2003 Eight Years Waiting

In 2001, just after pinning on Sergeant Stripes, I was offered a dream assignment in the military...Okinawa, Japan, with the 1st Battalion of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne).  I jumped at the opportunity...and I hoped that while I was there, Pearl Jam would return to the orient.
 

My Dream came true.  And the timing was perfect.  The close out of 2002 saw me losing a woman I loved with all of my very being.  Even as I compile this page my heart still aches for her...but the music...the music gave me so much of myself back.
 

Sendai, 28 February 2003.  With the opening chords of Of the Girl and Immortality as the follow up...the tone was set for a very special evening.  There was something about the atmosphere that night...That show is one I hold close to my heart for so many reasons...I remember almost crying during Black because all I could think of was how much it fit my life just then....*Almost* crying...but not.  I felt really good about that.
 

Yokohama, 1 March 2003.  Me and my two Swiss mates, Michi and Olivie, found ourselves with guest list tickets to this show, courtesy of the Ten Club and Lizzy Burns...a very welcome surprise since it was the one show of the five I'd been unable to locate tix for.  The show itself was a good, solid PJ show...but of the stint of five, there must be one that is the lesser...and yokohama was it.  Even still...no Pearl Jam show is bad.  The boys did some rockin renditions this night.  I got Shit was a very welcome addition to the setlist.
 
 
 
 

Tokyo 3 March 2003.  After a day off which meant some sightseeing and a night on the town, it was time for Pearl Jam at the infamous Nippon Buddokan.  This show was highly anticipated by many...it was thought this would be the most energetic crowd and with the historic concerts that have taken place at the venue...it promised to be an evening to remember.  The boys didn't let me down...the setlist was incredible.  And the performances were amazing.  The three of us left the Buddokan that night just falling all over ourselves.  We couldn't see how the band would top that show...
 
 
 

But amazingly enough...top it they Did!  Osaka, 5 March 2003, was...words fail it.  Truly a historic show.  Openeing with Oceans...I never dreamed I would really honestly hear that song live.  It resounded with love for Beth...and I couldn't fathom how Eddie could bear to sing it...yet he did.  That fact gave rise in me so much hope for love.  Seeing that song live, in Osaka, made me truly understand that Love is still out there, waiting for me *somewhere*...that my recent loss was not the only opportunity I would ever have...

The boys opened Osaka with Oceans...and I was numbed for the next several songs...when I came back to my senses...I was thrust into one of the greatest Pearl Jam concerts I'd ever had the pleasure of attending.  Only the 1995 shows topped Osaka...and even now I wonder if they really do or not...The show was just...spot on.
 
 

Nagoya 6 March 2003.  The last Pearl Jam show for me for quite some time to come.  I will miss the US 2003 tour as I'll be undertaking a through hike of the Pacific Crest Trail at that time...my adventure/gift to myself for completing my military service.  Nagoya stands as my favorite Pearl Jam Concert of all time.  The venue truly had a small venue vibe to it, unlike the others with the exception of Sendai...but even Sendai felt...different.  Ed apparently had some vocal problems but I didn't really notice it to be honest.  The setlist, again, was incredible.  Over the course of five concerts, the band played over 70 different songs.  As my Swiss mates were fond of saying...that was more original tunes than they played over the entire Euro 2000 tour...25 complete shows.  The intensity and soulfulness the band crammed into those five shows makes Japan 2003, without a doubt, my favorite Pearl Jam Tour EVER.
 
 
 
 
 

Now I sit here...remembering everything from that concert trip...the camarederie, all the sights I saw, the shinkansen, all the major sights in Kyoto, Oaskajo, Atsu Jinga Shrine, Nijojo, Matshushima, Tokyo...the list of places I went and things I saw is quite a long one...It was a truly healing experience to be in Mainland Japan while Pearl Jam was touring.  I will always remember that trip as the most I have ever lived in such a short amount of time.  My future holds great things for me.  I'm doing my best to reach out and grab them.