AUGUST 23, 1998
PALACE OF AUBURN HILLS
AUBURN HILLS, MICHIGANMain Set...
Long Road, Last Exit, Brain of J, Do the Evolution, Tremor Christ, Corduroy, MFC, Immortality, Wishlist, Alive, Given to Fly, Go, Jeremy, Even Flow, Daughter, All Those Yesterdays, Rearviewmirror
First Encore...
Animal, Hail, Hail, Off He Goes, Better Man/Crazy Mary, Footsteps
Second Encore...
Smile, Fuckin' Up
The anticipation of this show was really high...since my friend, Amanda, was going to this show with me and we worked the Friday night before with thoughts of Pearl Jam in our heads...
We left for the Palace about twenty to four to pick up Amanda. We arrived at the Palace around 4:15. Pulling into the parking lot, we realize they were not letting people in...so we wait for the parking attendant to tell us this, and then we join the line that formed out of cars on the side of the entrance. We tuned into the WRIF (101.1) to hear them announce that they were giving away Pearl Jam WRIF stickers at the Shell station across from the Palace. We jet on over to the Shell station. Do we see any signs of the WRIF? Hell no. So we go back in line...finally we see the WRIF van pull into the gas station, so my dad and little bro darted across the street and snagged some Pearl Jam window clings. Kick butt.
As we waited in the car, one of the guys in front of us got out of his car and came up to ours to see if we had any extra tickets...we got to talking a little bit and it came out that he needed a ticket to Cleveland. Turns out I brought my extra Cleveland ticket with me just in case I would find someone who needed one...so I got rid of my Cleveland ticket...really cool...phew!
Waiting outside and before the show was quite the adventure (see outtakes)...but we survived!
Our next goal: to survive the waiting for the band to come onstage...
Cheap Trick...
Not half as bad as I expected them to be. Was not that bad at all. They opened with "I Want You To Want Me"...like the only Cheap Trick song I was familiar with. I was informed that the guitarist liked to throw stuff (a whole box of picks at the Barrie show)...and his microphone stand was just lined from top to bottom on both sides with picks. It's like the would take one strum at his guitar and throw one into the audience. (I'm sorry for not knowing their names...I know I suck). It was a riot to see all the guitar changes and all the punkass guitars...the guitarist also handed a guitar to a member of the audience...I'm not sure if the kid got to keep it...I don't recall anyone taking it back...who knows...
Let me say...I'm not lying...but I had the feeling Ed was going to come onstage for the last song. I just had this gut feeling. That's why when I saw Ed come onstage for "Surrender" I was not the least bit surprised! It was so cool to see though...totally awesome! I can not wait to hear it when I get a copy of the show! Hopefully someone with a good recorder caught it!
I know these pictures don't compare to my Breslin pics...but hey...it's better than nothing!
Pearl Jam...
Opened with "Long Road"..always a cool opener. Since the only other Pearl Jam show I've been to that they played "Long Road" at was at the United Center in Chicago...it almost felt like a repeat...since the Palace is a big basketball arena like the United Center (United Center is waaaaay nicer though...).
"Last Exit"...non-fuck-up version! ;-) They seemed to be having problems with this song around the Alpine Valley/United Center shows:-)
Of course the stuff from "Yield" got a great response...I think generally people everywhere are enjoying that album...I know I am..."Brain of J" and "Do the Evolution" was next. I always love Stone's little part and the lighting affects...awesome every time I've seen it!
"Tremor Christ" was nice to hear and a nice change! During "Given to Fly", clouds were displayed on the back screen...so it looked like flight...in some spots you could see water (ocean??) through the clouds...that was very beautiful.
I think the crowd was generally the most pleased with "Alive" and "Jeremy"...lots of noise for those two songs:-)
The "I Want You To Want Me" add to "Daughter" was way cool. It was funny because I didn't think Ed was going to end up singing anything at all! It seemed like it took him forever to begin singing! Or else I must have been super impatient during this show...waiting to see what the guys were going to throw at us:-)
The last two songs before the encore were "All Those Yesterdays" and "Rearviewmirror". I wish the crowd was more into "All Theose Yesterdays"...that song is so damn cool! "Rearviewmirror"..best version ever...the "Barber Version"...ehehe. As the band was jamming in "Rearviewmirror"...some guy...who looked totally smashed...somehow got on stage and was just jumping around like a maniac! Next thing I know, I see this dude crash into Jeff and Jeff just totally freaked out! Now, sitting up close like I have for Chicago and East Lansing, the thing I noticed is how focused Jeff is...most of the time, his eyes are closed as he plays...so this guy scared the living crap out of Jeff. The look on Jeff's face...man he was pissed! He even took a swing at the guy! As the guy was getting removed from the stage, Ed decided he should stay onstage, and I believe he commanded him to sit. The guy sat...Ed said some shit and then Jeff walked over to the guy (I think Jeff felt bad about the way he reacted earlier--which he should not have felt bad about at all!) and flipped his hair up. Then Ed commented on his hair...since it was like short up front and long in the back. Ed said something along the lines of, "Either you want it short or you want it long!" Hehe Ed even asked if the guy was Canadian..haha and he was! Someone comes out with some scissors for Ed, and Ed cuts this guy's hair! It was too cool! Now that's something you don't see everyday! The hair-incident caused "Rearviewmirror" to be extra long and super intense at the end...soooo cool!
For the first encore, they came out with "Animal"...which I don't think they've played that much on this tour...awesome to hear. "Better Man" broke down into a part of "Crazy Mary"...which was way cool...I was very pleased to hear "Footsteps" as well...the first time I've ever seen it live. Way way way way way way cool!
"Smile"...awesome to witness...I love watching the role switching between Jeff and Stone:-) And what an encore! "Fucking Up"! Woo hoo!!!! I was very pleased with the show...and I think everyone else was too:-)
Overall...I must say...the feeling I got from the show wasn't as awesome as the other shows I went to...and that is for the sole reason that this was a "home" show...every other Pearl Jam concert I went to involved an adventure to a place I've never been before. Of course, I'm not complaining...and it was interesting to see my favorite band in a familiar place...but I missed that adventure I am used to getting with Pearl Jam concerts...oh well:-)
Ok...I know these pictures suck...but at least I took some!
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