Delayed for 45 minutes due to severe weather, front man Eddie Vedder expressed his anxieties about going ahead with the concert.
"It's been almost ten years since Denmark, and whenever a situations where a delay comes up it weights heavily on our minds," he said. "And to have this go off with out a hitch it amazing so thank you very much."
Vedder referred to the band's performance at the 2000 Rock Slide Festival where nine fans were crushed to death as the crowd rushed the stage.
The only tragic accident to occur last night was the loss of one concert goer's stash.
"You got any smoke man? The rain ruined mine."
As Pearl Jam enter their second decade of existence, Vedder reigns supreme as spokesperson and rock journeyman for his generation. While Kurt Cobain "burned out" as he wrote in his suicide note, Soundgarden faded away, Billy Corgan boned Jessica Simpson and Scott Wieland snorted his bank account up his nose, Vedder and company have soldiered on proving they were never as grunge as they were supposed to be. They were, and still are, a high octane rock n' roll outfit.
The opening tune "Release" lifted the spirits of the anxious crowd who waited over an hour for the band to take the stage. Vedder's booming baritone showed no sign of aging and neither did his body as he hopped, skipped and jumped around the stage with unabashed glee. Perhaps the bottle of wine he kept by his side at all times helped lubricate the joints.
Pearl Jam refuse to be just a greatest hits band. After nine albums and twenty years of consistent radio singles, the band knows how to please die hards who long of deep album cuts as well as mild fans who hoped and prayed for "Alive" the entire night.
While Vedder may be the front man, he was more than happy to let the rest of the band join in on the fun. Guitarist Stone Gossard tore through one blazing solo after another. "Even Flow" was given the jam treatment as Vedder sat on the sidelines and watched the others play around for five minutes.
The surprise tune of the night was a cover of The Who's synthesizer anthem "Baba O' Riley". An enthusiastic Who fan, Vedder sported a Who shirt and pin and even performed in March with the band in London for their Quadrophenia concert.
A big time band with an even bigger heart, Pearl Jam expressed their love for the Hoosier state.
"I really want to say this because we only get a chance to say this ever seven years or so, but hello Indiana," Vedder said. "I promise we'll come back sooner next time."
That can't happen soon enough. Maybe if Indiana stays a blue state.
Set List:
Release
Last Exit
Why Go
In My Tree
Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
Unthought Known
Even Flow
Supersonic
Down
Daughter/W.M.A./Blitzkrieg Bop
Goin' Back To Indiana
Rats
Whislist
Insignificance
Force Of Nature
Jeremy
The Fixer
Encore 1:
Just Breathe
Off He Goes
Given To Fly
Lukin
Better Man
Do The Evolution
Encore 2:
Garden
Whipping
Alive
Baba O'Riley
Yellow Ledbetter
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