Pearl Jam & Tom Petty

After a long break, this summer is just not the same as last for concerts. I have attended a Rob Zombie show, but it was so bad it was not even worth a review. On the Killers Scale (Killers St. Paul show a 1, NIN a 10) Zombie was a 3.

On to the subject at hand. Pearl Jam & Tom Petty. I will go out on a limb and say that Pearl Jam was the best opening act I have seen in a long time. That is right, opening. To set the stage, I was super mad that Tom Petty was on this part of the tour, Pearl Jam had been playing their other shows for 3 HOURS and at $60. Bring in the old man Tom Petty and they play for 90 minutes and $100. Still a very good show on their part. Eddy Vedder is so intense, how he keeps his voice is beyond me. It must be all the wine and cigs. He even dedicated a song to lake number 994 out of the 1,000 lakes, he was at least close on the total #. It was a good shout out, did not call out I35W, but someday. Someday. I did not sense a passion in the audience, it was a big crowd but mixing in the Tom Petty crowd but a bit of a buzz kill on the excitement. Instead of beer stands they should have had metimucil/lipitor stands.

Tom Petty
As you can tell, I went in with a poor attitude and low expectation for Tom Petty, but you have to give the old man credit, he has a TON of hits, he has been touring with his Heartbreakers for 30 YEARS (I am 29). Started great, lots of fun on stage. Show really dragged in the middle when we did not play the hits, ended with a bang. I would say the crowd was just as much into Tom Petty as they were into Pearl Jam. What confused us all is when Eddy first came out, his mike did not work, they just let it go and did not fix it. LAME. Then right away as they were going to end with American Girl, Eddy yelled “CHECK” into the mike, best part of the night.

Overall a good show and worth seeing, not worth $100 though.

Strib (Monday show)
http://www.startribune.com/1374/story/517664.html

Strib (Tuesday show)
http://www.startribune.com/457/story/519731.html

Pioneer Press (Monday show)
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/entertainment/14913811.htm

Tuesday Set list
Interstellar Overdrive/(Corduroy), Severed Hand, Hail Hail, Love Boat Captain, World Wide Suicide, Marker In The Sand, Given To Fly, Even Flow, Light Years, Not For You, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Come Back, State Of Love And Trust, Glorified G, Black, Life Wasted, Alive


The Chicago Show Set List, which show would have you rather seen?
Set 1 Severed Hand, World Wide Suicide, Life Wasted, Animal, Marker In The Sand, Do The Evolution, Whipping, 1/2 Full, I Am Mine, Even Flow, Gone, Insignificance, Better Man, Save it for Later, Down, Garden, Inside Job, Lukin, Why Go

Encore 1 Wasted Reprise, Man Of The Hour, Footsteps, Once, Alive

Encore 2 Last Kiss, Last Exit, Glorified G, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Crown Of Thorns, Rockin' In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter