Okay here goes incredible I was 7th row dead center on the floor....fucking fantastic....Release was incredible as always...crowd wass shy for some of the show...excpet the floor...then he said Corduroy was being filmed and everyone in attendance would be on a film for a charity thing with New Orleanns (may of said first couple songs)...highlgihts include a very drunk Ed...who I seen smoking (thought he quit)...said he thought Saskatoon was a sort of a campfire cookout or something...kinda of funny...highlight was I Got Shit/SOLAT/Footsteps (which looked to be discussed before playing)....Green Disease was incredible...but Porch was fucking amazing...Ed after some music for a dew minutes asks the crowd "Is it Safe"...then he jumps off the stage...stands on the first row barricade held up by fans/security and leads this HUGE And LOUD chant with everyone pumping there arms in the air (like Alive sort of)then he just belts out the final chorus from in the crowd and the place is going ballistic....then he does a little free-fall backwards into arms of people behind him...he was 7 ft right in front of me....fantastic show....good job S'Toon....Off He Goes was done pretty much without any flaws....and running Back to Saskatoon was very cool to see..
Also Ed came out in a mask and sang I Believe In Miracles with the Supersuckers....so my four concert tour is done....everything was great and this show was PERFECT to finish it off...fuck I forgeot Present Tense/Glorified G/Whipping one of the best set-lists I have seen in awhile...great show....
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First off, at 32 I am way too old to write a gushing fan letter but...Saskatoon was my first ever PJ show and 24hrs later I am still somewhat unable to comprehend all that I saw and heard. Pearl Jam has been the soundtrack of my adult life. I am able to place where I was and what was going on in my life with each of their albums whether it was drunk and rowdy in university when ten came out or the birth of my son coinciding with Yield. There music has and continues to mean a great deal to me. So I was pretty ready for the show.
I was concerned that the band would simply turn in a solid professional as Saskatoon wasn't a sellout (?) and the crowd seemed timid at first and most (myself included would never have known the difference). But they didn't care and played with amazing energy and seemed to drag the crowd into the show. I can not thank the band enough for this. Quite simple they ROCKED. I was in the 10th row (Stone side) and spent the whole show in disbelief of how great my seats were and the fact that Pearl Jam was in Saskatoon.
Mike McCready is all he was hyped to be I had a hard time not watching him, the guitar behind the head in Even Flow was sweet. Stone with his businesslike efficency was awesome. Towards the end of the first set, as the wine began to set in, Eddie got going and seemed to almost will the crowd to life as if they feared disappointing someone who was clearly putting so much into the show. The Encores were amazing, Glorified G, Whipping, Daughter were great but Porch was over the top with Ed going nuts. The Second Encore was a great with the band stumbling through running back to Saskatoon. Last Kiss was a nice touch and Alive was great and satisfied the casual fan. Free World was a great way to end the show. It was so awesome I can't even describe it properly. My best friend flew in from Vancouver for the show, spent 11 hrs and flew back at 5 in the morning and is still working as I write this. Thats dedication.