Honestly I’m a bit surprised at the love for this show. I thought it was fine, but also having been to Raleigh N1 it was way too similar. I was honestly surprised by this show. Still fun, but worst of my 4 shows this tour. So thankful for grievance, comatose and Man of the hour though.
I don't see much similarity in Raleigh N1 other than they played 2 steps of the Hand trilogy.
15 of the same songs?
A stretch of the same song in the same spot (substitute react for scared).
And like you said 2/3 of the hand trilogy.
Last 3 songs of the concert…. Lots of similarities. Both good shows in their own right but the second one not as good.
Honestly I’m a bit surprised at the love for this show. I thought it was fine, but also having been to Raleigh N1 it was way too similar. I was honestly surprised by this show. Still fun, but worst of my 4 shows this tour. So thankful for grievance, comatose and Man of the hour though.
I don't see much similarity in Raleigh N1 other than they played 2 steps of the Hand trilogy.
15 of the same songs?
A stretch of the same song in the same spot (substitute react for scared).
And like you said 2/3 of the hand trilogy.
Last 3 songs of the concert…. Lots of similarities. Both good shows in their own right but the second one not as good.
In my personal opinion, with what I would prefer to see based on my favorite songs, I agree Raleigh was a better set list outside of Sleight of Hand, Man of the Hour and maybe Comatose.
That’s specifically because of Satan’s Bed, Hold On, Light Years, Smile and Present Tense.
But in regards to your similar show comment, the stats are that out of the 15 same songs played….Even Flow, Do The EVO and Alive were played at all 11 shows on this leg, Dark Matter was played at all 10 of the double night arena shows (meaning minus Jazz Fest), Wreckage and Porch were played at 10, Corduroy 7, Daughter, Jeremy and Baba 6 and I stopped keeping track at Given to Fly, which was played at half of the stadium shows at 5.
So yeah, most of the shows were similar in that sense. 10 out of the 15 same songs played those 2 shows were played that frequently on this leg. That’s PJ these days.
Post edited by rbrum7 on
1998 - Cleveland, OH - 8/26 2003 - Cleveland, OH - 4/25 2006 - Cleveland, OH - 5/20 2010 - Cleveland, OH - 5/9 2011 - (EV Solo) Detroit, MI - 6/26, East Troy, WI - 9/3, East Troy, WI - 9/4 2013 - Chicago, IL - 7/19, Shitsburgh, PA - 10/11, Los Angeles, CA - 11/23, Los Angeles, CA - 11/24 2014 - Detroit, MI - 10/16 2016 - Lexington, KY - 4/26, Manchester, TN - 6/11 2018 - Chicago, IL - 8/18, Chicago, IL - 8/20 2019 - (EV Solo) Tempe, AZ - 3/2 2020 - Los Angeles, CA - 4/15 (Canceled), Los Angeles, CA - 4/16 (Canceled) 2023 - Indianapolis, IN - 9/10 (Canceled) 2024 - Indianapolis, IN - 8/26 2025 - Shitsburgh, PA - 5/16, Shitsburgh, PA - 5/18
Pitt N1 was my 39th show and one of the most memorable I've ever had. It was my first time having a "night with Ed" on the rail. I was in the center of the bump directly across from Ed. It was a truly incredible experience that I will never forget.
I've been looking forward to these shows for a long time. Normally I like to go to more shows, but because of how crazy this year has been for me, these were the only two shows that I was able to make work. This has been a particularly crazy year for me in terms of work, the kids, the state of the country/world, and just life in general, so I was really looking forward to these shows for a much-needed break from reality. These shows were very emotional for me--even moreso than previous shows--for a multitude of reasons. These shows were the emotional release that I needed, and then some.
The energy in the pit/rail was great all night long! Everyone up there seemed to know every word to every song, including the deeper cuts, and was singing, screaming, and dancing along the entire night. I loved the setlist. I was over the moon when they opened with Footsteps. That's one of my favorites and I hadn't heard it in several shows (13 shows to be exact). I had only heard it as an opener one other time (Apollo '22), and I think it makes a great opener and sets the tone for the rest of the evening. I always like Low Light in the second spot, and I think it is a good song to transition from the typical more mellow/acoustic opening song to the heavier stuff. Ed held the final note for a long time--I tried to hold it as well but lost my voice only about halfway through 🤣--and I thought he sounded great. It's amazing to me how well his voice still holds up 35 years later.
I think GTF is one of the best songs to transition into the heavier stuff and get the crowd going. And I thought this was a great version. Everyone up on the rail was rocking their asses off, jumping up and down and belting out the lyrics the whole song. The high energy and nonstop pogoing continued through the trifecta of MYM, React Respond, and Corduroy. I knew I was off to a good start when I had completely sweated through my shirt by the end of MYM. Suffice it to say I was rocking out hard all night long! 🎸🤘 At one point during the night, I banged my knee pretty bad and ended up with a huge black and blue. At another point, I got a bad cramp in my side from my nonstop pogoing. But hey, my attitude is if I'm putting in the time to get rail, if every part of my body doesn't hurt by the end of the show, then I haven't done my job! 🤕🩼🤣
I know a lot of people aren't the biggest fan of React Respond and think that it is one of the weaker songs on the album, but live, that baby rocks! 🤘 Jeff in particular was really into it and was jumping and running around the stage with frantic energy. I also thought that was one of the best, high-intensity versions of Corduroy I've seen in recent years. The crowd was loud and was clapping along as one when Ed started the opening notes, and then again later on during the bridge. And to the surprise of exactly 0 of the 15,000 fans in attendance, Mike then proceeded to literally melt our faces off with another blistering solo. 🎸 Is it just me, or does Mike just seem to get better and better each year? I honestly think he is the most underrated rock n roll guitarist of all time. Also, as he ages, he somehow seems to get more and more energetic. I wasn't aware that it worked that way (and certainly hasn't been the case for me). But it seemed like he spent the entire show doing one of the following 3 things: (1) frantically pacing around in circles like a madman; (2) rapidly jumping up and down; or (3) running--or in some cases flat-out sprinting--across the stage. Is he a lead guitarist in a rock band, or in training to become an Olympic sprinter? And note that he was doing all of this while delivering face melting solo after solo. As someone who tends to "struggle" with multitasking (and as those of you who know me personally are well aware, that is putting it mildly 🤣), I have to ask: how does he do it? My theory- Mike is not actually human, but is one of the "unidentified anomalous phenomena" recovered from UFO crash sites that is currently the subject of congressional hearings. 👽🎸🤘 But I'm certainly open to other theories.
I was immediately drawn to Dark Matter from the first time I heard the studio recording, and I thought it was one of the best singles they had released in years (it was too bad it didn't win the Grammy for best rock song, but I know no one cares less about that than the band). And as good as it is on the album, I think that one rocks even harder live. That was followed by a soaring version of Wreckage, accompanied by visuals of the ocean and waves crashing. I know people have mixed feelings on the video screens (including yours truly to some extent--I do miss seeing faces behind the stage), but I think the visuals work well for this and certain of the other DM songs (Upper Hand and Setting Sun in particular). Toward the end of the song, I had my first of several "moments" of the night. Ed came out onto the bump, stepped his foot over the edge of the bump and placed it on the rail, and sang directly into our faces. I had both of my arms outstretched up in the air during the final chorus. Then, all of a sudden, right as Ed started singing "holding out, ... holding on," he looked me right in the eyes, grabbed my hand, and literally "held on." Then he continued to hold onto my hand as he finished singing "combing through the wreckage, falling through the wreckage ..." It felt like it lasted an eternity (but in reality it could not have been more than 10 seconds 🤣). What a moment! It was totally surreal, and a moment that I will never forget. And fortunately my friend captured the whole thing on video, so it will be preserved forever.
That was followed by a scorching version of Even Flow--complete with another incendiary Mike solo, part of which he played behind his head with his eyes closed--during which I pogoed pretty much the entire song as I was still on cloud nine after the incredible moment I had just experienced at the end of Wreckage. That was followed by yet another "moment." As I'm sure many of you know, N1 was the 25th anniversary of Binaural, which is actually my favorite album (yes, I know I have strange tastes, but at least I'm self-aware so that's the first step to recovery 🤣). While I was camping out for the show, I had several discussions with my friends about the album, my favorite songs from it, and whether they would do anything to recognize the anniversary. My dream was that they would do something akin to the Mansfield "experiment" in '03, and come out and play the album cover to cover before the opener, followed by a regular set thereafter. I knew the chances of that happening were essentially 0%, but hey, it's fun to dream, right? 😴🤣More realistically, I was thinking/hoping they would play a couple of lesser-played Binaural songs to recognize the anniversary. In conversations with my friends, I said that I thought they would play one slower song and one faster one. My hope for the slower song--but I knew it was a long shot--was for either Sleight of Hand or Parting Ways. Sleight of Hand and Parting Ways are tied for my #1 PJ song of all time. I'd been fortunate to see each once or twice before, but given how rarely they are played these days, I figured I'd never get to see either one of them again. In terms of the fast song, I was hoping for Grievance. I knew it was also very unlikely to be played, but I thought that it was one of the most appropriate songs in their catalogue to bust out in light of the current political climate. On the day of the show, I actually had conversations with three different people about Grievance. The consensus was that despite how fitting it would be for them to bust it out, the fact that they hadn't played it in nearly a decade made it very unlikely that it would happen. Multiple people also expressed concerns as to whether Ed could still actually sing it. Although I knew it was extremely unlikely, I held out hope.
When Ed was giving his speech after Even Flow about the American dream and people struggling to get by, hold down a job, etc., and said that they were going to play something rare, I actually thought that they were going to play Unemployable. I'm not the biggest fan of that song, but I would have been happy to hear it nonetheless since it had been so long. And just as I was expecting Unemployable to begin, I heard the opening chords of Sleight of Hand ring out. This was the first time I cried during the show (yes, there were two other times). I'm not sure how exactly to describe in words the way that I felt during this song, but I had something akin to an out of body experience (and just for the record, I was stone cold sober during the show). It really felt like I was dreaming and that at any moment I was going to wake up. This song means a lot to me personally for many reasons, including the themes of the monotony of the daily 9-5 routine, how difficult it has become to achieve the American dream, and dealing with depression and anxiety. And I thought it was a beautiful rendition and that given how infrequently they play it these days, it was clearly well rehearsed. A friend of mine who was on the rail with me and has seen a lot of shows was joking around with me after the show, saying that he'd never seen someone so animated during Sleight of Hand before. Admittedly, it is one of the mellowest songs in their catalogue. I have no idea what I was actually doing during the song since I felt like I had been transported to a different dimension, but I'm guessing it likely consisted of some sort of wild gesticulating that was not even remotely close to being in sync with the rhythm of the song. So in response, I told my friend that the next time they play Just Breathe, I'm going to pogo the entire song. 🦘🤣
My favorite song on DM is Upper Hand (followed closely by Setting Sun). From the first time I heard it, I was immediately hooked by the Pink Floyd-esque guitar riffs during the extended opening, the themes of how our time on this planet is limited and the importance of making the most out of each day, and the way the song builds to a crescendo. Although it is in some ways a sad song, to me the crescendo at the end feels like a celebration of life. And now having heard it several times live, I think it is the best live song off the album. Shortly after the album came out, I was joking around with a friend that PJ now has a new trilogy to play- the hand trilogy. Having previously heard the man trilogy, I thought the hand trilogy would be really fun to hear. But given how infrequently they play Sleight of Hand, I figured it would never happen. When they went into Severed Hand, which happens to be one of my favorite live tracks off of Avocado, I thought to myself, "This is their one chance to do it." And then they did it. I thought the whole show was great from start to finish, but the hand trilogy was my favorite part. And I thought that both Severed Hand and Upper Hand sounded great. The pit was rocking out hard during Severed Hand, and Mike's solos during both Severed Hand and Upper Hand were absolute 🔥
Then came another really fun part of the show. Ed started soliciting song requests from people in the pit. All at once, everyone started shouting out their favorite song requests. I distinctly heard "Brother," "Fatal," "Angel," and several other songs that they were never going to play. Then Ed pointed to a woman standing in the row behind me just to my right, and asked her what she wanted to hear. She shouted out, "Grievance!" I responded, "Grievance, f*ck yeah!" At first, Ed said that he couldn't hear her, so me and a bunch of other people on the rail all screamed out at once, "GRIEVANCE!" I heard Ed start messing around with the chords and Matt start messing around with the drum intro, but I didn't actually think they were going to play it. And then after another 30 seconds or so of messing around, Matt started the drum intro again and Ed belted out, "Have a drink they're buying," and off we went! High fives and fist bumps were exchanged all around, and the pit proceeded to lose its collective mind. Everyone in the pit was jumping up and down, head banging, and screaming the entire song. Ed got the first few lines right, but then it seemed like he was starting to struggle a bit with the lyrics. Fortunately since I'm obsessed with Binaural I know all of the lyrics by heart, and since I was right in front of Ed, he looked over at me and I basically got to serve as a human teleprompter for a few lines until Ed started to remember and got back on track (or probably more accurately, until whoever was operating the teleprompter managed to get the lyrics up 🤣). That was a lot of fun! And yes they messed up the ending, but otherwise I thought it sounded great. And we learned that Ed can, in fact, still sing Grievance, and sing it well. To the woman who made the request: excellent job! That was a five-star request! 👏🌟
As if that wasn't enough, the band then continued this amazing run of songs by launching into a full version of It's Okay at the end of Daughter. Because of how crazy things have been in my personal life balancing work and caring for two young kids, and in the country/world in general, it was exactly what I needed to hear at the moment. And given how hopeless things might seem at the moment in light of our current toxic political environment, and the seemingly incurable divisiveness and incessant name-calling, maliciousness, and degradation that has accompanied it, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate—and important—message to convey. I, and I’m sure many others, needed a reminder that “it’s okay.” Raising my arms up into the air and screaming out “it’s gonna be okay” at the top of my lungs was truly cathartic. There’s no therapy like music therapy.
One funny side note on Daughter. When Ed first went into It's Okay, it was clear that he did not know the lyrics. He kept motioning with his hand for the person running the teleprompter to hurry up and get the lyrics up on the screen, and when that wasn't happening fast enough, he simply started making it up. I have no idea what Ed was singing at the beginning of It's Okay, but it was not even close to the correct lyrics. 🤷🤣 This created another fun moment for me and the people around me on the bump to serve as a human teleprompter for Ed until they were able to get the lyrics up on the screen. But once they got the lyrics up and Ed got going, I thought it sounded great.
Even though I’ve heard Jeremy a million times, I never tire of it. It’s one of those songs that always galvanizes the entire crowd at once, and raises the energy in the arena to a fever pitch. The crowd was off the chain during the chant, and it felt like the entire pit was jumping up and down as one. I was really happy they pulled out Got to Give. I wasn’t expecting to hear that one again (I had previously heard it back at the beginning of the DM tour in Vancouver) since they had only played it a couple of times since. But I think that one translates really well live, particularly the build up during the second half of the song. And they closed out the set with a great, energetic version of Porch, with everyone on the rail pogoing like crazy and Mike delivering another blistering solo. Toward the end of the song, Ed came out onto the edge of the bump, leaned out into the crowd, and sang the last verse together with the crowd. Such an awesome moment!
When Ed came out solo for the start of the encore, I assumed we would get one of the usual songs he's been playing in that spot this tour, such as Just Breathe, I Won't Back Down, etc. So when I heard the opening chords of My City of Ruins, I was in shock. Born and raised in Jersey, from a young age I've always been a huge Bruce fan. And My City of Ruins--written about the decline of Asbury Park, a town only about a half hour away from where I grew up and where I spent a lot of time in my formative years (and still do currently)--is one of my favorite all-time Bruce songs, and holds a lot of personal meaning for me. When I heard it back at the Sea Hear Now festival in Asbury Park in 2021, I was over the moon. But I assumed it was a one-off and I would never hear it again. So when Ed started singing, "There's a blood red circle on the cold dark ground, and the rain is falling down," I started tearing up. I thought it was a beautiful, haunting version, and Ed's vocals were tailor made for that song. And while the song is sad in many ways, it is also hopeful. I thought the "rise up" part at the end of the song was particularly poignant and powerful, especially in light of the current circumstances. I interpreted it as a much-needed call to action, and now in retrospect after N2, it seems pretty clear to me that it was a precursor to the speech that Ed gave before Alive on N2 (which I'll discuss in my review of N2).
And then of course literally only a few seconds after I finished crying after hearing Ed's beautiful rendition of one of my favorite Bruce songs, it was time for the night's biggest tearjerker. When Ed started talking about life and death, the difficulty of dealing with loss, and the healing power of music, I knew we were in for a real heartbreaker. Ed mentioned that he met a man the previous day, whom he described as a "big sturdy guy," who had recently lost his mother and had played one of their songs at her funeral. The line that struck me the most from Ed's speech was that what made it even sadder and more difficult for him to watch was the fact that the person who was breaking down in tears right in front of him was such a "big sturdy guy." And then Ed proceeded to play a stunningly beautiful, but also absolutely gut-wrenching, version of Man of the Hour. MOTH is one of my favorites of PJ's slower, more introspective songs, and I had not heard it live in almost 20 years, since my first ever show (DC '06). But as much as I love the song, it is a tough one for me to listen to. It is a song that carries a lot of personal meaning for me, as I have used it time and time again throughout the years to help cope with the loss of close friends and family, most recently my grandpa, whom I was very close with. Whenever that song comes on PJ radio, I immediately think of my grandpa and other friends and family who I've lost over the years. Hearing that song live for the first time in so many years was rough for me. I'm not gonna lie- When Ed started the opening chords, I broke down in tears and the waterworks didn't let up until the end of the song. I tried to sing, but more like cried my way through the entire song; I guess you could say I "cried sang"- maybe I just invented a new term lol. I looked over at my buddy to my left just as Ed started singing, "And the sky breaks at dawn shedding light upon this town," and he was bawling uncontrollably. Then I looked over to my right and saw tears streaming down the faces of pretty much everyone else on the rail, including all of the "big sturdy guys." The rail had turned into a waterworks factory. 😭 Loss is such a profoundly difficult thing to deal with. We've all experienced it before, and unfortunately we all will again. And there's nothing good to say about it; there's nothing any of us can say or do to make it all better or to make the feeling go away. But music helps. Music heals. As tough as it was for me (and I'm sure many others in the audience) to hear this song, I think it is important that I did. And I'm grateful to have shared this experience with you all. 🙏❤️
I loved what happened next. Ed said they were going to play one more quiet one before getting back into the rockers, and then suddenly without warning, launched into a blistering version of Comatose. 🎸🤘 What a rollercoaster of emotions! Just seconds earlier I was crying my eyes out, and now I was rocking out like my life depended on it. There was no build up from the slower, more emotional songs, no transition, and no warning--we were just instantly snapped back into high-energy mode! While I sometimes like transitions, in this case, I felt like given the heaviness of the two previous songs, the lack of a transition instantly revved up the intensity and raised the energy in the building to a fever pitch. DTE kept the energy going, with everyone in the pit jumping up and down and headbanging. It's always nice to see Stone take the spotlight for a little bit and shred some solos. In any other band, he’d make an excellent lead guitarist. And the expressions on his face while he is soloing are always priceless. 🤣 I know people get tired of hearing DTE every show, but without sprinkling in DTE and at least 3 or 4 of their other biggest hits, people seeing them for the first time (which are a larger portion of the crowd then we realize) would leave disappointed. Also, I enjoy seeing DTE now a lot more than I used to because of the way they have utilized the video screens. I really like the way they have incorporated images from the DTE music video on the screens, and think it makes for a really cool presentation.
Out of all of PJ's biggest hits, Black is easily my favorite. I never get tired of it, and I could hear it at every single show. I thought that the crowd was great, with everyone belting out the lyrics at the top of their lungs. And Mike's solo was one of the best I've ever heard, which is saying a lot since I've heard Black a million times. I really liked the way he was using the pedals to distort the sound, which gave the solo an ethereal, otherworldly feel. Following Mike's epic solo, they launched into a really intense version of SOLAT, which got the pit bopping again. I love hearing this song in the encore, as I feel like it always gets the crowd going- and this time was no exception. The building was loud during this one, with everyone rocking out hard and giving it their all as they knew we were approaching the end. As expected, that was followed by Alive, with the entire crowd singing along as one. Ed came out onto the edge of the bump around, "Is something wrong she said?" and interacted with and sang the rest of the chorus with the crowd. There was a great moment when Ed brought Danny Clinch on stage while Mike was soloing to take pictures. At one point, Ed leaned back off the edge of the bump and me and several other people on the rail held him up. It was totally surreal. What a moment!
I love Baba, and much prefer it to RITFW, so I was really happy when they went straight into that after Alive. I think Baba is a great way to end the show on a high note. The pit was on fire, with everyone pogoing and clapping as one. I was having the time of my life jumping around and screaming out, "They're all wasted!" surrounded by some of my closest friends. It felt like a celebration of life, and we were all a part of it. It was a beautiful thing. As the song was winding down, I remember thinking to myself, "It doesn't get any better than this." But then it did. As the song was ending, Ed grabbed a bottle of wine, took a sip, and then walked up to me and handed me the bottle. I was in complete and utter shock. I managed to squeak out, "Thank you Ed" and then just stood there holding the bottle in disbelief. The whole thing seemed like a dream. As they went into Indifference, which is my favorite closer, I remained essentially catatonic and continued standing there basically motionless holding the bottle over the rail. Then my friend tapped me on the shoulder and made a drinking motion, and I went, "Oh right, we should probably drink this," and I then proceeded to take a sip and pass it around to my friends. Drinking Ed's wine during Indifference with some of my closest friends is a memory I will never forget. 🍾🍷😀 It still doesn’t feel real to me- and maybe it never will.
After we finished sipping the wine, there was another great moment when everyone on the bump put their arms around each other and proceeded to sway back and forth in unison as the song wound down. We then all proceeded to “scream our lungs out until it filled the room” as the evening came to a close. This is what it's all about. It's about so much more than just the music itself. It's about this amazing community of incredible people from all walks of life and from all over the world who have been brought together by their shared love of this band and their music. And I am proud to call many of them my best friends. ❤️
So in sum, I had an absolutely incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience during the first night in Pittsburgh. I laughed, I cried, I yelled and screamed, I sang my heart out, and headbanged and pogoed for 2 1/2 hours straight. It was everything I needed, and more. I can honestly say it was one of the greatest nights of my life. I feel humbled to have had such an amazing experience, and am incredibly grateful to be part of such an amazing community of wonderful humans. A sincere thank you to the band, my friends, and everyone else in attendance, without whom none of this would be possible. 🙏❤️ Stay tuned for my review of N2. In the meantime, I've included a pic of the wine bottle below for you wine connoisseurs:
Wow @steven87, you were standing almost in front of me? Were you wearing a green shirt?
Can't believe we missed each other.
What a show it was!
Yep I was wearing a green “Paddy’s Irish Pub” shirt. I gave you a fist bump after Grievance! 👊 That was such a great request! Really never thought I’d hear it again.
Comments
Last 3 songs of the concert…. Lots of similarities. Both good shows in their own right but the second one not as good.
2003 - Cleveland, OH - 4/25
2006 - Cleveland, OH - 5/20
2010 - Cleveland, OH - 5/9
2011 - (EV Solo) Detroit, MI - 6/26, East Troy, WI - 9/3, East Troy, WI - 9/4
2013 - Chicago, IL - 7/19, Shitsburgh, PA - 10/11, Los Angeles, CA - 11/23, Los Angeles, CA - 11/24
2014 - Detroit, MI - 10/16
2016 - Lexington, KY - 4/26, Manchester, TN - 6/11
2018 - Chicago, IL - 8/18, Chicago, IL - 8/20
2019 - (EV Solo) Tempe, AZ - 3/2
2020 - Los Angeles, CA - 4/15 (Canceled), Los Angeles, CA - 4/16 (Canceled)
2023 - Indianapolis, IN - 9/10 (Canceled)
2024 - Indianapolis, IN - 8/26
2025 - Shitsburgh, PA - 5/16, Shitsburgh, PA - 5/18
thanks for War & Peace 😜 kidding, great read!
astoria 06
albany 06
hartford 06
reading 06
barcelona 06
paris 06
wembley 07
dusseldorf 07
nijmegen 07
this song is meant to be called i got shit,itshould be called i got shit tickets-hartford 06 -
These shows were so good!