Bonnaroo: Pearl Jam Give Good Ed

PJ's headlining set Saturday night brought treated one of Bonnaroo's largest crowds to a three-hour, 25 song set. Like Lolla '07, it didn't disappoint, except that it had 100% less Dennis Rodman. EdVed remains a golden god. It's a swig of red wine, a drag of a cigarette, and a farm-filling scream, time and again. I'm pretty sure his larynx is composed entirely of that stuff they make those airplane black boxes out of. It's Pearl Jam so this goes without saying, but there was an extra dose of gravitas hovering over this show. Remember, the band swore off general admission fests after the lethal stage rush during Roskilde 2000, but just as they made an exception for Leeds and Reading in '06, and Lolla last year, they decided to plug in for Bonnaroo in '08. Maybe because Eddie knew Bonnaroo isn't a very lethal and stagerush-y crowd, or maybe because it's an election year and the What Stage makes a damn fine soap box. (He took advantage, trust. I walked away thinking I would totally take steps to change the world. And then I remembered I can barely get through my Netflix queue.)

The set held plenty of gems for anyone that was alive with ears in the '90s ("Alive," "Release," "Porch," "Elderly Woman...," "Daughter," "Animal," "Corduroy," and someone needs to YouTube that "Rearviewmirror"). Also there were a few for those with even older auditory faculties (see: the "Love Reign O'er Me" cover, because they love their Who, the segue to the English Beat's "Save It For Later" within "Better Man," the "All Along The Watchtower" cover). And damn I loved that "Crazy Mary." I left for Sigur Rós after the first encore, when I thought their time was up; they weren't done by a longshot. If you're looking for places that Kanye may anchor his spin cycle, start here. Pretty sure he'll be the only one complaining about that PJ set, though. Setlist and pics await.

01 "Hard To Imagine"
02 "Corduroy"
03 "All Night"
04 "Why Go"
05 "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town"
06 "Down"
07 "Who You Are"
08 "Severed Hand"
09 "1/2 Full"
10 "Animal"
11 "Even Flow"
12 "Daughter"
13 "Gone"
14 "Love Reign O'er Me" (The Who)
15 "Do The Evolution"
16 "Rearviewmirror"
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17 "W.M.A."
18 "Better Man" -->"Save It For Later"-->"Better Man"
19 "Black"
20 "Crazy Mary"
21 "Porch"
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22 "No More"
23 "Release"
24 "Alive"
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25 "All Along The Watchtower" (Dylan)

Posted at 5:05 AM by amrit in Concert
Tags: Bonnaroo | Pearl Jam

8 Comments

thanks, amrit! wish i could have been in the photo pit with you -- nice shots!

Posted by: heather at 06/16/08 9:35 AM | Reply
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I don't know why people talk about these general admission thing. They did an open air festival in Portugal just last year. Doing Bonnaroo is not a big deal after all. Hopw they were as good as they were here.

Posted by: fundo at 06/16/08 9:43 AM | Reply
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these guys are almost always a good time live. their post 2000 output has been substantially sub-par, but it translates really well live. i'm glad they're still around.

Posted by: s at 06/16/08 11:18 AM | Reply
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I have seen PJ a few times over the years and this show had something special to it.
Ed seemed to be humbled by such a large crowd and in return gave about 3 hours of pure energy and emotion. It made me proud to be a fan. He did his usual political stuff, which got a pretty mixed response, which made it even more strange and beautiful when the songs were able to transcend above all else and unify thousands, even if just for a little while.

Posted by: Kyle at 06/16/08 8:28 PM | Reply
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wow, they are so old... and still kickin!!!

Posted by: CaptAbernathy at 06/16/08 9:17 PM | Reply
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I thought this was one of the greatest live shows ever ever. I had never seen PJ live but heard they could bring it. WOW...I'm still blown away!

Posted by: Hawk Blaze at 06/18/08 12:07 AM | Reply
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These guys gave the jam bands a run for thier money and won. I have seen PJ 7 times and this was the best show I saw at Bonnaroo.

Posted by: Orebaugh at 06/18/08 12:38 PM | Reply
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Pearl Jam stole the festival with Metallica a close second! I am a huge fan of both bands and have seen both several times.Beginning with Metallica in the late 80s and PJ in the early 90s. WOW and PHENOMINAL two words that quickly come to mind for both bands performances. It was amazing that PJ played as long as they did. GOOD FOR THEM two thumbs way up! I am still blown away.

Posted by: Tim Cochran at 06/24/08 2:52 PM | Reply
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