Please, if you don't like the thread just ignore it, I don't want someone to kill it I'm feeling so good at the moment!! :D
So, after months of anger and despair, the gig that has took over my life for the last couple of months took place last night, and I was there!! My favourite band in the world in an amazing venue, I just couldn't miss that, persistence pays.
Got to the venue and joined onto the back of a MASSIVE queue... it went round 4 corners away from the Astoria. And loads more joined on after us. They were taking a while to get everybody in because there were 50 pairs of tickets that had been stolen from Mean Fiddler Box Office earlier in the day, and touts had sold the stolen ones. So they were checking the number on the back of every ticket and not letting people who had the stolen ones inside. While I was in the queue I saw someone pay £700 for one ticket, luckily, he did get inside.
So I got to the front of the queue and the ticket was fine, AND THEN IT DAWNED ON ME I WAS SEEING PEARL JAM!! Literally ran into the standing area and tried to get as close to the front as possible.
The band were here!! They came on and tore straight into "World Wide Suicide" which is the new single from the new album. Sounded amazing, Matt the drummer does a really great job on backing vocals for this song. It fuckin rocks!! I love it.
Then went stright into another new song, which I had never heard before, called Life Wasted. Don't remember it all that well except for the chorus and Mike's AMAZING guitar solo at the end. Top track. It was followed by Severed Hand, another new one, classic Pearl Jam. Gonna be a great album I can't wait!!
Unemployable was next, another newbie, I was familiar with this one though as it is the B side to the Single. I loved it already, but it sounded so much better live!! They played Gone after that one, ANOTHER new one! I was in my element hearing these tracks for the first time. I can't wait for the new album.
Ed then talked to the crowd for a bit, before we went back to familiar song with Even Flow, from their debut album. The first ever PJ song I heard and one of my faves by them. The crowd went mental for it, was great being in the standing area but especially for this one, top class solo by Mike McCready as always. They followed that with another one of my all time favourites, a B side called Sad. How it was a B side and didn't make it onto any album is beyond me, it rules.
I Am Mine was after that, another classic song from the last album Riot Act. Stone was really rocking on this one, then after that was Insignifance, a song I had completely forgotten about!! I was surprised they played it, but it worked so well, and after last night I've had it on repeat loads today, ace song. 
Then Ed said it was time for another new one, which is "about God and the bad things people do in his name." It is an awesome song, I'd never heard it, called Army Reserve. Top class Pearl Jam here. Talking about it makes me so excited about the album. Followed that up with Present Tense, which is so beautiful. One of Eddie's best vocal performances IMHO. The crowd almost drowned him out, it was amazing to be a part of all the singing. "It makes much more sense.....to live....in the present tense."
They played Betterman next, another chilled out beautiful song. The first 2 minutes was just Ed with some really nice guitar while the crowd sang all the words, did manage to drown him out this time. He looked really happy that we were so loud. Betterman rules, the band kicks in after a couple minutes and it gets even better, Top lyrics. They did another new one next when they played Marker In The Sand. I remember really loving the bass on this track, Jeff Ament is definitely one of my favourite players ever, he rocks. It was another I had never heard before, and it sounded awesome.
A crowd favourite was next when they played Do The Evolution, which has like 3 AMAZING riffs in it. Stone was kicking ass on this tune, and then when Mike went off with the solo at the end it was a truly MINT moment. But what came next was even MINTER, they played WHY GO!! One of my fave ever Pearl Jam tracks, it was only the 3rd time they had played it since 1995. UNBELIEVABLE.
They then disappeared for a couple of minutes, until Eddie came back out on his own with a guitar and played a fucking amazing version of Man Of The Hour, this is probably Pearl Jam's most beautiful songs, it was amazing to hear it live. Then the band rejoined him for a storming run through of Given To Fly, classic song from the 1998 Yield album. Great riff and I love the lyrics to it: "Sometimes you see a strange spot in the sky, Of a human being that was given to fly." Next up was Elderly Woman, which is a great semi acoustic song, with amazing lyrics. Ed's voice sounded class on every song, but this one stood out for me. They played Porch after it, and I loved the new intro to it where Ed plays the first verse really slowly over some amazing catchy riff, then the rest of the band kicks in as normal for the chorus. Classic Pearl Jam song from Ten.
They then went off again, and appeared a couple more minutes later to play some more. They kicked off again by playing another new song, Comatose. Ed said he left this one this late "because it's a bitch to sing it and I won't be up to much after it!!" Straight up rock song this one, great riff and a really catchy classic chorus. After that I was really shocked in that they played a cover song called Leavin' Here, which is a B side of theirs. It's awesoem, plus Jeff did a few truly mint bass solo's, so as you can imagine I was like 
Then they went into Yellow Ledbetter, which was sad because they usually end shows with this song so I knew the end was near, but great because it's one of my faves and they did a fucking amazing version of it. Mike McCready is such a brilliant guitarist, the last few minutes of Yellow Ledbetter is just masterful guitar.
And that was it.....
....or not!! After going off again, they came back on stage to a MASSIVE cheer from the crowd to play one last song: Alive.
Stone cold classic Pearl Jam song. It was fantastic, Mike played the whole solo behind his head, and did'nt do one bad note. He is quality. But then again, they all are, and so is every song. Roll on Leeds and Reading, and the tour!!!!
Setlist:
World Wide Suicide Life Wasted Severed Hand Unemployable Gone Even Flow Sad I Am Mine Insignificance Army Reserve Present Tense Betterman Marker In The Sand Do The Evolution Why Go
Man Of The Hour Given To Fly Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town Porch
Comatose Leaving Here Yellow Ledbetter
Alive
Pictures:
obviously a great time was had by you Jack. 
But they really did a great version (I think it may have been '05 when they appeared, but of course I have no idea) 
