2009

• Europe – North America Leg 1
• North America Leg 2
• Australia – New Zealand Leg 3

Europe / North America Leg 1

08/08/09: Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Canada Olympic Park – V-Fest
opening act: Festival
set: Why Go, All Night, Dissident, The Fixer, Got Some, Severed Hand, Sad, Unemployable, Even Flow, Rats, Save You, Given To Fly, Daughter/(W.M.A), Down, Elderly Woman…, Do The Evolution, Alive
first encore: Better Man, Brother, Black, Spin The Black Circle
second encore: Crazy Mary(Victoria Williams), The Real Me (Pete Townshend), Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes: About 3 songs in Ed says (paraphrasing), “So usually we keep these things a surprise, but we’re feeling pretty good tonight so we’ll just tell you. We’re gonna play a song we’ve never played live before, and a couple of songs that are old enough to drive. This is a newborn.” Cue The Fixer. WMA tag in Daughter: Ed sings “White Male CANADIAN” Ed quote: “We picked a flight to Europe with a stop over in Calgary because we were told there would be a festival of Virgins. Virgin Fest and not a Jonas Brother in sight.” During Rats and Ben, Ed did a shoulder to shoulder cross over his heart. Regarding Real Me, Ed mentioned when he was a teen, the song was played as a closer at his first show First encore Ed comes out and says, “We’re at Olympic Park, and I have to say that we’d give you a gold medal for this evening. No, actually, we’d give you an Olympic Platinum”, some in the crowd wondering if that would be the ’song they’ve never played before’. Ed comes on after the second encore and tells the crowd that they’ve been told they can break curfew and play the songs the way they want to play ‘em. Eddie stopped a few times to make sure the audience was safe. Comment around 9:00pm: To a dad holding up his son for two hours. “Hey Kid, You Got A Good Dad.” Taken from official message board posts from Scott/edwouldgocalgary and breathgal; Mike’s Bloggity Blog

08/11/09: Shephard’s Bush Empire, London, UK
opening act: Gomez
set: Sometimes, Interstellar Overdrive, Corduroy, The Fixer, All Along The Watchtower, Why Go, Dissident, Severed Hand, Given To Fly, Low Light, Even Flow, Present Tense, Save You, Down, Elderly Woman…, Brother, Do The Evolution, Got Some
first encore: The End, Inside Job, Better Man, Alive
second encore: Soldier Of Love, State Of Love And Trust, The Real Me, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes: Pearl Jam offered a Ten Club presale for this intimate show at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, a venue with a capacity of only 2000. Users who pre-ordered Backspacer from HMV.com were also provided a link to an exclusive pre-sale. The result was an energetic show packed with PJ fans. “Sometimes” opened following intro music “Metamorphisis Two” by Phillip Glass. “Corduroy” featured an “Interstellar Overdrive” intro that had a lot more flanged-delay soloing from Mike than in year’s past. Ed relishes the return to London and the old friends and new friends in the audience, as “The Fixer” is introduced as “new friend”. Only three songs into the set, things get interesting as the Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood is introduced … “We worked together, I wrote some words for him. To return the favor, he’s going to pay this next song with us tonight. What’s really spectacular about it is, we ended up doing what they call ‘indian giving’ and we took the song and used it for our own record but he’s still going to play with us anyway”. A terrific version of “All Along the Watchtower” is performed, with Ron Wood adding his signature touch to the nearly 7-minute rendition. Mid-set, “Severed Hand” is played with the pre-recorded intro. “Even Flow” is introduced as a song that was written in 1793. After a raging Even Flow, Ed says that if he “could play the drums that well, then I have every right to be a complete fucking asshole prick (laughter), but not only can he play like that but he’s one of the better humans you’ll ever meet.” Like “The Fixer”, “Got Some” is age-referenced as a “newborn” and ends a great first set. Returning from a break, Ed plays “The End” solo, saying the “new record’s pretty upbeat, but this takes it down to really fuckin’ sad.” Ed revels in London’s music history, saying that “so much of the music we heard when we were kids came from this part of the planet” and names Billy Childish (painter, poet, musician) and his bands the Headcoats and Headcoatees as influences. Ed mentions that it was Billy that turned the band on to Arthur Alexander’s “Soldier of Love”. A stellar version of “Soldier of Love” is played for the first time since July 3, 2003 and includes the crowd “cha-cha-cha” at the end. Simon Townshend (Pete’s younger brother) joins the band for “The Real Me”. “Thanks for sticking with us all these years and thanks for your support and inspiration and … you’re fucking goddamn pretty handsome and good looking at the same time.” “Yellow Ledbetter” caps off a great night for 2000 lucky fans, most of whom will also enjoy Pearl Jam at the 02 Arena the following week.

08/13/09: Sportspaleis Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
opening act: Gomez
set: Elderly Woman…, Last Exit, Animal, The Fixer, Given To Fly, Severed Hand, Why Go, Dissident, Brother, Gone, Even Flow, Wishlist, Nothingman, 1/2 Full, Black, Got Some, Go
first encore: Life Wasted, Better Man/(Save it for Later), Daughter, Lukin, Comatose, Alive
second encore: You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, Love Reign O’er Me, Do The Evolution, The Real Me, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes:
Sportspaleis Ahoy (10,000) was sold out within minutes, and hosted Pearl Jam for the third time in its history. It could have been the fourth, but the scheduled concert for 3 July, 2000 was canceled because of the Roskilde tragedy. Eddie Vedder mentions it’s the fifteenth concert of the band in The Netherlands. But at the same time, it’s only the third one since 1996 (excluding the 2000 Pinkpop festival participation) and they hadn’t played in The Netherlands until 2006. Although it’s only the third concert of the band in 2009, after the Calgary V-Fest and the one at Shepherd’s Bush Empire two days before, there’s no need for adaptation. “It’s good to be back”, Vedder claims. The show is loud and lively. After three songs, “Last Exit” and “Animal” already have set the tone. Backspacer’s “The Fixer” and “Got Some” are played with much enthusiasm, but the band has a focus on the nineties’ material. Tally: four songs off Ten, five off Vs, three off Vitalogy, only one off No Code, three off Yield are played and add “Brother” and “Yellow Ledbetter” to this. No songs from Binaural are played and only one off Riot Act (”1/2 Full”) . Pearl Jam gets it share with four songs. Covers are “The Real Me”, “Love, Reign O’er Me” (both of The Who) and “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” (Beatles). Vedder apologies for not having prepared some lines in Dutch, but adds that at least he doesn’t have “a Texas accent”. He’s talkative and in good shape. He jokes that, when the band stepped out of the hotel, they noticed two lines of people waiting and started to shake hands with them, but they appeared to be waiting for the bus. “Alive”, “Better Man” and “Black” get the crowd wild. The Backspacer songs fit in perfectly. “Wishlist” is performed superbly. “Daughter” includes a short jam but has no tag. During McCready’s solo in “Even Flow”, Vedder takes a smoke at the side of the stage. With the lights already on, Yellow Ledbetter gets every last person on their feet. Vedder gives a solo performance of “You Gotta Hide Your Love Away” and talks about acceptance of homosexuality. Before “Lukin” starts, Vedder asks the crowd how many of them have been to Seattle and have seen Mudhoney play. During one of the songs, Vedder claims he’ll settle in Rotterdam. He promises to come back within one and a half year, or ten days, and after a set of more than two and a half hour, the impressive show comes to an end.

08/15/09: Wuhlheide, Berlin, DE
opening act: Gomez
set: Why Go, Hail Hail, The Fixer, Corduroy, I Am Mine, Nothing As it Seems, Untitled->MFC, Gods’ Dice, Even Flow, Unemployable, Severed Hand, Light Years, Daughter/(Blitzkrieg Bop), Got Some, Glorified G, Brother, Insignificance, Do The Evolution
first encore: Bee Girl, Better Man/(Save it for Later), Given To Fly, Hard To Imagine, Alive
second encore: , Angie, Elderly Woman…, Faithful, Sonic Reducer, Rockin’ In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes:

08/17/09: Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester, UK
opening act: Gomez
set: Long Road, Last Exit, Why Go, All Night, The Fixer, Low Light, In Hiding, World Wide Suicide, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Even Flow, Present Tense, Save You, Grievance, Sleight Of Hand, Got Some, Given To Fly, Rearviewmirror
first encore: Go, Daughter, Do The Evolution, Alive
second encore: Smile, Black, Leash, The Real Me, Indifference
TFT Notes:

08/18/09: O2 Arena, London, UK
opening act: Gomez
set: Release, Animal, Corduroy, Why Go, Elderly Woman…, Immortality, The Fixer, Even Flow, I Got Id, Rats, Got Some, Whipping, Light Years, Insignificance, Black, Life Wasted, Blood/(Atomic Dog)
first encore: Supersonic, Hail Hail, Footsteps, Love Reign O’er Me, Do The Evolution, Alive
second encore: Better Man/(Save it for Later), Crazy Mary, Leaving Here, Porch, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes:

08/21/09: Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, CAN
opening act: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
set: Of The Girl, Corduroy, Severed Hand, Why Go, Brain Of J., I Am Mine, The Fixer, Given To Fly, Off He Goes, Even Flow, Unemployable, Faithful, Down, Got Some, 1/2 Full, Lukin, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Do The Evolution
first encore: Inside Job, Wishlist, Black, Alive
second encore: Elderly Woman…, Wasted Reprise, Better Man/(Save it for Later), Porch, Rockin’ In The Free World
TFT Notes:

08/23/09: United Center, Chicago, IL
opening act: Bad Religion
set: Long Road, Corduroy, Why Go, Gods’ Dice, Dissident, Elderly Woman…, Sad, The Fixer, Given To Fly/(Happy Birthday), Come Back, Even Flow, Save You, In Hiding, Man Of The Hour, Insignificance, Got Some, Spin The Black Circle
first encore: Love Reign O’er Me, Life Wasted, The Real Me, Alive
second encore: The Needle and The Damage Done, Rats, Supersonic, Smile, Rearviewmirror, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes:

08/24/09: United Center, Chicago, IL
opening act: Bad Religion
set: Hard to Imagine, Corduroy, In My Tree, Last Exit, All Night, Nothingman, The Fixer, Even Flow, Present Tense, Whipping, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Daughter/(ABitWpII), Brother, Gone
Got Some, Do The Evolution, Alive
first encore: No More, Comatose, Grievance, Black, The Real Me, Porch
second encore: Wasted Reprise, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Crazy Mary, State of Love and Trust, Fuckin´ Up, Yellow Ledbetter/(Star Spangled Banner)
TFT Notes:

08/28/09: Outside Lands Festival, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
set: Why Go, Animal, Severed Hand, Corduroy, Low Light, The Fixer, In My Tree, Elderly Woman…, Even Flow, Got Some, I Am Mine, Given To Fly, MFC, Down, Black, Save You, Do The Evolution, Go
first encore: Wasted Reprise, Better Man, Daughter, The Real Me, Crazy Mary, Alive
second encore: Throw Your Hatred Down, Rockin´ In The Free World
TFT Notes:

North America Leg 2

09/21/09: Key Arena, Seattle, WA
set: Long Road, Corduroy, Gonna See My Friend, Got Some, Hail, Hail, Amongst The Waves, Daughter, Even Flow, Johnny Guitar, Unthought Known, World Wide Suicide, Elderly Woman…, Off He Goes, Down, Save You, The Fixer, Life Wasted
first encore: Just Breathe, The End, Inside Job, Rearviewmirror
second encore: Given To Fly, Do The Evolution, Better Man, The Real Me, Indifference, Alive
TFT Notes: The first of two shows in the band’s hometown of Seattle occurs the day following the release of their ninth album Backspacer. “Gonna See My Friend”, “Amongst the Waves”, “Johnny Guitar” and “Unthought Known” (full band), and “Just Breathe” make their live debut. Ed made funny comment about the band agreeing with Obama about Kanye being a jackass (more soon). The stage setup includes new backdrops (see here and here) and Ed comments that he was nervous about the inflatable Space Needle and that we should tear the roof off the arena to look at the real one. “Daughter” does not include a tag. Eight Backspacer tracks are played and Ed said “it’s great to finally be able to play these songs”. “Just Breathe” and “The End” w/the Octava String Quartet, including April Cameron. “Given To Fly” started the second encore and was dedicated to Ben Harper and the Relentless 7. “The Real Me” included a horn section. More notes soon…

09/22/09: Key Arena, Seattle, WA
set: Sometimes, Why Go, All Night, The Fixer, Dissident, Johnny Guitar, Faithfull, Lukin, Not For You/(Modern Girl), No Way, Unthought Known, Unemployable, Comatose, Insignificance, Present Tense, Got Some, Go
first encore: Just Breathe, The End, Black, In My Tree, Spin The Black Circle
second encore: Supersonic, Do The Evolution, The Real Me, Porch, Yellow Ledbetter/(Star Spangled Banner)
TFT Notes: “No Way” makes its first appearance since 1998’s Yield tour and only its fourth appearance in the band’s live history. “Supersonic” lyrics are changed to reference the Seattle’s former NBA franchise the Seattle Supersonics. “Just Breathe” and “The End” is accompanied by the Octava String Quartet, including April Cameron. “The Real Me” is accompanied by the Syncopated Taint Horn Quartet. More notes soon…

09/25/09: GM Place, Vancouver, BC
set: In My Tree, Save You, The Fixer, Severed Hand, Johnny Guitar, Given To Fly, MFC, Even Flow, Amongst The Waves, Sad, Unthought Known, Light Years, Elderly Woman …, Grievance, No Way, Got Some, Rearviewmirror
first encore: I Got Shit, Love, Reign O’er Me, Breath, State Of Love And Trust, Alive
second encore: Last Kiss, Indifference, Wasted Reprise, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes:

09/26/09: Clark County Amphitheare, Ridgefield, WA (Portland Area)
set: Gonna See My Friend, Last Exit, Why Go, The Fixer, In Hiding, Johnny Guitar, Green Disease, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Off He Goes, Unthought Known, Daughter, Supersonic, Present Tense, Got Some, Once, Life Wasted
first encore: Golden State, The End, Red Mosquito, Inside Job, Go
second encore: Do The Evolution, Not For You /(Modern Girl), Black, Porch
Yellow Ledbetter/(Star Spangled Banner)
TFT Notes:

09/28/09: E Center, Salt Lake City, UT
set: Of The Girl, Breakerfall, Hail Hail, Severed Hand, The Fixer, Low Light, Marker In The Sand, Even Flow, Unthought Known, Elderly Woman…, Got Some, Given To Fly, Immortality, Satan’s Bed, Amongst The Waves, Do The Evolution, Blood
first encore: Bee Girl, Just Breathe, Red Mosquito, Daughter(Sympathy For The Devil/W.M.A), Supersonic, Spin The Black Circle
second encore: I Believe In Miracles, Crazy Mary, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes: Although Backspacer tunes have dominated the setlists, Binaural tracks from Pearl Jam’s back catalog have been few and far between. This show saw two Binaural openers “Of the Girl” and “Breakerfall”. From all reports, this was a highly energetic show although the venue was far from sold out. Fans were treated to 2009 premieres such as “Breakerfall”, “Marker in the Sand”, “Satan’s Bed”, and “I Believe in Miracles”. Ed was aware of the band’s 11-year hiatus from playing Utah: “It’s been 11 years since we’ve been here. Time flies when you’re making records. You could go to high school, college, get a job and get fired in 11 years.” “Red Mosquito” is played again with Ben Harper and Ed sitting down (although animated and barely able to stay seated). “Daughter” tags include the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil” and “W.M.A” (to be confirmed). A wedding proposal takes place on stage after “Bee Girl” and “Just Breathe” is played for the soon-to-be-married happy couple. During “Crazy Mary”, the “bottle passed around” is a Corona.

09/30/09: Gibson Amphitheater, Universal City, CA
set: Why Go, Animal, World Wide Suicide, Got Some, Tremor Christ, Force Of Nature, Elderly Woman…, Unthought Known, Even Flow, Amongst The Waves, Insignificance, Rats, Present Tense, Big Wave, Down, The Fixer, Porch
first encore: Just Breathe, The End, Red Mosquito, Black, Life Wasted
second encore: State Of Love And Trust, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World
TFT Notes: This show marks the first of a four-show run at the Gibson Amphitheater. “Force of Nature” makes its live debut. “Just Breathe” and “The End” are accompanied by a String Quartet (TFT is confirming which musicians). More notes soon.

10/01/09: Gibson Amphitheater, Universal City, CA
set: (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Severed Hand, Got Some, Do The Evolution, Dissident, Given To Fly, Johnny Guitar, Amongst The Waves, I Got Shit, Daughter, Jeremy, Unthought Known, Small Town, Driven To Tears, The Fixer, Rearviewmirror
first encore: Just Breathe, The End, Lukin, Red Mosquito, Jazz Odyssey, Better Man/(Save It For Later)
second encore: Gonna See My Friend, I Believe In Miracles (Ramone, Ray), Once, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter/(Star Spangled Banner)
TFT Notes: “Just Breathe”, “The End” and “Lukin” are played with a string quartet. “Jazz Odyssey” is played by the band as Ben Harper’s equipment is being taken down following “Red Mosquito”.

10/03/09: Austin City Limits TV Taping, Austin, TX
first set: Walking The Cow, Just Breathe, The End, The Fixer, Johnny Guitar, Amongst The Waves, Unthought Known, Army Reserve, Driven To Tears, Do The Evolution, Got Some
second set: Lukin, Red Mosquito, Inside Job, Better Man, Gonna See My Friend, Porch, Crazy Mary, Star Spangled Banner
TFT Notes: Ed and Jeff came out ahead of the band and played a nice rendition of “Walking The Cow”. Before starting the song, Ed gave acknowledgements to Austin musician, Daniel Johnston (wrote “Walking The Cow”, and performed on Day 1 of the festival). He jokingly mentioned that the ACL camera crew might be a bit upset because by adding this song they were already changing the set list. A string trio accompanied the band for the first two songs. Before starting “Just Breathe”, Ed seemed very nervous, wiping his palms on his pants and restarting the song a couple of times… in between restarts asking the crowd, “Does it sound good to you?” He had his eyes closed for the most of the song. The camera crew does a fabulous job at ACL; that said however, the cameras get very close to the musicians at times and perhaps Ed’s proximity to the cameras and the history of the venue accentuated his initial nervousness. After “Just breathe” and “The End”, the strings left and the rest of the band came to the forefront, Ed seemed to relax at this point and they launched into “The Fixer”. Before a fantastic version of “Johnny Guitar”, Ed introduced the band and told the audience about the inspiration for the song. Ed was very chatty and interweaved several jokes into the “Johnny Guitar” story… he related the spandex-clad women Johnny would hang around to Mike’s spandex wearing days in his band Shadow. The difference being that Mike was soooo skinny that the spandex he wore were loose and baggy. The gritty and energized version of “Do The Evolution” seemed to really get the crowd excited. After a break in the set, Ed came back out and reintroduced what he called “real musicians” (the string trio). “Lukin” was played acoustically and with the trio. Ben Harper joined the band for “Red Mosquito”. Ed mentioned that they felt honored to be on the same stage as Ben, as it was Ben’s fourth time to play ACL. Ed went on to praise Ben by adding that he was only 20 his first time playing ACL (with Taj Mahal). Inside job was introduced as a song written my Mike McCready… “music and words”. “Crazy Mary” didn’t appear on the set list but was played. Perhaps it was added for Boom, as Ed told a story about Boom and his father watching ACL long ago, and how Boom couldn’t believe he was playing ACL. Ed joked often with the crowd and the Iraqi war vets quite a bit. The performance closed with an especially rockin’ version of “Porch”. Ed started the song on guitar (slow version style). After “Porch”, Mike stayed on stage and gifted the audience with the “Star Spangled Banner”. The band really seemed to be enjoying the evening and gave thanks to the audience and the venue staff. Notables in the audience. Lance Armstrong, Meg Ryan, Luke Wilson.

10/04/09: Austin City Limits Music Fest, Austin, TX
set: Why Go, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Got Some, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Elderly Woman…, Given To Fly, World Wide Suicide, Even Flow, Unthought Known, Daughter/(WMA), Hail Hail, Insignificance, Present Tense, State Of Love And Trust, The Fixer, Go
encore: Jazz Odyssey, Red Mosquito, Do The Evolution, The Real Me, Alive, Mountain Song, Rockin’ In The Free World
TFT Notes: Pearl Jam play the Austin City Limits Music Fest for the first time. Ed joined Kings of Leon the previous night during KoL’s headlining set for “Slow Night, So Long”. Ben Harper joins PJ for “Red Mosquito”. Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell joins Pearl Jam for a terrific version of the classic “Mountain Song”.

10/06/09: Gibson Amphitheater, Universal City, CA
set: Sometimes, Breakerfall, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Save You, Elderly Woman…, Got Some, Unthought Known, Faithfull, Even Flow, Unemployable, Daughter, Johnny Guitar, Given To Fly, Off He Goes, Comatose, The Fixer, Do The Evolution
first encore: Just Breathe, The End, Lukin, Red Mosquito, Jazz Odyssey, Rearviewmirror
second encore: Once, Footsteps, Hunger Strike, Alive
TFT Notes: A string quartet accompanies the band for “Just Breathe”, “The End” and “Lukin”(!). Chris Cornell joins Pearl Jam for “Hunger Strike”, revisiting the California magic of their previous performance in 2003. To make the Seattle reunion complete, Mike McCready shed his guitar during the “Alive” solo and handed it off to Jerry Cantrell, as the band rocked an extended version of the song to round out the show. More notes to come.
TFT Kathy’s Pictures
Setlist

10/07/09: Gibson Amphitheater, Universal City, CA
set: Long Road, Animal, Hail Hail, Gonna See My Friend, Got Some, Alone, Nothingman, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Untitled, Unthought Known, All Those Yesterdays, Why Go, Wishlist, Present Tense, Force Of Nature, The Fixer, Spin The Black Circle, Porch
first encore: Just Breathe, The End, Lukin, Red Mosquito, Jazz Odyssey, Love, Reign O’er Me, Blood/(Atomic Dog)
second encore: State Of Love And Trust, Crown Of Thorns, Kick Out The Jams, Alive, Indifference
TFT Notes: After the warmly familiar “Animal” and “Hail, Hail” (lyric change: “I can only be as good as you let me – so why don’t you fuckin’ let me?”), Ed said “we have a setlist but…” we’re only gonna fuck with it… he spoke to the “head of this whole deal”, one of the higher-ups at Universal said you can “tear that place down on the last night…feel free”. Ed told us it felt less like an option and more like a responsibility. He told us the setlist was “requests”, however TFT Kathy later learned that the setlist was written by actor and big fan Patrick Warburton (”The Tick”, “Seinfeld” (Puddy) and currently “Rules of Engagement”), who was taking his son to his first Pearl Jam show. Only requests not played: “Black” and “Yellow Ledbetter”. What can we say but “well done Mr. Warburton“! Ed told us before “Amongst The Waves” that Jeff encouraged him to watch the movie about some activists trying to prevent the slaughter of dolphins in Japan called “The Cove“, and Ed watched it that morning. It showed “human beings at their absolute worst” and he thought he “couldn’t wait to get to the show and see us being better than that”. He dedicated “Amongst The Waves” to the dolphins. Ed said they were “going off script” before the seldom-played “Force of Nature”. Before “Just Breathe” Ed spoke about how the “music evolves from different places” and song he wrote for “Into The Wild” “helped me get to this”, and the man who wrote the book that launched the movie, Jon Krakauer was in the house tonight. Ed told us this was a “Pearl Jam Book Club moment”, because although Jon would never ask for it, Ed highly recommended we read his latest, about the life and times of NFL football player turned solder Pat Tillmand called “Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman” which just came out. After “The End”, Ed said “this song was brought in acoustic”, and Brendan O’Brien “took it and made it better”, and he was here tonight or “at least he was here.” Pre-”Lukin”, he called the next song accompanied with strings “who knew this was a classical song?” and “Beethoven’s 60th”. Ed claimed they were originally aiming for “fucked-up-ed-ness” but it became something else, a “one minute opus”. The String Quartet stayed onstage – but did not play – during “Red Mosquito” (with Ben Harper), and was hanging around to join the band in turning “Jazz Odyssey” into “Classical Jazz Odyssey”. Ed introduced Jerry Cantrell, who joined the band for the MC5 cover “Kick Out The Jams” as his “first roommate in Seattle” in the basement. Being L.A., the stars were out: Sean Penn, Hopper Penn, Sasha Baron Cohen, Catherine Keener, Jason Thompson (General Hospital), Nancy Wilson, Tom Morello, Darryl Hannah.

10/09/09: San Diego State University, Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
set: Last Exit, Corduroy, Severed Hand, Brain Of J., Elderly Woman …, Amongst The Waves, Johnny Guitar, Even Flow, Unthought Known, Parachutes, Daughter/ (Blitzkrieg Bop), I Got Id, You Are, Force of Nature, Got Some, Do The Evolution, Rearviewmirror
first encore: The End, Red Mosquito, Happy Birthday to LuLu, Given To Fly, Last Kiss, The Fixer, Life Wasted
second encore: Why Go, Black, Better Man/ (Save it for Later), Little Wing, So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter/ (The Star-Spangled Banner)
TFT Notes: During Ben Harper’s set, Ed joined for Queen’s “Under Pressure”. Ed gets the crowd going by saying “it’s Friday night, in San Diego, and we have a shitload of guitars and amps, so lets blow the f*cking roof off this place” “Black” had an extended ending with a group clap by the fans, and the “doo doo doo doo” fading out. “Happy Birthday” to LuLu Wismar who is the daughter of former PJ crew member Keith Wismar (remember “Keith, put up the house lights”, now working with Ben Harper). Ed recalls a story of a time when he held her when she was very young, and she gets to blow out the candles of her cake onstage. Matt and Ed – who both lived in the San Diego area at different points in their lives – pay homage to their music teachers by dedicating songs to them. Later, “Little Wing” is peformed with the help of Matt’s drum teacher – San Diego Symphony percussionist Jon Szanto – and Ed’s guitar teacher – Bud Whitcomb. To quote a fan: “The numerous stories that were shared by Eddie made the show more personal. The setlist was great, but instead of just a concert, it felt more like a shared experience.”

10/27/09: Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
set: Corduroy, Whipping, Hail Hail, Supersonic, Dissident, Unthought Known, Faithfull, Parachutes, Unemployable, Immortality, Green Disease, Not For You/(Modern Girl tag), Rival, Nothingman, Ghost, Do the Evolution, Why Go
first encore: Bee Girl, Just Breathe, The End, All Those Yesterdays, State of Love and Trust, Mankind, The Fixer, Go
second encore: Daughter, Love Reign O’er Me, Black, Leash, Rearviewmirror, Rockin in the Free World
TFT Notes:

10/28/09: Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
set: Animal, All NIght, World Wide Suicide, Elderly Woman…, I Am Mine, Johnny Guitar, Nothing As It Seems, Gone, Evacuation, Even Flow, Come Back (stopped), No Way, 1/2 Full, Down, Wishlist, Grievance, Given to Fly, The Fixer, Save You
first encore: Just Breathe, Lukin, Speed of Sound, Push Me Pull Me, Garden, Blood
second encore: Last Kiss, Wasted Reprise, Better Man/(Save It For Later), The Real Me, Porch, Yellow Ledbetter/(Little Wing)
TFT Notes: Backspacer’s “Speed of Sound” makes it’s full-band debut, after Ed played it a number of times solo in 2009. Yield’s “Push Me, Pull Me” is an 11-year breakout, having last been played September 19, 1998.

10/30/09: Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
set: Gonna See My Friend, The Fixer, In My Tree, Given To Fly, Tremor Christ, Untitled/ MFC, Hold On, Unthought Known, In Hiding, Deep, Habit, Cropduster, Off He Goes, Force Of Nature, Present Tense, Got Some, Do The Evolution
first encore: Just Breathe w/string quartet, Parting Ways w/string quartet, Jeremy w/string quartet, Breath, Light Years, Rearviewmirror
second encore: Whipping, Crazy Mary, Footsteps, Once, Alive, Sonic Reducer, Baba O’Riley
TFT Notes: Coming soon…
TFT Review

10/31/09: Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
set: Why Go, Last Exit, Corduroy, Severed Hand, The Fixer, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, You Are, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Pilate, Unthought Known, Daughter/(ABitWp2), Johnny Guitar, Rats, I’m Open, I Got Shit, Glorified G, Out Of My Mind, Black, Insignificance, Life Wasted
first encore: Just Breathe, The End, Low Light, Speed Of Sound, Jeremy, Inside Job, Bugs, Spin The Black Circle, Porch
second encore: Whip It, Got Some, Crown Of Thorns, Satan’s Bed, Sweet Lew, Do the Evolution, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Smile, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner
TFT Notes: Coming soon…

Australia / New Zealand Leg 3

11/14/09: Member Equity Stadium, Perth, Australia
opening acts: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, Liam Finn
set: Breakerfall, Why Go, Corduroy, Gonna See My Friend, Small Town, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Pilate, Unthought Known, Daughter/(W.M.A.), Big Wave, Force of Nature, I Am Mine, Grievance, Garden, The Fixer, Save You
first encore: Just Breathe, Red Mosquito, Love Reign O’er Me, Whipping, Got Some, Do The Evolution
second encore: Throw Your Arms Around Me, Given to Fly, Betterman/(Save It For Later), Alive, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes: Notes soon…

11/17/09: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
opening acts: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, Liam Finn
set: Release, Why Go, Gonna See My Friend, Brain Of J, In My Tree, Severed Hand, Faithfull, Got Some, Even Flow, Johnny Guitar, Amongst The Waves, I Got ID, Small Town, No Way, Unthought Known, Lukin, Blood
first encore: Just Breathe, Red Mosquito, Indifference, State Of Love And Trust, The Real Me, The Fixer, Rearviewmirror
second encore: Smile, Life Wasted, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes: Notes soon…

11/20/09: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
opening acts: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, Liam Finn
set: Elderly Woman…, Corduroy, Animal, Got Some, Brother, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Oceans, Lukin, Green Disease, Force of Nature, Present Tense, Gonne See My Friend, Given To Fly, Daughter/(ABitWpII), Glorified G, The Fixer, Do the Evolution,
first encore: The Needle And The Damage Done, Just Breathe, Red Mosquito, Indifference, Jeremy, Deep, Why Go, Porch
second encore: Throw Your Arms Around Me, Black, Spin The Black Circle, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter / AC/DC Medley
TFT Notes: Notes soon…

11/22/09: Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia
opening acts: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, Liam Finn
set: Why Go, Hail Hail, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Severed Hand, Small Town, The Fixer, Given To Fly, Dissident, Even Flow, Untitled->MFC, Unthought Known, Down, Garden, Whipping, Mankind, Got Some, Do The Evolution
first encore: Happy Birthday, Red Mosquito, Indifference , State of Love and Trust, Light Years, Last Exit, Porch
second encore: Throw Your Arms Around Me, Crazy Mary, Rockin’ In The Free World
TFT Notes: Notes soon…

11/25/09: QSAC Stadium, Brisbane, Australia
opening acts: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, Liam Finn
set: Why Go, Animal, Got Some, Small Town, In Hiding, In My Tree, Save You, Even Flow, Amongst The Waves, Off He Goes, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Daughter/(Another Brick In the Wall)/(School’s Out), Rats, Unthought Known, Insignificance, If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It), Blood
first encore: The End, Just Breathe, Red Mosquito, Indifference, Gonna See My Friend, The Fixer, Rearviewmirror
second encore: Throw Your Arms Around Me, Jeremy, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes: With a quick “good evening” from Eddie and Matt Cameron beating out the opening drum beat to “Why Go”, the band started intense out of the gate. McCready is scorching on the solo and the crowd cheers their appreciation. After a solid “Animal”, which included a short crowd singalong, the band tore through “Got Some” marking the first of seven tracks from the Backspacer album to be performed tonight. Ed jokes “this would be their last show on this big beautiful green island surrounded by blue so lets vibrate this whole building by playing a slow song” followed by a reminder to the crowd of 35,000 strong to “take care of their neighbour” leading into “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter of a Small Town”. During “In Hiding” Ed changes the lyrics to “I was high as hell” and “In My Tree” is done in the original Jack Irons style. Ed asks “How’s the weather?” before the bands rips into “Even Flow” featuring some behind the neck guitar work from McCready. Ed mentions that “Mike has been surfing every day” and that he got a new tattoo that day. “Amongst the Waves” is introduced as “part love song, part surf song” Ed mentions his appreciation for the same faces down front from show to show and says they’re gonna take requests and leads into “Off He Goes” followed by “Not for you” during which mentions he had never heard the word “schoolie” before and that on the news they talk about them like they are “thieves and rapists and convicts”. Ed thinks they are “just some young men and woman who got through school and just want to have it and feel freedom for a few weeks.” Sleater Kinney’s “Modern Girl” is tagged at the end of “Not For You” which leads into “Daughter” which featured tags from “School’s Out” and “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2″. “Unthought Known” starts with Ed mentioning how he saw the sunrise that morning and he nails the throat-stretching “gems and rhinestones” lyric. “Insignificance” is followed by an cover “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” by Australia’s own AC/DC, introduced as “an experiment” by Eddie and leads into “Blood” as the closing track for the main set. Ed is very talkative tonight and mentions that he was going to invite a young man on stage to squeeze his testicles at the right times during the AC/DC cover. “The End” is played as Ed says “this next one has never been played on this continent before” and is paired, as per usual on this tour, with “Just Breathe”. “Red Mosquito” is accompanied by Ben Harper on the steel pedal guitar who sticks around to accompany Ed on vocals for “Indifference” The 1st encore picks up steam quickly with a solid “Gonna See My Friend” and “The Fixer” combo followed by encore closer “Rearviewmirror” which featured some excellent jamming between Ament, Gossard and McCready. Coming out for the 2nd encore Ed introduces Boom to the crowd saying “we bring him around so you can see what a big, Hawaiian, motherfucker looks like” and then brings out Liam Finn to help perform “Throw Your Arms Around Me”. An excellent “Jeremy” is followed by more Ed talk where he mentions that Fox News is “spewing bullshit non-stop” and that “for them it’s entertainment and I don’t even think they believe in what they are saying”. A textbook version of “Alive” leads into “Baba O’Riley”. Mike then starts into “Yellow Ledbetter”. Ed changes “make me cry” to “make like the oceans” and Mike takes over ending the song and show in style.

11/27/09: Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland, NZ
opening acts: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, Liam Finn
set: Daughter, Severed Hand, Corduroy, Hail Hail, Faithfull, Got Some, Hold On, Even Flow, Johnny Guitar, Elderly Woman…, Unemployable, Unthought Known, Black, Given To Fly, Grievance, Amongst The Waves, Wasted Reprise, Better Man/(Save It For Later)
first encore: Just Breathe, Red Mosquito, Love, Reign O’re Me, Do The Evolution, Why Go, Porch
second encore: Not Given Lightly, The Fixer, Rockin’ In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes: “Not Given Lightly” – a 1990 song from New Zealand artist Chris Knox – was performed with Liam and Neil Finn. Notes soon…

11/29/09: AMI Stadium, Christchurch, NZ
opening acts: Ben Harper and the Relentless 7, Liam Finn
set: Given To Fly, Got Some, Animal, Once, Unthought Known, Tremor Christ, Small Town, Worldwide Suicide, In My Tree, Marker in the Sand, Even Flow, Force of Nature, I Got Shit, Life Wasted, Garden, Do The Evolution, Go
first encore: The End, Happy Birthday Matt Cameron, Red Mosquito, Indifference, State of Love and Trust, The Fixer
second encore: Jeremy, Better Man, The Real Me, Better Be Home Soon, I Got You, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter
TFT Notes: “Better Be Home Soon” (Crowded House) and “I Got You” (Split Enz) are performed with Neil and Liam Finn. Notes soon…