Pearl Jam @ Centre Bell, Montreal, Quebec - September 15th, 2005
Opening act: Sleater-Kinney. They opened for Pearl Jam on every show of this tour, and would break up not too long afterwards.
Click here for the set list.
A good show all around, rocked hard and an awesome crowd. This was on the anniversary of Johnny Ramone's death, and most of the night had an elegiac feel to it. There were a couple of Ramones covers, and of course the president of the fan club (who wears the same size shoes as Eddie Vedder) talked about the founding father. But it wasn't mournful, it was a wake, a celebration of those boys from Queens that made it possible.
Not much more I can say about it except...
Most arenas are horrible places to see concerts. They're big, impersonal, cold, and designed to be so multi-purpose that they are unsuited for any purpose.
But not Centre Bell. I've been there for a concert and a hockey game, and it's a lovely laid out arena, nice hallways, and comfortable seats. If you have a chance, go.
Opening act: Sleater-Kinney. They opened for Pearl Jam on every show of this tour, and would break up not too long afterwards.
Click here for the set list.
A good show all around, rocked hard and an awesome crowd. This was on the anniversary of Johnny Ramone's death, and most of the night had an elegiac feel to it. There were a couple of Ramones covers, and of course the president of the fan club (who wears the same size shoes as Eddie Vedder) talked about the founding father. But it wasn't mournful, it was a wake, a celebration of those boys from Queens that made it possible.
Not much more I can say about it except...
Most arenas are horrible places to see concerts. They're big, impersonal, cold, and designed to be so multi-purpose that they are unsuited for any purpose.
But not Centre Bell. I've been there for a concert and a hockey game, and it's a lovely laid out arena, nice hallways, and comfortable seats. If you have a chance, go.
Pearl Jam @ Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario - September 19th, 2005
Opening act: Sleater-Kinney. They opened for Pearl Jam on every show of this tour, and would break up not too long afterwards.
Click here for the set list.
The night before, U2 played the ACC and Eddie joined them on stage. Most people thought that the gesture would be reciprocated on this night, but also knew that U2 had a concert the next night.
If you look at the set list, there are little hints something was up, like the brief snippet of "Bad" that was played.
The lights were up during "Rocking in the Free World", when a fellow in black and a cowboy hat jumped on stage and started trading verses with Eddie.
Yup, Bono.
They rocked through the song, and if you looked to the side of the stage you could see The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr also taking in the show. Of course, most people were going mad because, you know, it's Eddie AND Bono.
Me, I'm not a huge U2 fan, and thought that Bono tried to take over a little too much of the performance. But the crowd was into it, and so was the band, playing like a bunch of kids discovering that the crazy guy watching them play stickball was actually Joe DiMaggio. It was one of the first times that I was AT a concert where I knew I would later say those words:
"Yeah, I was there the night Bono jumped on the stage with Pearl Jam".
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