exactly how a typical dream for me would have.

So, my buddy and I pull up to the arena at 8:30, as we were both running late and had a 2+ hour drive to the arena. Pearl Jam is scheduled to go on at 8:45, but I know that they usually will come out 5 to 9, maybe 9 o'clock so I figure that I have some time. I purchased my tickets through the 10 club as so the tickets needed to be picked up from will call at the box office. I think to myself that most of the 10 club members probably got to the show a long time ago, as it's a ****ing ritual, religious experience for most of them, so the line at the box office shouldn't be long. WRONG. It was filled. There was a long ****ing line that just wasn't moving. This was my nightmare. It's a classic dream. I'm at the show. They are about to play. And I'm not going to see it because I don't have my ****ing ticket. By the time we get to the window it is 9:15, and we run to the gates thinking...knowing that we've missed 2-3 songs.

We walk into the arena, and to my amazment, and the rest of the crowds anger, the show hasn't started. As soo as I sit my ass down at 9:15... piano intro, lights go down, Hard to Imagine is played. This is going to sound extremely self-centered, and I know it's complete bull****, but in my head, they were waiting for me to get there. They couldn't go out there on to the stage until they knew that I was attendance. The stage crew was yelling at them, yet they kept assuring them that they will not go on until I was in my seat ready to hear them play. This is only solidified by them opening with Hard to Imagine. Obviously it didn't happen like this, but it's the way I'm going to remember it. To go from that fear, and anxiousness that your entire concert experience is ruined (let's face it, the opener is everything) to that jubilation and reassurance... that's straight from a dream.

Ok, I'll start speaking in reality. The band was on fire tonight, playing some of my favorite songs. Ahhhhh Black... the song will never get old for me. It's the one song that unifies the hardcores and the casuals for a great experience. Ed left himself in that song like he always does and taking lead on the do do do do's was an honor for me and everyone else in attendance. You can tell when the Rats or the Grievances were played that the casual fan sort of loses themselves and with the Even Flows or the Bettermans, you kind of get the eyerolls from the "freaks." Black is something that everyone gets behind and it makes it that much better. And then they ****ing drop the leash after Black. That was unreal aswell. To go from raw emotion to raw aggression in seconds... AGH... how does this band do it. You're on a rollercoaster from start to finish if you allow yourself to be.

Ed had a few good moments with the audience, as a he read from the newspaper about tonight's show which warned people stay away from the drunks and freaks tailgating for hours in the parking lot and also the $10 beers. Someone corrected him to $12. Eddie in full fledged form was able to turn this around and make it a shot at Bush. Crap, does he hate that man. Also, he dedicated a song to the "selfish people.....women" That got a big laugh especially from the mostly male audience, but there were definitely a strong female showing in attendance, moreso than I remember the band ever getting atleast. They also talked about the band's early history and the part that Philly has played in it. Straight-forward concert discussions.

A really beautiful moment, and maybe the concert highlight was the dedicationa dn playing of Light Years to Tim Russert, whose son is actually good friends with Eddie. He talked about the rainbow that shot out across Washington yesterday and that he could feel it in Camden tonight. I swear, he knows exactly what to tells us to get a huge cheer, but we'll give in to him every single time. That performance was really heartfelt and the dedication made it even more special of a song that it is.

I've gotten to the point where the band is just engrained in me. For example, when U came on, I couldn't tell you the name of it even though I was singing every word. I had no idea what song it was other than the fact that I knew exactly what song it was. Complete oxymoron. I don't know if that is good or bad, but it definitely speaks about something. So that's pretty much my concert experience. I had no time to really take it in, as I got there late, but I definitely plan on getting there to see Ted Leo and the Pharmacists tomorrow night. Peruse the merc stand and maybe grab a poster if I get there in time. My throat is sore from sreaming, my brain is exploding, eyes are strained, incredibly thirsty, smell like ****, sweaty, hungry, and I can't wait to do it all over tomorrow night. Thank you for reading if you've gotten this far.

And hey it's a pleasure that I got that far into your post Thank you so much for that great and awesome review, same thing goes to many other fans that also seem taken a back by the experience! I also agree with JordyWordy, that was such an entertaining and sweet ass post, in also a very strange way I kinda know what you mean about is this a dream or isn't it a dream thing, completely makes sense to me so don't say that it's bullshit and crap lol, it's something I can relate to as well and also don't say that you sound crazy when you say that the band has waited for you, in a sense, I get what you're trying to say and I think it's wonderful that you have that personal attachment to the whole experience, that's what concert going is all about, feeling like things happen just for you...it's only human nature! I really really like to thank you for your great post, really felt like I was somehow there for just a split moment, like the way you listen to your bootlegs and envision yourself there with the concert lights and all, I know I say that in all the fanviews that have been posted, but really, that's what fanviews do for me, kinda fill the void of not seeing PJ live....So I said it before and I'll say it again, keep on writing because reading about all your goosebumps and unsurreal experiences make me feel same way! So thanks to all who contributed and taking time out of their busy lives just to post some great ass fanviews! Keep on keepin' on guys!