Coming from the last “wrong” date PJ need to shake it all over and it seems clear since the start. The longest title in PJ catalogue rise in the set promoted at opener rank .. Elderly Woman behind The Counter ..
They wanted a hot crowd since the start and they got it .. obvious sing along int the arena.
Good move like, I think, is going on with Given To Fly .. double classic and the band is already in, no distraction tonight.
After this odd beginning, for this first part of the tour, the due promoting time comes carrying the inseparable three .. solid rock with solid performance going through Suicide – Life Wasted – Severed Hand.
Second points-gaining moment appears when Eddie and Stoney throw that doubled riff which means .. Sad!
I love the song and I always love when it surfaces, this time making care less the Marker tax that has to be paid next.
Red Mosquito – Even Flow is a good way to recoup soon the concert. No flaw caught my attention so far, nobody of the five (plus one) seems to be sub standard, on the contrary .. Mike is there to demonstrate it on his spotlight time of Even Flow, well sustained by Matt Jeff And Stone.
Boom Gaspar is introduced on B3, not at the end of a song so it can only be .. Love Boat Captain, the most remarkable contribution in songwriting by Boom. For obvious reasons a tune very felt by the band and by the fans as well I’d say. It’s the birthday of Townshend, who helped the boys to tough that tragedy out, maybe it’s a also a homage to him in a certain way.
A safe and great Corduroy makes as bridge to the other birthday tribute of the day .. the beloved Joey (Ramone), “come home” sigh and the snippets of Daughter cannot be other but Blitzkrieg Bop and I Believe In Miracles .. good Eddie good.
Spotlight on Jeff now and on his Army Reserve (for the music at least) of which I like the bass riff .. groovy. Jeff shows that he can make his job well while he watches a basketball match hehe
In fact after the easy Green Disease (I like a lot when such underdogs are played .. every now and then) he announces the Pistons win hehe .. the “basketball” fans get hotter leading the band through a pretty energetic Why Go.
The beautiful Inside Job and classic Rearviewmirror to close a very well done and played main set .. not much traditional.
And the tradition is thrown away mainly with the encores!
Sleight of Hand-Off He Goes-Around the Bend-Parting Ways-Hard To Imagine all at once in strict succession? Really?? .. now that is what i call not-for-all sequence .. i’m amazed .. i love these guys hehe
Around the Bend quite rare playing since 1996 till .. well now. Hard to Imagine .. one of the “hidden” songs most loved by die-hards
Quite shocked i don’t even care if they were performer at the top or not hehe
Crowd seem toh ave loved to as it’s showed when classic wave returns. Very pulled Crazy Mary, great partecipation by the people there, great great double progression by Boom and Mikey … awesome!
Classic of the classic to close this amazingly odd encore .. the fever of the venue is definetely out of control and has its natural explosion in Alive ..a never ending so damn good one!
Second encore returns to “normality” with the “usual” Do the Evolution followed by Comatose to give the venue a hard rock shaking .. pumped ones .. nice Eddie with the megaphone.
Usual ride to the end of the show? Not at all there’s still time to fuck minds up as Matt rolls the start of .. Satan’s Bed .. cool!! Like all the audience has to think singing quite loud since the first verse .. really great .. Boom and his B3 to give its classic sound.
And they keep on going .. at this point nothing counts anymore … Leatherman .. Blood to form another amazing subset.
No words left by now … and is there anything left? Eddie says
Time to celebrate the 2 monsters of the Music who respond to the names of Pete Townshend and Joey Ramone and Baba O’Riley goes out for them. Great song to end.
But Mike still has something to say and start to hail with his classic way .. Yellow Ledbetter.
“Grand Rapids, who knew?!? That was great … thank you so much. If listen to the tapes, it’s gonna sound like we’re just bullshittin’, but you had to be here. This was really great tonight, thank you so, so much.” Eddie Vedder
Thank you too guys for giving that audience a great special night and for us for letting enjoy it “just” via bootleg. Love it
Top form top mood top crowd top particolar set .. all ingredients that drive me crazy
Awesome gig!
Highlights: Sad – Daughter – Love Boat Captain – Crazy Mary – Around the Bend – Hard To Imagine - Alive - Satan's Bed - Blood .. and many others .. better saying the whole concert!
After a somewhat "blah" gig in Chicago (05.17.06),PJ switch things up here in Grand Rapids.Small Town opens,sounds a little shaky at first,about half way through Ed finds his voice,and it goes over well.Another classic GTF follows.This lifts the crowd,and the band.Ed's voice is in fine form,and he doesnt hold back,and really belts this classic out.WWS has a little extra bounce tonight.I can hear Matt clearly on backing vocals,Ed gives a few wild screams.Really good version.LW has a small flub,but Mike is flying on this one,and Severed Hand rocks out hard as well.There is zero evidence of a "going through the motions" feel tonight.
The band seem really fired up,as if they are well aware of the less than "PJ" type of gigs,they put on in Chicago,and especially Albany,from the previous weeks.Fans are cheering "Stone Stone Stone" after LW,and the crowd are very intense.You already have the "feel" with this gig.Its weird,but after listening to this band for over 20 yrs,I just "know" when a gig has that something special,this is one of those evenings.
The solid b side Sad keeps things going.I usually would scream foul,at having so many new songs,but this fits well,and is a solid tune."Alright,we are getting it going." Marker is ok,but 5 is just too many new tunes in a row.The fans are screaming their heads off though.
The absolute classic Red Mosquito is busted out,the hardcores get their bone.My mood would have switched real quick here.Very good version.
Even Flow is always good,but this version is perfect.Crowd go nuts,band are fired up.Matt,Stone,Jeff and Mike put on a musical clinic here.Rock 101 = Even Flow from Grand Rapids,05.19.06.
The fans are going wild still,and EV tells them "you are turning out to be a hell of a crowd." The band are clearly feeding off the crowds excitement.Ed introduces Boom and says he’s standing in front of what looks like a “portable bar” and says “Love Boat Captain” was written in a “far away place and far enough away that anything seemed possible”.LBC,is good,but Corduroy would have been alot better here IMO.But,this crowd eats it up.
Corduroy now gets them into a near frenzy.Great version.“Daughter” is introduced as “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and there’s a shocked gasp from some in the crowd.As “Daughter” starts though, Ed says to the crowd “Don’t hate me.” Very odd.Crowd are still loudly chanting "Stone Stone Stone."Jeffs bass sounds nice and deep.Really good jam,7 min version.
“So a lot of us voted, but things have changed just for the worse and something hopeful, apparently there’s a couple of veterans in the crowd and we have their support so we’re very proud of that.”, leading to “Army Reserve”. I like the music,good song.The below average Green Disease follows,this is totally uncalled for.There is now a bit of a lull to this solid gig.This 2 song run would have been perfect time to catch your breath,take a piss and grab a couple more beers before last call.
Jeff updates everyone on the Detroit vs.Cleveland playoff basketball game that night “We just found out that the Pistons won by two points”, to large cheers.Ed then says he heard they actually "lost by three points in overtime",to large boos.The classic Why Go picks this up,love it,and the fans loose their minds again.Loud loud loud cheers of "Why Go Home,Why Go Home Why Go Home!!!!!"..fantastic version.
The absolute classic Inside Job follows.Love it,sounds perfect.Mike with the double neck,head back....just riffing.....Ed seems to come in late,but I like it...nice effect....IMO,this would have fit in better right after Daughter followed by Army Reserve,dropping GD of course.......
The main set ends with RVM..wild jam..10 min version......solid main set.
Encore 1
With the crowd going bonkers,Ed says “Are you kidding me? We’re not gonna want to leave this place.And I thought we had friends in Chicago!”. Loud boos.The first encore is full of “experimenting” and Ed clarifies that “there’s a big difference between ‘experimenting with you’ and ‘fucking with you’, we’re not going to fuck with you.”
The underrated Sleight Of Hand starts off this EPIC encore.Great version.This tune never got the recognition it deserved for its pure quality.Off He Goes follows,another underrated tune,sounds great here.Before “Around the Bend”,Ed asks,“Would you like to hear ‘Around the Bend’? We can try it.Are you sure? We haven’t played it, we haven’t practiced it,so we’re fucking with ourselves at this point.” Simply fantastic.Something special is obviously happening.I would have wet myself here,and not from piss.The band are so loose.Having fun,and sounding great.“Parting Ways” includes a sitar-like guitar effect which gives the main riff a different sound.Stone maybe ? I always liked this tune from the 2000 tour.Sounds great here.Ed messes up,so what..love it..love this encore...
Whats this ?!?!?!?!!!.....Hard To Imagine ? Are you fucking kidding me ???!!!!..I would have not only lost it,but possibly fainted at this point.Talk about elation....this is any diehards delight ! "Things were different then,all is different now !!!"
Talk about a diverse encore...one word..amazing.
The fun continues,with a 10 min version of Crazy Mary.Really great encore..wow...the band are on fire....great jam......
Alive has extra punch..just an amazing run....Im left speechless for once.....
Encore 2
“Alright,no more experimenting.We’re gonna drive this thing home with ya. Seatbelts everybody …” and they launch into an intense “Do The Evolution”.
The only hiccup to this classic encore is Comatose..doesnt belong here.....a minor setback..avoid it please.
“Satan’s Bed” starts and Ed jokes “I think we may be fucking with you again, sorry”. The band nails “Satan’s Bed”,no need to say sorry Ed.
The classic b side Leatherman is played...a flub..thats ok....really like it..its rare,not great,but the simple fact that the band are playing such a distinct selection of songs is so impressive.
Blood....what can I say..the encore,as a whole, is off the charts.I love this tune.."ITS MY BLOOOOOOD!!!"...."Louder,c'mon..beat Chicago"...THEY DID.
After “Blood”, Ed says “Is there anything left? I think we did it all .” A toast to Joey Ramone and the great Pete Townshend.
The classic Baba O'Riley > Yellow Ledbetter end this amazing,EPIC encore.
“Grand Rapids,who knew?!? That was great …thank you so much. If they listen to the tapes, it’s gonna sound like we’re just bullshittin’, but you had to be here.This was really great tonight, thank you so, so much.”
Indeed.
5 stars....EPIC SHOW
An absolute fantastic encore.A solid main set,that looks underwhelming on paper,but somehow isnt.I cant explain it.The feel of this gig is so special.They could do no wrong this night.8 new songs ? Not a problem.Green Disease ? Not a problem. Really ? Yes,really.
Highlights:GTF,Red Mosquito,Even Flow,Daughter,Why Go,Inside Job,RVM..ALL OF ENCORE 1 and ALL OF ENCORE 2 (sans Comatose)
