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[PJ plays Barrie]
Stream Of Confucius' Consciousness
Molson Park, Barrie, Ontario, Canada
8/22/98
photos by Rich Wilson
[Editors' note: MFC regulars will no doubt remember our good friend Confucius. The rest of you will probably be confused as hell. =)]

Tractor posters for the East Coast Canadian leg...Food stamp lines a mile long for the privilege of standing in another, even LONGER line to get what you need so by the time you get what you need you're not even needing it anymore...Gravel in the pit so your shoes turn white instead of turning muddy...Watermelonman in the parking lot..."The guy in the parking lot with the fucking WATERMELON on his HEAD like a HAT!" (Ed, laughing, during the break in "Leatherman")...Expect the next installment in the "Man" Pearl Jam song series to be "Watermelonman"...The "lounge room" on the flatbed truck in the parking lot..."And the guys with the flatbed truck with the COUCHES and the CHAIRS and the COCKTAIL TABLE, ready to roll it on home after the show - that's the FUNNIEST THING I'VE SEEN SO FAR ON THIS TOUR!!!" (Ed, laughing even harder with the band this time, during the break in "Leatherman")...Mike COMPLETELY out of control, singing along with and boogieing out to the Trick: "They just seem a little WEE-IRD/Surrender, surrender..." ...Philosopher Stone air drumming to the Trick...Ames snapping photos and boppin' to Tom Peterson's 12-string bass (the INVENTOR of the 12 string bass)...Ed's scaffold-swinging at stage right during the Trick's set...The SOUND, - especially from the bass-end of things - which was fantastic! High-fives to the crew!...35,000 churchgoing fans singing "Dissident" in perfect harmony...Ed asking us for help during "Nothingman" in case he fucked up the words (he didn't, but we helped him anyway)...Fratboys getting gooey and sobbing during "Black"..."I Got Id" - the song that always makes CONFUCIUS cry uncontrollably, thinking back to Spartan Stadium, 1995...Ed climbs up on the monitors and grins down at us, making all kinds of serious eye-contact (more crying, okay?)...Philosopher Stone's solos on "Do The Evolution" and "In Hiding" - Hail To The King Of All Riffs...McCready as Yellow Ledbetter, [Ed at Barrie] and Ed laughing and pointing and embarrassing the FUCK out of him :)...Matt Cameron Matt Cameron Matt Cameron - still no Chris but shit we still got Cameron!...Pickles with Ann-Margret's hair - I'll take Pickles any way I can get him, thank-you...And yes, the TREE was there - his leaves started to shimmy ever-so-slightly during "Brain of J". Figures the beast was on Philosopher Stone's side of the stage, eh?...Weird is as weird gets! ;)...Ed's "doomsday" warning - apparently, we're 3 minutes closer to dead-dom, kids - and Ames' little doomsday "dance" in playful retort...A promise to play a smaller venue for continuous nights next time in Toronto - YES! How about doing that for the entire tour next time?..."Speaking as a dumb-ass, beer-drinking, propaganda-believing, missle-shooting American", Pearl Jam blew Barrie away and Barrie blew big kisses back... Well, Confucius did, anyway.