mahatmat
Shitty set!!?? Not a bloody chance. I just got home; it was fucking amazing...almost rivalled Adelaide

Betterman was a phenomenal start. Ed let the crowd sing the first verse... a beautiful way to start the show and a breath of life for a very tired song.

Tremor Christ was very well received and was note perfect. A wonderful suprise.

Given to Fly was again a stand out. It's almost achieved anthemic status. I just love that song. A friend commented that it is the best showcase for Ed's voice. I'm inclined to agree.

The final three songs of the first set were wonderful. Everyone of the 15 odd thousand in there were on their feet.

Off he Goes was breathtakingly beautiful A fitting tribute to Anthony Hurley (the young Melburnian who died at Roskilde). His family and friends were stage left the entire show.

Small Town was great. At the end (I think this happened here) Ed caught sight of a fuck-off big banner that was emblazened with "DROP THE LEASH" accompanied by a stick man. He pointed it out to the rest of the band before commenting. Something like: "it show's there are still dreamers in the world...I can't remember the chords or the words, but I can remember how it felt " He then played the intro, before stopping "I can remember the intro" (much laughter). I think Stone chimed in with the little 'Wah, Wah, Waah" bit.

Leatherman was another great suprise.

DTE...fucking wow. 15,000 screaming "It's Evolution BABY!!!" This song was an almost religious experience. Some punter made it onto the stage (similar to Melbourne '95). Ed shooed off the security before putting the Bill Gates mask on the guy. He finished the song on the guy's shoulders.

Unbelieveable.

Baba O'Reilly was great...for me. Trouble was that most in the arena didn't know it. The sing-a-long bit fell pretty flat. But they ended it out well. Was a little upset that there wasn't a second encre, but what can you do?

It was a great set. everyone was energetic. Even Stone showed some flair...he lead the applause for a breathtaking Black. Ed kept the talk to a minimum..he only briefly mentioned the Anti-War protests.

What a night.

vstheworld
The day started with a glimpse of ed as he was riven into the back of RLA and he didn't come back out and have a chat like in Adelaide. I had high expectations for this show as it was the first Melbourne show!

The doors opened around 6 when I saw EV's bodyguard who I had a chat to, but wouldn't give away any details for tonight's show. Johhny Marr and the Healers were practically booed off the stage.....with some guy screaming out,"bring on Pearl Jam", to which he replied,"yeah I totally agree".

The 'fans'around me (if I could call them fans) were not excited at all! They didn't move the whole time (oh they had a toilet break when You Are and Get Right were on). I think Pearl Jam only play as good or as long as the crowd want them to and the crowd was so flat on Tuesday night

Pearl Jam came out about 9:15 to the only big cheer all night.......They started off to my shock with Betterman, which kept the triple M fans pleased for the moment. The highlights of the first set included Tremor christ (great version), whipping, RVM and Insignificance. Apart from that the set wasn't much different to Sunday night in Adelaide. Only 15 songs in the main set!

They came back out (which I new they would). Off he goes was a good change! The only No Code song all night which was a bit sad.....Ed saw a sign at the back which read 'Drop the leash'. He played the intro, but he said we couldn't remember the chords or the words to the song.......

During DTE a guy got through sercurity (some how!) and Ed got on his shoulders half way through the song. Ed changes the words from admire my clothes to admire this guy!. EV placed the Bush mask on this mystery guy also..... This was the highlight of the night. Leatherman was a welcomed track for the encore (even though no one knew what song it was except for the usual fans). Baba 'O' Riley was its great normal selve, but the crowd stuffed up during the singalong part. That will sound funny on the bootleg.

Overall small fans would have loved this show, but I was left with this statement, which summed up the night, "Is that it?". I am probably just too greedy.......Hello to the nice people I met!