*** Bonnaroo Fanviews Here 6/14/2008 ***

First of all let me say that I am not a hard core fan like most of you, but I have loved PJ since 1991. I have only seen them once before at the Tibetan Freedom Festival in DC, and that was a short set. I admit to not knowing all the songs on Saturday, but I did know most of them.

I feel sooo lucky to have seen this show. The whole show was amazing and Eddie was just so full of emotion and feeling that he bought me to tears a few times. The whole band were just so on it, and Mike really blew me away during Black. My husband knew I wanted to see Phil Lesh and Friends who were playing at 12:15 (when PJ were supposed to finish) and kept asking if I wanted to go. LOL I just laughed and said no way in hell am I leaving here until PJ are done. At 1am we were still there What a wonderful night!! I just can't even put into words what an amazing show it was and I wish I could do it all over again.

I am really bummed that my 16 year old and her friend just wouldn't listen to me and stay for the whole set. I think they caught the first few songs and left to go sit in the cinema tent - that pissed me off!

For those that asked, Metallica were amazing also - but Pearl Jam defintely won best band at Roo 08!

a girl i work with just got back and said it was amazing. she had never listened to pearl jam before going and said the concert was in her top 5 ever concerts. she was really impressed with ed and his involvement with the crowd.

NY PJ1 wrote:

how was metallica,, ??

being serious for a second

They sounded pretty good actually....from my campsite. And I'm still not sure who won the contest of who can say "bonnaroo" the most times during there set. I know it was either Metallica or Ozomotli.

seren327 wrote:

Wow, how can you go through life without ever listening to Pearl Jam......?

she listens mostly to japanese music. luckily i gave her some cd's to check out prior to attending, so i guess she had heard them a little bit.

Spoony C wrote:

From the post above, I'm 99% sure ReleasH--wearing a Cubs hat and braids in her hair, right?--was standing to my left after she moved away from the fratboys (which would make me the "awesome" crying guy during "Release," so thanks for the compliment, and for telling the whole Pit what an emotional wreck I can be). When the encore started with "w.m.a.," she nudged me and said "the set list is right! We're gonna get 'Release!'" When "Release" started, she held out her arm to me and said, "Goosebumps!" I turned to my friend Joey, on my other side, and he held out his arm and said, "Goosebumps!" I managed to hold onto my emotions until "I'll ride the wave where it takes me," but I'm not made of stone, people! It was tears time.

Yup, that's was me! Welcome to the pit and sorry for blowing your cover on the crying. I actually think it makes you more "awesome"!! It was great to share the show with PJ fans like you.

Congrats on winning the silent auction! I am very jealous but glad that it went to a real fan and not someone who's just going to turn around and sell it on ebay.

So I just got back from Roo...about 4 hours ago. What a crazy trip.

Never again will I fly standby to see PJ. Should have learned when I almost missed the SF shows in '06. But I thought if we fly standby, we can use the money we saved to upgrade to VIP (which was very nice, btw).

We were hoping to catch the midnight flight out of SLC to ATL then hit the three hour drive to Roo, arriving pretty early on Thursday. Instead, there were a shitload of standbys and we had to drive home for 2 hours of sleep then head right back to the airport only to NOT get on the morning flight to ATL either.

So we flew to Denver. Flights looked better from there and we were able to get on the first flight to ATL. Way behind schedule we drove like mad from ATL to Roo. Thank god for the GPS, too.

We made it to Roo around 10:00pm...setup camp and walked to centeroo to check out some Vampire Weekend and Lez Zeppelin, both of which sounded great. Then we were pretty tired so we headed back to camp hoping for some good sleep.

Unfortunately we were camped next to someone who kept getting in and out of their car ALL NIGHT LONG and setting the alarm each time. So every 30 min or so we were awakened with a couple of loud ass honks right by our tent. Probably some crack addicts who had to keep their shit in the locked car at all times...and kept going to get more.

Friday was great, caught some more shows. My Morning Jacket is just fucking amazing. It got pretty cold when it was pouring rain and we left a little early but still caught the first couple hours. I guess they ended up playing from Midnight until past 4:00 AM. WOW. Wish we would have stayed.

Saturday...woke up, hit the showers, and went over to the What Stage main gates. I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleased when there were only about 15 people there. So I parked my ass in line. Made some friends, which is always nice and is bound to happen in those situations. Waited, and waited AND WAITED for stonesgearl who was out buying some supplies at the Wal-Mart. Turns out she locked the keys in the trunk. No spare keys so the Police had to come break into the car. It went from scorching hot to nice and cloudy and breezy to rainy and back to scorching hot.

Finally the were gonna let us in. But by then the "line" to see PJ had turned into an every-man-for-himself 300 yard dash. At 6'5" and nearly 300 lbs this was NOT good news for me. People who showed up 4 hours after me and hadn't had to endure any weather or discomfort will now have better spots for PJ than me because they're faster on their feet. Fuck that shit. That's all I have to say about that. So between the 300 yard dash and the fact that scores of people just pushed their way in toward the front even later in the day, I ended up about 4th row right in front of Mike instead of front row. But all the same to me...my height helps me in these situations, even though I'll forever feel bad for those right behind me.

The show was AMAZING. Hard to Imagine opener was great. Reign O'er Me is my favorite Who song and Ed just nails it. Who You Are, WMA, Watchtower.....and Down, which means a lot to me. Great setlist. Great vibe. Great energy. Great people. Great crowd. Oh, and All Night....come on!

Loved Ed's comments about the war, even though it's hard to not be depressed about it all. Can't wait for the boot. Mike was amazing all night long as he always is. There is no place I'd rather be than directly in front of Mike McCready. Stone looked good with his longer hair and he seemed to be enjoying himself.

I caught a pick from Mike. I was going to give it to Erica and Dale who were near us all day and in the show. They had been so nice to Holly who was having a really rough time. So Erica & Dale if you're out there, hit me up and I'll send this pick your way. I was gonna give it to you but then Mike kept throwing picks and I wanted to see if we could score another one. Then next thing I know some assholes are pushing like mad, trying to get to the front...I see Dale pushing them back, only trying to protect the ladies up front. "Safety" people came over and then the next time I turned I couldn't see them. I think they got booted or something...hopefully they just left the pit and were able to see the rest of the show. Either way, hit me up, this pick is for you guys. Thanks so much for taking care of Holly.

Great time and great memories. Dan made a great joke about Kanye and something Chris Rock had said that I must never repeat....but I've laughed about it several times. I'll try to not mention names when talking about the two grown men who I now call friends but were wearing adult diapers as to not miss out on anything for a 'piss break'. I will tell you that it wasn't me. That's a true story.

After Death Cab on Sunday we went back to camp, cleaned up and packed. Headed back to ATL in hopes for a flight home. No bueno. So we flew to Kansas City because the flights looked better there. No bueno. And only two flights per day to SLC....so we rented a car, mini-van actually, and drove our happy asses back to Salt Lake City. Stopping every few hours for a little nap. Wow, what a trip.

Edit: Did I mention Nebraska State Patrol can go straight to hell?? Getting pulled over for driving 77 in a 65 isn't a HUGE deal. He acted like we were criminals, asking us several times where we were headed and where we came from. Three separate times as if we were lying. He checked the rental car docs, which clearly has my name and license number on them already, called the rental car company, checked the VIN and year of the car. Then called me back from his loud speaker to "please step out of the car"....WTF? The whole ordeal took over 30 minutes and I ended up with a $120 ticket. No one in Utah would even get pulled over for driving 12 over on the freeway, let alone get a $120 ticket.

I won't add anything set-list wise as everything I felt has been written a few times over. Holy-F-Ing shit!!!

I WILL say that the waiting drove me f-ing mad!!! they were finally there and I was a goddamn mess!!! Literally!!!

It was Hard to Imagine waiting over 9 hours in the almost Summer Solstice Tennessee Summer Sun! YAY!!! (I'll stop now).

A big shout-out to the two young studs in front of me-- (I'm easily old enough to be their mom) --the guys on the rail smack in front of Mike. At first, I was annoyed as hell that you cut in line in front of everyone but the fact that you DIDN'T HOLD UP A CAMERA blocking my sight made up for it 10-fold. When I pointed out a Mike pick on the ground and you razzed security to give it to me--- priceless in my mind.

Thank you.

Words cannot express how amazing the Roo experience was for me. I traveled by myself from the Chicago area-- I was terrified of bad weather... after watching the Boy Scout thing from my hotel in Bowling Green, KY I was happy I brought my hockey goalie helmet with me --- Anyway, I survived the driving rains and bad winds at Roo and I watched the boys from the closest spot I'll ever have.

I met the most AMAZING people at camp-- one was a lawyer from Boone that had never seen Pearl Jam Live although he listened to them in the beginning. My other neighbors were married at a Widespread Panic concert... the others were equally cool and shared everything they had with everyone around them. One set of neighbors were kinda pissy-- they bought tickets only to see The Allman Brothers. Oops.

When we met at camp on Sunday morning, everyone was rediculously excited that I scored an awesome spot. Mind you, most of these people weren't you're your usual PJ fans AT ALL! I had complete strangers on my side... "I was thinking about you all night! Where did you wind up?!" Their set was kick-fucking-ass!!! etc... they were all on drugs stronger than weed. Cool.

They were all blown away by Pearl Jam. I feel blessed in a sick, psycho sort of way!

Roo was my only show this time around and I'm happy. I eagerly await the new album and the tour that will surely follow.

ALPINE VALLEY 2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's gonna happen!

Check it out here.

http://www.theoutfieldiseating.blogspot.com

This show was soooooo epic. The best of the 6 shows I have been priveleged to see. PJ is certifiably the greatest rock band on the planet!!!

The more I read you guys' fantastic reviews the more I get filled with envy and jealousy But it's a bittersweet kinda thing, I'm really glad for all the fans that went and especially those that went to see PJ for a first time, is really really awesome for you guys! But hehe I'm only human so I can't help but feel jealous, Aaah, I really wish my first PJ concert will be as amazing as that! Thank you to all who posted some kick ass reviews, Spoony C and AndySlash and all of you, made me feel like for just a little second that I was there in the crowd, front line ofcourse watching PJ give their hailed effin awesome performance, so I thank you guys for giving me that image And AtlantaJammer, thanks a whole lot for the photos! They look awesome, seems like you were positioned at a nice view. And to hear Eddie do Love Reign o'er me live! That's a fucking dream! I love The Who and to see Ed do it and nail it....Wow, you guys are really lucky And I'm glad that you went! Aaah! I really hope PJ tours in 2009 and carry it out to 2010, I know that's very demanding of me! But I really wanna see them lol and in a generation so full of crappy music, it's great to have PJ still standing and still proving to fans and others alike that they are one of the greatest rock'n'roll bands around today! Again, keep those awesome reviews coming, I just love to read them, they really are special so keep on writing folks!