On September 29th, 2004, Pearl Jam descended on the Fleet Center in Boston to deliver a live show that electrifyed a stadium. Having played the previous night it was the wrap up of the two day stint. With so many heavy hitters being performed on the 28th it was virtually anyone's guess as to what songs the band would perform that Wednesday. Eddie himself came out before any of the opening acts (which included Death Cab For Cutie and Gob Roberts, an enjoyable band fronted by Tim Robbins) and sang "I Am A Patriot" with only his guitar onstage with him. His delivery was powerful and a great example and tantalizing look into what would come.

About two hours later it was time for Eddie to retake the stage, this time as part of a whole, as part of Pearl Jam. The lights went out and the crowd went wild. The thunderous bass drum kicks of Matt Cameron signifyed the band would be opening with a heavy hitter in the form of "Go." From there they dove headfirst into "Animal" one of their hardest rockers with a solo from Mike that could pierce your ears. At this point I was aware that I was going to scream myself hoarse...and I couldn't have cared less. The sonic punch to the head continued with "Do The Evolution" and did not stop until the hauntingly beautiful guitar work of "Immortality" filled the air, giving the audience the first chance to hear Eddie's voice, loud, clear, and un obstructed by the chaos.

The night was a highlight of Pearl Jam's lesser known songs. The band even broke into "Alone" which had only recently been released as a B Side and hadn't been played live since 1994. The band also payed tribute to the Ramones with their cover of "I Believe In Miracles. Pearl Jam exited the stage after pounding out "Once" and the lights went dim. But there was no doubt they'd be back. Seats were beaten on, screams could be heard, and every now and then a small chant of "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie" filled the air. And then they were back. This time with an acoustic sit down set that began with "Lukin" at which point Eddie mentioned that a man who proposed to his wife should have done it during this song. Eddie's undecipherable screaming throughout the track made the joke clear. "Off He Goes" was a highlight and Eddie even sang "Man Of The Hour" his Golden Globe nominated song for Big Fish. They capped it off with "Black" which incurred a huge sing along from the entire crowd. And once again...they made their exit.

And once again the band retook the stage after the insane crowd refused to let them go. Their second encore was heavily filled with covers such as the Seeker, and Lions Share. Pearl Jam dove into their live favorite Daughter, which was one of their best playings of the song and included a back and forth between Eddie and the crowd as he asked War! What is it good for? The crowd gave him his response...Absolutely nothing! It was a poweful moment. A high point for myself was when the familiar guitar and drums of "Glorified G" broke out. A song that I've loved for a long time and had always desired to see them play. It was a longshot but it occured and once again it was a song the band rarely plays. So of course I sang along to the entire thing, never once calming myself as I thrashed about by my seat. From there they played "I've Got A Feeling" a song off of the Japan Bonus Tracks version of Ten. And Eddie really let loose, screaming at the top of his longs and deafening the audience. It was his most powerful delivery of the night. Being that the band ended with "Yellow Ledbetter" the night before they decided to cap it all off with Neil Young's "Rockin In The Free World." A song they have made all their own. As the house lights went up the band continued to play, they went past their time limit but they were going to finish this one last song.

When they left the stage it was obvious they weren't coming back this time. However this time it was perfectly alright. The band had shared their music with the audience. For those two and a half hours that they played there was nowhere else in the world I would rather have been. There are many bands out there, but nobody puts on a show quite like this, at least no one I've seen. All hail the Jam.

Go
Animal
Do The Evolution
Save You
The American In Me
Immortality
Wishlist
Grievance
Alone
Present Tense
Corduroy
I Believe In Miracles
Once