Local boys from Naperville just signed a deal with Elektra and are leaving us all in October to be big famous. They are also responsible for my fame with this quote: "Also some live songs from Metro and Last Fling courtesy of Paul." I am a Rock-Star so I recorded their show at Naperville's Last Fling on September 4th. I then later that week recorded their show at the Metro on September 9th. You can download and listen to them playing One to the Right at the Metro with Adam playing acoustic for the first time live. You love me!

My favorite band in the world. 'Nuff said. You love Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam is one of the live performers of all time. One of my favorite of their shows that I have on bootleg is Sept 16, 1998. It was the second Boston show of the Yield tour. It was a very emotional set. Eddie dedicates Given to Fly to a fellow named John. In Eddie's own words: "This next song is a story of... I don't wanna say too much...every once in awhile someone leaves the planet when you least expect them too...and since there's so many people you can look around and look at a friend or a stranger who might be a friend by the end of the night and appreciate them still being here. Anyways we're gonna dedicate this next song to someone named John and his brother and sister who are still here on the planet and it's called Given to Fly...". It sounds in his voice a bit as if he is crying during GTF. Later they played what I consider Pearl Jam's most powerful piece of their recorded history. Known as the Habit Improv. I don't have the words in my vocabulary to describe it. It is simply amazing and something you can only experience for yourself. I would imagine this amazing performance has to do with the loss of John as well. He must have been a truly special soul. After that Eddie introduces Off he Goes as "a little story and I haven't quite figured out if the ending is happy or sad...". After Off he Goes Eddie loosens up a bit with a very amusing story about trying to find something fun to do in his hotel room which then leads into Present Tense, one of my very favorite Pearl Jam songs. Next comes Black, my favorite Pearl Jam song. Mike plays a very powerful guitar solo to finish off the song. If you have ever heard this song live, there is no doubt Mike has a very strong attachment to it. A very powerful Porch, probably my third favorite Pearl Jam song, closes out the most exceptional set with a very cool ambient sound to fill the break before the encore. They start off the first encore with Go. You have to listen to it just to hear Eddie rant about the asshole throwing quarters at him. Later in the encore Pearl Jam does an awesome Save it for Later tagged on to the end of Betterman. Betterman/SIFL is probably my favorite improv that they do live. But enough about that show, let me fill your head with tales of the shows I have actually been so lucky to attend over the years:

1. July 11, 1995 at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL. You are so jealous. This was Pearl Jam's longest and most famous show ever. It almost didn't happen. That was the year Pearl Jam was battling TicketMaster. TicketMaster pretty much won and Pearl Jam cancelled the rest of their 1995 tour. Then at the last minute, they reinstated the Alpine Valley show and the Soldier Field show. Pearl Jam came out and played a marathon 3 hour performance. I was there. I am a total Rock-Star.
2. June 26, 1998 at Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI. This was a fun show. I had friends from Michigan I met over the Internet who are big Pearl Jam fans come and stay at my place so we could all go to this show. I am a Rock-Star.
3. June 27, 1998 Another show at Alpine Valley. My Internet friends and I went early this time to tail-gate in the parking lot. So we bought brews and hamburgers and dogs and buns before the show to bring. I learned how to open a beer bottle with a lighter from the guys parked next to us. I also brought this giant 7 foot tall stuffed Merlin the Magician guy to sit on top of my car so people would point and say, "Whoa! Look at that famous Rock-Star with the giant Merlin!" Pearl Jam played an awesome show of course. After the show, the parking lot didn't move, so we tail-gated again. About an hour into our post concert tail-gate party, some jerk thought he could steal Merlin away. He walked between my car and the car next to us and scooped up Merlin in a headlock. I jumped on top of my car and yelled, "KIDNAPPER!" He then preceeded to give chase. Well I took off with my Rock-Star speed and quickly closed the distance between us. I grabbed Merlin's shirt and started to slip on the muddy Alpine Valley parking lot grass. Mister asshole continued to run with Merlin still in a headlock. Well Merlin's fragile magician body could not handle the strain and his head popped right off. Decapitation. I quickly tried to apply pressure to Merlin's wounds to stop the styrophome blood from gushing out but it was too late. Merlin's head under my arm, I grabbed his collar and mournfully dragged his corpse back to the campfire. The party was over. We all piled into my Rock-Star Ford Taurus and flew through the parking lot at a cool 50 mph to the front of the line and out the gate we went into the black of night.
4. June 29, 1998 at the United Center, Chicago, IL. Indoor concert this time. They closed with Baba O'Riley and Yellow Ledbetter as their second encore. 'Nuff said.
5. August 18, 2000 at the Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN. They opened with Interstellar Overdrive. And did a kick ass Save it for Later at the end of Betterman. Quite possibly the highlight of my life up to that moment. Eddie comes out all by himself to start the encore and plays Throw your Arms Around Me solo! State of Love and Trust...then CRAZY MARY!!! Holy shit best show I have ever been to. Closed the first encore with Rearviewmirror. Second encore starts with Indifference and then they close it out with Rockin in the Free World. I could have died happy then. For the unknowning, the license plate on my car is RITFW 24.

I have two more Pearl Jam shows on my plate in October. Expect to see how those shows turned out then.