*** Pittsburgh, PA 1 Fanviews Here 5.16.25 ***

cbbjr said:

Every review I write begins with this, but it was an absolutely amazing show.

Two important considerations for how I thought about it. First, I took my 11 year old son. It was his first real concert, and my 26th time seeing PJ. Taking him meant I had a very different mindset going in - instead of wanting to hear my personal favorites or songs I have been chasing, I just wanted to make sure he saw his two favorites, Alive and Even Flow. I was obviously pretty confident he would hear both, although I have somehow been to three shows when Even Flow wasn’t played.

Second, I had planned on only seeing Raleigh 1 this tour, but after Sunday night, I couldn’t stop thinking about the band. My wife is out of town for a girls weekend and my son’s normal Saturday morning soccer game was moved to Sunday, which I took as signs that I was meant to find tickets at the last minute (after refreshing the Ticketmaster site hundreds of times, I found a pair in Sec 107 at face value around 11:30am this morning). After getting tickets I went and picked up the little guy from school an hour early (I am probably not winning father of the year) so we could hit the road from DC. 

Opening with Footsteps was quite unexpected. Low Light and Given to Fly are two of my favorites on Yield, which is my favorite album, so I thought it was a great start. Mind Your Manners is one of my least favorite songs, but my son thinks it is hilarious that I don’t like a song that has “manners” in the title, so it was at least humorous. 

Our seats were on the aisle, and I let my son sit on the aisle because it had a better sightline (we were third row in 107, and the sound board and light stand blocked the view toward the center of the section). I don’t remember exactly when, but fairly early on in the set a well dressed man walked down the steps toward the floor, stopped and handed my son something small, and then walked onto the floor toward the front and disappeared. He handed my son a pick with a Cub on one side and #34 on the other. My son didn’t know what it was, and when I told him it was a pick from Eddie, he was pretty excited.

Three mid-set highlights were Sleight of Hand, Greivance (which was a fan request - amazing job to the lady who chose it), and the It’s ok tag on Daughter. One of the best days of my life was a few years ago when my son and I drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, and after a hike we got in the car, turned on the PJ station on satellite radio, and heard an amazing version of It’s Ok. Ever since then I have wanted to hear it live because of how positive memory I have of that day. While I have seen them play Daughter a few times since then, I never got that tag. Once they started into it tonight, I had the biggest smile on my face. I am so thrilled that I got to hear it during the little guy’s first show.

The encore was great, and Alive ended up being my son’s favorite part of the night. His other highlights were Daughter (he didn’t get why I was nearly crying during the tag, he just liked the song), Even Flow, and Given to Fly. In fact, he liked the show enough that after it ended he asked if we could go to a merch stand to buy a shirt. He never wants clothes unless it is a soccer jersey, so this was a clear indication that he liked the show. Fortunately they had the kids shirt in his size at the stand we went to.

It is impossible to think of this show in a normal way since I got to experience it with my amazing son, but it was stellar. We have to drive back to DC tomorrow, but I hope Sunday’s show is just as wonderful for everyone who gets to go to it.

Shaindli1 said:

Apparently that really did happen.
I mean, everything about this show was perfection. They played fucking Comatose. I couldn't stop screaming.
The hand trilogy (first time ever?).

And then the unbelievable happened. Ed asked ME to pick a song. Wut. Wut. Wut. Without hesitation - Grievance. It was a fucking MOMENT. And I got a pick and a fist bump. How. How. How. 

Nothing will ever top that. I am still digesting. 
I am hoping they will have a N1 shirt in the merch tent tomorrow because you bet I really want to commemorate this event now.

And they played Grievance perfectly.