This past weekend we went to Philadelphia to see Pearl Jam and the concert was great.  I’m not a fan of Philadelphia, but that’s ANOTHER post, but I’ve got the say the Centrum wasn’t a terrible place to see a band.  It reminded me a lot of the old Boston Garden, which was more intimate, if such a word could be used for an arena.  I was MOST impressed with the seat cushions which were very comfortable…for the 20 mins I sat on it waiting for PJ.

I’m glad PJ decided to punch me in the face on the first song with “Gonna See My Friend.”  I’ve been to a ton of shows where they start out with “Release” or another slower song that takes time to build.  That night PJ was coming out fighting and I was glad to be the punching bag.  There were several really nice highlights during the first set including “Tremor Christ” ,”Habit”,”Present Tense”  and two personal favorites “In Hiding” and “Untitled.”

The second encore started slowly and included a mix from several different, older albums ending with a rousing “RVM.”  Good stuff.  The second set ended precisely at 11pm, which for a moment made me think the show was over, but when the lights didn’t come up I knew they had another set in them.  The last set was a doozy starting with “Whipping” leading into lovely and haunting “Crazy Mary.”  Two of my most memorable concert experiences happened during the playing of “Crazy Mary.”  One was in Mansfield, Ma. on Sept. 14th,  1998 and then at the Boston Garden on May 24th 2006…both concerts were amazing and both of those crowds had a connection to the band and the music they were playing…everyone was singing and it made for a memorable moment that sticks with me even now.

During this concert I don’t think the crowd hit that peak…but they were Philadelphians.

Again PJ graced up with the mamasan trilogy…which means we heard “Footsteps!”  They ended the show with two great songs in Sonic Reducer and Baba O’Riley…which I’m sure most of the kids at the show thought was the song from CSI.  Oh, and the opening band was pretty decent.  Bad Religion opened for Pearl Jam and they were pretty good.  Like many Americans I’ve heard of Bad Religion but I couldn’t name an album or a song they’ve written…but they did a fair job.  It can’t be easy opening for the best band on the planet.

Here are some other higher-quality videos from that show.

Light Years

Off He Goes/Force of Nature

and here’s the real thing…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KIn0JiYHT0]

Finally, I’ve got to say that what really made the concert special was my Sweets.  If we had never met I’m sure we would still see Pearl Jam but it wouldn’t nearly mean as much to me as seeing it with her.  You’re so special honey and I know we’re going to many more shows together!

Did I say that I need you?

Did I say that I want you?

Aww if I didn’t I’m a fool you see…no one knows this more than me.

I LOVE YOU!

F_M