08/03/00 - GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater: Virginia Beach, VA
attendance: 20,000
support act: Sonic Youth
soundcheck/rehearsal 8/2: Corduroy (partial), Of The Girl, Wishlist (partial), Light Years, Insignificance, Faithful (partial, about 3/4 of the song), Thin Air, Immortality (instrumental), Sleight of Hand, Evacuation, Grievance, Grievance (instrumental), Breakerfall, Parting Ways, God's Dice, Pilate, Timeless Melody, MFC, Present Tense (instrumental)
set: Long Road, Corduroy, Grievance, God's Dice, Animal, Nothing As It Seems, Given To Fly, Even Flow, MFC, Wishlist, Off He Goes, Daughter/(It's OK) [by Dead Moon], Better Man, Thin Air, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror, Porch
enc 1: Do The Evolution, Light Years, Black, Elderly Woman, Sleight of Hand, Go
enc 2: Soon Forget, Yellow Ledbetter
notes: Many lyrical changes tonight, including: 'Long Road' - "I have wished for so long, how I wish for them today"; 'Cordoroy' - "Absolutely everything's changed"; 'Grievance' - I just wanna be, I swear to God I can be, I will be alive as long as I am free." After 'Animal.' Ed asks for the back of the audience to be lit up, wants to see how everyone is, and tells them to be careful, it's wet back there (it had been raining all day). Ed, near tears, said the band is happy to be back with the crew, who is like their family. Throughout much of the show a butterfly flutters about in the light around Ed, Matt and Mike. The disco ball reappears for 'Wishlist.' 'Off He Goes' is dedicated to, "There's a guy named Anthony, and this was his favorite song". (We think this is a reference to Anthony James Hurley, Australian fan who died the week after Roskilde.) Later Ed says, "The last time we had to ask the crowd to do something it was ... a little nervewracking ... I was gonna ask you to do something and maybe you'll do it?" The crowd answers "YES!" Ed continues: "Sing loud 'cause it's outside. And sing loud because you're sti... you're still alive... Just sing loud, all right?" and then they careen back into 'It's OK' by Dead Moon (Ed consults his notebook for help with lyrics). 'Porch' is ended with a lovely Roger Daltrey-style mic swing. In 'DTE,' Ed changes the lyrics to "I'm a thief, I'm a liar, I'm George Bush, my son is an asshole." The end of 'Light Years' has a couple of lines added at the end along the lines of, "Every day it's that sun or that moon, that moon ..." Ed stumbles on the first verse of 'Elderly Woman' but the band keeps playing while he smiles and picks it back up nicely later. A NY Rangers jersey with Ed's name on it is passed to him right before the second encore. He looks at it and says "Hey, that's me!" Also, someone gives Ed a large gold-colored scrapbook with "Memories of a Girl" written on the cover. He holds it up for the crowd to see and thanks her. A response to people cheering for the appearance of the ukulele: "If that many of you voted for Ralph Nader, the world would be a better place." 'Soon Forget' is dedicated to corporate assholes, "we know who we are." Ed shoots a half dozen Polaroids before 'YL.'
poster
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It's OK tag
order the official live cds from amazon08/04/00 - Blockbuster Pavilion: Charlotte, NC
attendance: 20,000
support act: Sonic Youth
soundcheck: Daughter, Grievance, Breakerfall, Oceans x2, Hail Hail, Leatherman, Present Tense (starting songs may be missing)
set: Sometimes, Breakerfall, Corduroy, Hail Hail, Animal, Nothing As It Seems, Light Years, Given To Fly, Untitled, MFC, Habit, Even Flow, Wishlist, Better Man, Grievance, Present Tense, Black, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Go, Do The Evolution, Once, improv, I Got Shit, Last Kiss, Porch
enc 2: Yellow Ledbetter
notes: Ed says, "Hello, it's nice to be here, really." He says, "If you had asked one of us up here including the crew if we felt luck ... how we felt a month ago, the one thing we wouldn't have said was lucky. But today, having Sonic Youth play with us here, I think today we do feel lucky." 'Given To Fly' is particularly intense, the whole band is into it, playing to each other, and it sets the tone for the rest of the show. Ed sings "... 23 minutes or so" in 'Untitled' (a nod to Michael Jordan?). 'Untitled' includes two extra verses. Ed messes up the first two lines to "Wishlist" and closes it by singing, "I wish I had a little house on a little street in North Carolina, North Carolina ..." Ed intros 'Present Tense' as "... we don't play it that often ... it would be good just to hear it." Looking at the crowd and pointing to himself, "I need to hear it." Ed gets emotional during 'Black' and can't sing, looks at the crowd, and they all start singing the "doo doo doo doo doo" part. When Ed returns for the amazing first encore of 'Go'/'DTE'/Once', the crowd is pogoing and Ed starts pogoing. During 'Go,' Mike is playing behind his head, and Ed starts dancing wildly. The improv is very lovely, starting off with, "There are one of us; there are two of us ..." and later:
"And sky is wide, and the sides are wide.
And my life is wide, and my eyes are wide.
And my hands are wide, and my life is so tired
and
"'cause it's a new year and I don't know where else it could feel like this.
It's a big blue world but I'm glad I'm here, and I'm glad I'm not someone else ..."
For the intro to 'I Got Shit,' Ed speaks about Mirrorball: "There was a record where Neil Young asked everybody in the band to be his band. Figured he'd use us and steal our youth and we'd use him and steal his wisdom ... although he's probably younger than we are wise ..." 'Porch' is punctuated with many Daltrey mic swings. After 'Yellow Ledbetter,' Ed says goodbye by saying, "Y'all watch the moon on the way home." Amazing show.
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order the official live cds from amazon08/06/00 - Coliseum: Greensboro, NC [130m]
attendance: approx. 12,000 (capacity is 23,000)
support act: Sonic Youth
soundcheck: Breakerfall, In My Tree, Crazy Mary, Evacuation, Rival
set: Of The Girl, Corduroy, Insignificance, Brain of J, Evacuation, Nothing As It Seems, Jeremy, Daughter/(improv based on It's OK)/(Androgynous Mind), MFC, Whipping, Wishlist, Better Man, Leatherman, Grievance, Even Flow, In My Tree, Black, Spin The Black Circle, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Light Years, Crazy Mary, Do The Evolution, State of Love and Trust, Last Kiss, Breakerfall
enc 2: Soon Forget, Smile
notes: After 'Evacuation,' Ed says, "It's nice to be in North Carolina; it's been two days ... feels like years." He jokes about how the last song was written by Matt, and that drummers usually don't like the singer, hence the reason for it being so hard to sing. "... I wrote the lyric part, so ... maybe I just don't like myself." The 'Daughter' improv tag consists of modified 'It's OK' lyrics read from Ed's notebook. ("... I wish I could light the path that leads to a life of no mistakes ... and keep you from the damage done ... living out of safety, safety. I remember still the child in you, as if only yesterday. And it was easy to break through, but you ... had to go ... and change your ways ... and change your ways ... and hurt my face ... my life ... my legs ... my time.") In 'Wishlist,' Ed changes the lyrics to "15 million hands upraised in North Carolina." After forgetting two consecutive "I wish I was ..." lines, he says, "I'll get the next one!" Ed says, "This is gonna be another number that we haven't tried for quite a while. I'm gonna take a sip of wine for courage and give this a try," and he takes a swig from his wine bottle and they launch into 'In My Tree.' 'Rearviewmirror' is extended, powerful and awesome, with Mike including riffs from 'You Really Got Me' (a Kinks song more recently popularized by Van Halen). Ed tosses his guitar 10-15 feet in the air and carefully catches it. After 'Light Years,' Ed requests that the houselights be turned on, and he points out a guy in the front who's been holding up a tape recorder for the whole show. Ed then tells him that the next song is a romantic song, and he'll need both hands so he can put his arm around his girlfriend, so why doesn't he put the tape recorder up on the stage. Ed takes the recorder, speaking into it (much like he did during several 98 shows) and places it next to his microphone, before launching into a FULL, complete version of 'Crazy Mary.' Mike tries to end it with Zep's 'Stairway to Heaven' solo, but it's cut off. He later mocks the guy for thinking that the band would give the recorder back, providing much comic relief and the recorder is returned before the first encore. ;) Mike inserts a riff from David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' in 'SOL&T.' Ed breaks two strings during 'Breakerfall' and ends the song by ripping the other four off, seemingly close to smashing it! Before 'Soon Forget,' Ed is rambling about how he's not good at math, but he "... wants to 'thank you' and put absolute value around that." He also says that he hopes he can get through the song without fucking up. "Just don't clap or anything, OK?" But he still ends up messing up the song in exactly the same place he did in Bellingham (on the 'Light Years' b-side). A "full-on" show including Matt breaking a giant crash cymbal and Mike tossing out a big handful of Stone's picks with "Mike" written on the back with a black marker! A teenage boy in a wheelchair with an oxygen mask was brought to the back of the stage with his mother. Ed went over to him a few times and touched him and hugged the mom, gave him some things and Matt gave him some drumsticks - very moving.
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review
order the official live cds from amazon08/07/00 - Philips Arena: Atlanta, GA
attendance: 21,000
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Release, Corduroy, Insignificance, Animal, Hail Hail, Nothing As It Seems, Rival, Given To Fly, Light Years, Do The Evolution, Even Flow, In Hiding, Daughter/(The Wrong Child)/(Androgynous Mind), (Romanza)/Better Man, Nothingman, Leatherman, Grievance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Once, Breakerfall, Immortality, Crazy Mary, Elderly Woman, Porch, Fuckin' Up
enc 2: Yellow Ledbetter
notes: Prior to 'NAIS,' Ed greets the crowd (with bottle of wine in hand), "Toast to Atlanta." He takes a sip and proclaims, "It's good tonight." After 'Rival,' he turns around to say hello to the fans seated behind the stage comparing them to the "b-side" of a record. 'DTE' lyrics are changed to, "I'm Ted Turner and this is my choir." After a great version of 'In Hiding,' the lights are on the crowd enough for Ed to comment on the set up of Phillips Arena saying, "It looks like these people are free (pointing to his right) and these people are in prison (referring to the luxury boxes that are stacked on top of each other like prison cells). He says that Ted Turner must sit right in the middle of all the "prison cells" and calls it the "king's crotch," unzipping his pants! He also talks about a new planet discovered yesterday and that Ted has already made an offer. Continuing, "This seems like a nice building and we're happy to play here. And he (Turner) owns it but he doesn't own us." 'Better Man' features Ed's short classical guitar intro titled 'Romanza' (or 'Spanish Romance'). [The author is anonymous; Canadian guitarist Liona Boyd probably has the best known recording for those interested.] The gender roles are reversed in the 'Nothingman' lyrics. During 'Grievance,' a light is shined on the American flag at the top of the arena on the first "I pledge my grievance to the flag." After 'Breakerfall,' Ed says they finished up their last record here in Atlanta with Brendan O'Brien and how he likes Atlanta, and that "we spent enough time here where we know streets and we know names and we know gay bars (laughing) ..." Ed has trouble with the start of 'Immortality' and Stone comes over and helps out laughing, "vacate is the ...". During the full and beautiful "Crazy Mary," Ed jumps down to the barricades and "passes around" his bottle of wine with many people in the front row. An absolutely beautiful, fitting moment. The entire encore is amazing, capped off by 'Fuckin' Up' when Ed smashes the mic stand with his tambourine. Ed takes more polaroids before 'YL' and Matt leads the crowd in clapping during Mike's solo.
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review
order the official live cds from amazon08/09/00 - Mars Music Amphitheatre: West Palm Beach, FL
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Oceans, Corduroy, Grievance, Animal, Brain of J, Red Mosquito, Nothing As It Seems, Even Flow, Faithfull, Dissident, Thin Air, Lukin, Not For You, Present Tense, MFC, Improv, Habit, Breakerfall, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: State of Love And Trust, Do The Evolution, Better Man, Elderly Woman, Go
enc 2: Leaving Here, Rockin' In The Free World
notes: After 'Red Mosquito' Ed addresses the crowd, saying it's a beautiful night, beautiful day - he'd forgotten he had to work that evening, "but this doesn't feel like work." He thanks someone for driving him around all day, looking for waves that apparently didn't exist. "The only thing that was breaking was my heart." Before 'Even Flow,' Ed says "This is a song called 'Paralyzed Big Baby.'" The crowd is singing along with 'Not For You' and Ed changes it to "small my table, seats just one ...". A bright, long-lasting shooting star is sighted by many in the crowd during 'MFC,' resulting in loud cheering. The improv before 'Habit' which relates to 'Habit' the way 'Untitled' relates to 'MFC': "I'm paralyzed, I'm in your eye. I'm not afraid of dying, 'cause I've got time ..." The "speaking as..." break in 'Habit' is "sending a message to the surf gods." During 'RVM,' Jeff and Ed do an extended forward lean into each other [did anyone get a photo of this?!]. Ed throws his guitar in the air and misses catching it on the way down, but it doesn't land hard. When they return for the encore, Ed toasts the crowd, and says the band is fortunate to have this many people who want to listen to their music. During 'Go,' Mike plays the guitar behind his head and Ed swings the mic, which is becoming as normal as him fucking up the words to 'Even Flow' (which he does tonight). During 'RITFW,' someone throws a tshirt onstage and Ed puts it on. It reads: "No Bush 2000."
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order the official live cds from amazon08/10/00 - Mars Music Amphitheatre: West Palm Beach, FL
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Of The Girl, Breakerfall, Corduroy, MFC, Once, Animal, God's Dice, Given To Fly, Evacuation, Pilate, Daughter/(WMA)/(On A Rope)/(Androgynous Mind), Even Flow, Wishlist, Timeless Melody, Off He Goes, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Nothingman, Leatherman, Porch
enc 1: Last Exit, Do The Evolution, Black, Crazy Mary, I Got Shit, Last Kiss, Baba O'Riley
enc 2:Yellow Ledbetter
notes: Before 'Pilate,' Ed has the lights put on someone in the 15th row, saying "... he was the only guy fully rocking out to Sonic Youth ... I love you," and he makes a reference to him coming back to his hotel room later. He continues, "This next song was named after a 12-foot eagle ray that was spotted off the coast of West Palm ... oh, it's the next song - sorry" (and that song turns out to be 'Even Flow' and he further explains that the ray is a member of the shark family). The 'On a Rope' snippet within the 'Daughter' tag is a Rocket from the Crypt song. Ed goes off on a little story about how no one knows much about 'Timeless Melody' and how it was written by the La's "... out of England in the mid 80s ... the words are great." Ed holds the last note in 'Better Man' for what seems like forever. During 'Porch' Ed appears to be lighting, or attempting to light, the cork on his wine bottle; he then takes the cork and blacks out under and above his eyes, and across his nose. To finish off the song, Ed slams the mic stand on the stage. Introducing 'I Got Shit,' Ed says, "Here's one we like to do with Neil Young, but we like to call him 'Young Neil'." Introducing 'LK,' he says, "This is a little sing along ... pretend we got a big campfire and pretend that no one's dead." Introducing 'Baba,' Ed indicates that the audience should be doing some singing on this one. Stone has a good night tonight, and Mikey is a maniac, really going for it with a very extended ending to 'YL,' breaking into Van Halen's 'Dance the Night Away'. The audience is MUCH better than the previous night.
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order the official live cds from amazon08/12/00 - Ice Palace: Tampa, FL [140m]
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Interstellar Overdrive, Corduroy, Grievance, Last Exit, Animal, God's Dice, Tremor Christ, Nothing As It Seems, Jeremy, Evacuation, (Romanza)/Better Man, Lukin, Light Years, Daughter/(Another Brick In The Wall)/(Androgynous Mind), Even Flow, Sleight of Hand, Elderly Woman, State of Love and Trust, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Do The Evolution, Hail Hail, Garden, Immortality, Soldier of Love, Porch
enc 2: Soon Forget, Indifference
enc 3: Rockin' In The Free World
notes: Towards the end of 'Tremor Christ,' Ed sings, "Even the east coast can get big, big waves!" He pays a lot of attention to the seats behind the stage, taking Polaroids, and addressing them: "We really wanna say good evening to south Tampa in the back. Glad you could make it. Watch our backs." During 'Daughter,' prior to the tag, Ed says that he is seeing signs requesting songs, and if we didn't do what he wanted us to do, he sure wasn't going to do what we wanted to do. "Do you want to sing?" "Yeah!" responds the crowd. "I'll pick something that you know..." and goes into 'ABiTW,' and then into "hey hey it's okay" (which is 'Androgynous Mind' by Sonic Youth, NOT 'It's OK' by Dead Moon as done at VA Beach). During "State," Ed does a forward lean into Mike's back left shoulder. Stone is especially animated tonight -- just amazing toward the end of 'RVM'. Ed ends 'RVM' with about three or four Townshend-style jumps. Introducing 'Garden' he says, "OK, you fulfilled our request so we're gonna fulfill someone over here's." Before 'Soon Forget' Ed takes a Polaroid of himself and tosses it out into the crowd. The third encore is a total surprise as Ed has said goodnight, the band is gone, people start leaving and the crew picks up gear. The band returns to play a scorching 'RITFW' with the arena lights full on and the crowd going nuts, arms clapping overhead at Ed's instructions. To end, Ed does a somersault at center stage - wine bottle in hand - complete with a running start. An amazing show!
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review (with photos & mpeg video)
order the official live cds from amazon08/14/00 - New Orleans Arena: New Orleans, LA [140m]
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Long Road, Grievance, Last Exit, Given To Fly, Hail Hail, Rival, Wishlist, Insignificance, Corduroy, Elderly Woman, Nothing As It Seems, Evacuation, In Hiding, Daughter, Even Flow, Off He Goes, Better Man, Animal, Once, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Go, Do The Evolution, Jeremy, Crazy Mary, Black, Porch
enc 2: Last Kiss, Sonic Reducer, Yellow Ledbetter
notes: This show is more tight and solid than a full out, let loose show. The crowd seems somewhat non-responsive to the newer songs. 'Rival' is unbelievable and Ed speaks afterward, saying it is nice to be in New Orleans and strums a bit of the 'Release' intro on his guitar. He thanks Sonic Youth and talks of how wishes sometimes come true, leading to 'Wishlist.' During the "50 million upraised hands" the crowd slowly raises their hands and Ed laughs and comments, "Right." 'Elderly Woman' is introduced as a little song with a long title. Jeff has a new, big standup bass for 'Daughter.' No tag, but Ed is holding notes for an incredibly long time. At the top of the encore, Ed comes out talking about how they are sorry for taking so long, but they had a fight (about what songs to play). "The good news is that was the first fight I've gotten into while I was here this time." After "DTE," he mentions the Democratic convention: "I think Clinton was gonna speak tonight, and he was gonna say: 'My fellow Americans. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit ...'" and urges people to study the issues and to vote. 'Jeremy' is powerful and includes a great crowd sing along. 'Porch' is slowish and has a bluesy feel. Ed speaks of Bukowski and quotes, "What matters most is how you walk through the fire ..." and thanks the crowd for their support, leading to 'Last Kiss.' 'Sonic Reducer' is a nice surprise.
order the official live cds from amazon08/15/00 - The Pyramid: Memphis, TN [130m]
attendance: approx 14,000 (capacity is 22,000)
support act: Sonic Youth
soundcheck: Long Road (instrumental), jam, Last Exit (instrumental), Garden (instrumental), Stoney jamming (pieces of Black), guitar jam, keyboard/synth jam, I Can't Help Falling in Love (instrumental 2-3 times, then full 3 times!!), In My Tree (full)
set: Of The Girl, Last Exit, Animal, Grievance, Corduroy, Tremor Christ, Nothing As It Seems, Wishlist, Can't Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis!), Given To Fly, In My Tree, Even Flow, I Got Shit, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Black, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Breakerfall, Do The Evolution, Thin Air, Nothingman, Elderly Woman, State of Love And Trust, Go
enc 2: Footsteps, Baba O'Riley
notes: Very enthusiastic, but not sold out crowd. Right before 'NAIS': "It's great to be here - it's great to be anywhere." After 'Wishlist,' Ed says, "I need a jacket for this next song ... something nice," and puts on a striped jacket, and then sings 'Can't Help Falling In Love With You,' starting slowly, and then the rest of the band joins in, working up to a somewhat fast, punky version.
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review #1
review #2
order the official live cds from amazon08/17/00 - AmSouth Amphitheatre: Antioch, TN [130m]
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Sometimes, Breakerfall, Corduroy, God's Dice, Do The Evolution, Red Mosquito, Wishlist, Elderly Woman, Untitled, MFC, Given To Fly, Daughter/(Wrong Child)/(Androgynous Mind), Even Flow, Present Tense, Animal, Once, Of The Girl, Better Man, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Last Exit, Go, Jeremy, Smile [duet with an audience member], Leatherman, Soldier of Love, Porch
enc 2: Yellow Ledbetter
notes: After 'DTE,' Ed says: "Hello to the rest of Tennessee. Three degrees hotter, we'd think it was hell. Least it ain't Arkansas." He fucks up the words to 'God's Dice' and starts singing the words to 'Red Mosquito' early, prompting Stone to shake his head in amusement. Before 'Wishlist' people start chanting "Eddie, Eddie," to which he responds, "Hey, don't piss me off this early." During 'Jeremy' Ed keeps holding his throat as though it is hurting, and exhorts the audience to sing at the end. There is a fan in the front row on crutches. Ed has been watching him through the whole show and invites him onstage. Ed and the fan talk for a while, while the rest of the band looks on, amused; he then introduces him as "Andy, from Cookeville," and they work through the song a little. Ed says, I left my mind in Tucker, Arkansas. It's in prison there on death row." [a reference to his visit to the West Memphis 3]. Ed shares some wint with Andy and the crowd starts chanting "Andy, Andy." At first Ed looks pissed, but then he realizes it's an "Andy" chant and not a "Eddie" chant and breaks into this big smile. Eventually the band start playing and Ed and Andy trade verses on the song, Ed playing harmonica while Andy sings. In the middle of 'Porch' Ed says, "It's 120 up here ... it's 180 degrees in here ... to all those offended, I'm sorry ... I'm burning, burning, burning," referencing the unbearable heat. When they return for the second encore, Ed starts reading signs in the crowd. He sees one that says 'Mankind' and says, "Stone, Mankind? Throw your arms around me? Sorry, sweetie. Maybe next time." He spots one for 'Hunger Strike' and says, "Sorry, Chris isn't here." He sees one for 'Baba' and responds, "Sorry. Baba O'Riley we played last night." As at prior shows, Mike works snippets of Van Halen into 'YL.' Ed sings, "It's too damn hot to stay."
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order the official live cds from amazon08/18/00 - Deer Creek Music Center: Noblesville, IN [125m]
attendance: 25,500
support act: Sonic Youth
set: (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Grievance, Spin The Black Circle, Dissident, Brain of J, Animal, Given To Fly, Nothing As It Seems, Even Flow, Pilate, Lukin, Light Years, (Romanza)/Better Man/(Save It For Later), Leatherman, Not For You, Black, Insignificance, Go
enc 1: Throw Your Arms Around Me [Ed solo], Do The Evolution, State of Love and Trust, Crazy Mary, Elderly Woman, Last Kiss, Rearviewmirror
enc 2: Indifference, Rockin' In The Free World
notes: During 'Corduroy,' Stone breaks a string, starts ripping his strings and is doing the weird skipping backward step. At the end, Mike is holding his ears as though the crowd is too loud. After 'STBC,' Ed addresses the crowd: "Thanks a lot ... last night in Nashville it felt like hell, and so Indiana feels like heaven." Ed is smoking on stage (bad Ed!) After 'Dissident,' Ed drinks some wine, and then motions to the guys like he's saying "mix it up" and they go into 'Brain of J.' Someone is holding a sign up front and Ed shakes his head, laughs, and motions to put it down. Ed once again forgets the 'Even Flow' lyrics, and Jeff and Ed alternate jumps. Everybody in the crowd really seems to like 'Lukin' responding by breaking out into a mass pogo. Stone is very into the 'NFY' solos. To start the first encore, Ed walks out by himself and says, "It's much too beautiful a night to leave yet." He makes some reference to "the back 40" and mentions how he was up there during Sonic Youth, and toasts them with his wine. "My brother's here tonight, and I hadn't seen him yet, since we got back from Europe. I'm gonna dedicate this song to him, because life is short. It's beautiful, but it's short sometimes," and goes into a beautiful version of 'TYAAM.' Before 'Crazy Mary' Ed says, "This is a song we've been trying as of late. But before we start it -- I don't know if you can see the moon ..." (and there is a beautiful big moon which he motions everyone to look at it). "We play this one right here in Indiana because we know there's lots of them," leads to 'Elderly Woman.' "All right, here's another car song, only this one doesn't wreck," prefaces 'RVM.' During the second encore, Ed comes out and takes two signs from people in the front row: one says "Believe You Me," the other says "Free World." They play 'Indifference' and then close with 'RITFW,' altering the lyrics to "there's a thousand points of light for the re-pub-li-cans."
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review (with photos)
order the official live cds from amazon08/20/00 - Riverbend Music Center: Cincinnati, OH
attendance: 16,000
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Of The Girl, Breakerfall, Corduroy, Go, God's Dice, Even Flow, Faithfull, Nothing As It Seems, Grievance, Untitled, MFC, Habit, Wishlist, Better Man, Rival, Sleight of Hand, Insignificance, Porch
enc 1: The Kids Are Alright [Ed solo], Given To Fly, Do The Evolution, Jeremy, Once, Black, Soldier of Love, Rearviewmirror
enc 2: Soon Forget, Yellow Ledbetter
notes: Early in the show, someone in the audience hands Ed an infamous Who bootleg titled Tales From The Who. Ed looks really pleased and deliberately goes and shows it to the rest of the band. During 'Even Flow,' Ed pours wine into two fan's cups (and even onto a shirt tossed on stage). He acknowledges screwing up the lyrics: "Summer's on it's way [screws up] Dealing, fucked up the words already." During Mike's solo in 'NAIS,' Ed comes over to him, picks up his cigarette from the floor, takes a few drags, then puts it back in Mike's mouth. 'Untitled' is extended with a second verse. Ed is flexing his biceps sarcastically during many of the songs--partically in 'Rival,' when he also performs a number of crotch-grabs (notably while singing "well hung"). During 'Porch,' Ed ventures out into the crowd like he did in 98. For the first encore, Ed comes out and talks (his first time addressing the crowd this night) about how when they came onstage earlier ... he suddenly remembered the venue ... the last time they were there was with Soundgarden. He also mentions how that the name "Cincinnati" came up before "for some difficult reasons, but I'm gonna play this nex one because of our new bond," leading to 'The Kids Are Alright.' At the end of 'TKAA,' Ed does a Townshend jump and a bunch of windmills. During 'Jeremy,' he sticks one arm through the other arm of his shirt making a gun shape with his hand. During one of Mike's solos, he had a piece of paper that says "thank you!" that an audience member had handed him in his mouth. He holds it there for a minute, then sucks it in and starts eating it, then gets a disgusted look on his face and spits it out. At the beginning of the second encore, Ed introduces the ukulele to the audience: "Ukulele, I'd like to introduce you to Cincinnati. Cincinnati, this is ukulele." Mike includes snippets from Van Halen's 'Ain't Talkin' Bout Love' and Ted Nugent's 'Stranglehold' in the final 'YL' solo, while Stone, Jeff and Ed are cracking up. Instead of the Polaroid (which Ed says he left back in the hotel), he captures the audience with a small video camera.
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order the official live cds from amazon08/21/00 - Polaris Amphitheater: Columbus, OH
attendance: 20,000
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Breakerfall, Whipping, Spin The Black Circle, Hail Hail, Corduroy, In My Tree, Dissident, Given To Fly, Nothing As It Seems, Grievance, Light Years, Daughter/(Hold On)/(Androgynous Mind), Lukin, Wishlist, Off He Goes, (Romanza)/Better Man, State of Love and Trust, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Present Tense, Last Exit, Once, Elderly Woman, Leatherman, Nothingman, Porch
enc 2: Last Kiss, Yellow Ledbetter
notes: Ed talks about how there are a lot of schools in that part of Ohio and how they are happy to "be playing for a crowd full of intellectuals ..." 'Lukin' is jokingly billed as 'another sing along'. As with other shows the "quarter to ten" line in 'Off He Goes' again is exactly at a quarter to ten. Before 'Insignificance,' Ed takes off his button-down shirt to reveal a sleeveless Dead Moon tshirt, showing off his arms. After the main set, thousands of lighters are lit in the crowd, and remained lit during the entire time before the band returns for the encore. When they walk out for the first encore, Ed says, "Jesus Christ, there's a lot of you! ... "This many people, you could start a revolution," and holds up a shirt someone threw up that says "McCready for President." He says it would be good to have a president who could play Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Van Halen; "It would put touring on hold and recording would take a back seat to the country's needs, but what the fuck." He then points to a Ralph Nader shirt and says it's a little more likely. "... it would be great if everyone voted because if you don't vote, then you can't like bitch about it after ... politics and beer, it goes great together ... speaking of the president elect ... we're gonna start a song together here and it's dedicated to all those out there who might find themselves on the wrong end of a losing streak," leading to 'Present Tense.' Before 'Elderly Woman' Ed speaks of how the next stop is New York City "... and we're not gonna play this song there." He mentions that New York is great because that's where Sonic Youth is from and how Sonic Youth played to the most beautiful sunset (that he videotaped) that evening. Ed forgets the last verse of 'Leatherman' and sings, "la la la la" instead. Ed puts Mike on his back for the end of 'Porch,' carrying him to the other side of the stage and setting him down near Stone. Mike mixes some of Black Sabbath's 'Children of the Grave' and Van Halen's 'Unchained' into the 'YL' ending.
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review #2
order the official live cds from amazon08/23/00 - Jones Beach: Wantagh, NY
support act: Sonic Youth
soundcheck: Breath riffs, Timeless Melody, All Those Yesterdays (x2), Garden, Mankind, Breath, Whipping, Insignificance
Ed solo (prior to Sonic Youth's set): Dead Man
set: Long Road, Corduroy, Grievance, God's Dice, Animal, Faithfull, Nothing as it Seems, Wishlist, MFC, Habit, Even Flow, Daughter/(Hold On), Better Man, Leatherman, Nothingman, Not For You, Rearviewmirror
enc: Soon Forget, Present Tense, Sleight of Hand, Last Exit, Do The Evolution, State of Love and Trust, Black, Fuckin' Up
notes: Not a very talkative show and the show starts off a little slow as the crowd is a little quiet. At the end of a troubled 'Wishlist' Ed sings, "I wish I was a singer ... that remembered all the words ..." The 'Hold On' tag in 'Daughter' is an audience participation thing orchistrated by Ed; he tells the crowd to sing "hold on" after him. It continues for about five reptitions, and then he continues, making it more difficult for the crowd to keep up with his high notes until they eventually quit singing. At the start of the encore, Ed talks about reasons he's excited to be in New York and that it's an exciting year to vote. He says that they wouldn't tell us who to vote for (Ralph Nader), or that he'd in any way influence our decision (Green Party), but that we should vote. He says he doesn't know if Ralph Nader has ever heard Pearl Jam's music, but he thinks he'd like the next song, which is 'Soon Forget.' During 'State,' Ed brings the mic to the crowd and lets a fan sing a refrain. Mike's solo in 'Black' amazes everyone, including Ed. During 'Fuckin' Up,' Mike is playing the guitar behind his head. Celebrities fans are in attendance in Ten Club seats (Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Pete Sampras).
3 night review
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order the official live cds from amazon08/24/00 - Jones Beach: Wantagh, NY
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Of The Girl, Breakerfall, Corduroy, Grievance, Last Exit, Do The Evolution, Dissident, Rival, Given To Fly, Nothing As It Seems, Light Years, Even Flow, Daughter/(It's OK), Lukin, Insignificance, (Romanza)/Better Man, Porch
enc 1: Spin The Black Circle, Hail Hail, I Got Shit, Elderly Woman, Crazy Mary, Black, Rearviewmirror
enc 2: Last Kiss, Yellow Ledbetter
notes: This show was carried by regional radio. During 'Grievance," Ed sings "champagne breakfast for all New York." 'Do The Evolution' comes early and includes the lyrics, "I do what I want, irresponsibly. Why? I'm a republican baby!" The 'Even Flow' lyrics are changed to "understands the weather of the summer's on it's way." 'Daughter' is tagged with the Dead Moon's 'It's OK' and Ed gets the crowd to sing the chorus and he sings the last verse. After getting his layered clothing buttoned down, Ed goes into the crowd during 'Porch,' which has a very bluesy feel. As the band returns for the first encore, Ed sends "a call out to 92.7 and request for them to ... go back to playing vinyl and only vinyl on the radio." [It's actually 92.3.] He gives a similar speech as the previous night about not wanting to influence how people vote. 'RVM' was switched into the setlist instead of 'Footsteps' and 'Go.' The 'Last Kiss' lyrics are screwed up. Mike has an awesome show, throwing bits of 'Jumping Jack Flash' and 'Substitute' into 'YL.' He's wearing a Clash t-shirt. Not a lot of chatting tonight, this show has a bit of an inconsistent energy. The crowd was much better than the previous night.
3 night review
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order the official live cds from amazon08/25/00 - Jones Beach: Wantagh, NY [145m]
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Sometimes, Grievance, Corduroy, Whipping, Do The Evolution, Animal, Evacuation, Red Mosquito, In Hiding, Even Flow, Mankind, Untitled, MFC, Rearviewmirror, Present Tense, Given To Fly, Thin Air, Off He Goes, Black, Jeremy, Immortality
enc 1: Go, Insignificance, In My Tree, Elderly Woman, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Smile, Baba O'Riley
enc 2: Yellow Ledbetter
notes: During 'Sometimes,' Ed makes some errors on guitar, prompting Mike to look over and put both his fingers in his ears. At the close of 'Evacuation,' Ed greets the crowd: "How's that, fuckers?" He references the chemical spraying the previous night (an effort to combat the West Nile Virus carried by mosquitos), which leads to 'Red Mosquito.' 'Untitled' is a much longer version with different verses. Ed talks to Stone and then says that Stone wasn't afraid to arrive in a helicopter but he's afraid to play 'Breath.' Stone retorts: "Should I tell you the song that Ed doesn't have the guts to play or not?" Ed says they've come to a "mutual disagreement" which leads to 'Elderly Woman.' The 'Save It For Later' tag includes the first verse of the song. Ed makes reference to various NY venues (from the Wetlands to Roseland to Irving Plaza to CBGB). There are no political speeches. Before 'Smile,' Ed talks about a special harmonica he got in Paris and how he's been saving it for a special moment and he gives it away. Mike tosses a little of Zep's 'Over The Hills And Far Away' into 'YL.' Everyone is in a great mood .. at one point, Mike kisses Jeff :)
3 night review
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order the official live cds from amazon08/27/00 - Saratoga Performing Arts Center: Saratoga Springs: NY
attendance: 30,000
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Breakerfall, Whipping, Spin the Black Circle, Hail Hail, Corduroy, In My Tree, Dissident, Given to Fly, Nothing As It Seems, Grievance, Light Years, Daughter/(Beginning to See the Light)/(WMA)/(Androgynous Mind), Lukin, MFC, Wishlist, Better Man, Even Flow, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Sleight of Hand, Do The Evolution, Once, Timeless Melody, Elderly Woman, Leatherman, Porch
enc 2: Soon Forget, Black, Yellow Ledbetter
notes: Excellent show, great sound quality (perhaps only near the front?) in a beautiful venue. Ed is wearing his "champagne breakfast club" shirt (which he points to at the appropriate point in 'Grievance') and Mike is in the sleeveless "Queen" shirt. Ed mentions how the last time they were in Saratoga was eight years before, opening for Soundgarden, and that he was wearing the same shirt as that night. After 'Light Years' (Ed says, "So it's 'Lamp Years' tonight"), Ed talks about the inventor of the lava lamp (Ed Walker) who died at age 82 and how he'd been an avid nudist his whole life. "... there's a nice cycle of life in a lava lamp. Something grows, it reaches, it breaks up. Falls back to the bottom, then grows again ..." He turns to Matt (perhaps an analogy to his early drumming with members of PJ, the Soundgarden breakup and now returning). Then he trails off, laughing. Before 'Wishlist,' Ed tells a story about having worked with some primates three summers before and learning about language research with the animals. He explains how this next song, "even a monkey could play." He proceeds to mess up a line in the song and breaks off, laughing at himself, adding "You know, even the apes have trouble with the words sometimes." Stone's chuckling too, and Mike's shaking his head and grinning. Ed has guitar troubles and switches from his black Rick to his black Tele. 'RVM' is outstanding with an extended Sonic Youth-inspired noisejam in the middle and a thundering finale. Mike throws some 'Voodoo Chile' riffs into 'Porch.' Ed stands in the front row for part of 'Porch,' grabbing as he grabs a fan's hand. Pete is holding Ed and Ed rubs Pete's bald head. A 30-second "Daltrey" mic swing at the end of 'Porch' is awesome, although he misses the catch, and the mic skips over the front of the crowd! Messy clapping on 'Soon Forget' prompts Ed to get the crowd clapping on the beat: "You're all clapping off time. It's nice to have the support, but you'd like the support to be, you know, on time." As 'YL' is winding down, Ed, Stone and Matt walk off stage, waving and thanking the crowd. Mike however, sticks around, holding the solo and ripping into a scorching piece of electric acrobatics, sampling Zep's 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' with Jeff laughing hysterically. He goes on for a good 90 seconds or so before finishing, throwing his pick out and joining the others offstage. A strong show, with excellent energy levels and a lot of joy in the air.
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order the official live cds from amazon08/29/00 - Tweeter Center: Mansfield, MA
attendance: 19,900
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Of The Girl, Breakerfall, Corduroy, Go, God's Dice, Even Flow, Given To Fly, Nothing As It Seems, Grievance, Untitled, MFC, Habit, Wishlist, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Rival, Sleight of Hand, Insignificance, Porch
enc 1: Patriot [EV solo], Do The Evolution, Jeremy, Once, Mankind, Crazy Mary, Soldier of Love, Rearviewmirror
enc 2: Yellow Ledbetter, Fuckin' Up
notes: An absolutely amazing show. Following 'Even Flow,' some people about 15 rows back hold up a large banner reading, "We're so sorry, Hope you're OK." Ed spies it, comes to the front of the stage to get a better view and then puts his hand over his heart before returning to the mic, saying, "Thank you ... an extraordinary welcome ..." Ed makes reference to being together ten years in October but to put thing in perspective, that next year Sonic Youth will have been together for 20 years (Kim Gordon suffered terrible equipment problems during their warmup set). Lyrics to 'Untitled' are changed to "I can be there in 33 minutes or so ..." likely a reference to Boston Celtic's Larry Bird (#33). Another reference during 'Habit': "Speaking as a child who knew who John Havlicek was ..." Stone completely messes up the intro to 'Sleight of Hand.' Mike actually smashes his guitar up again tonight during 'Porch' and hands it to some young kids at the front [family of Sweeney (PJ security)], and Ed gives them some picks as well :) Ed says that this is the liveliest crowd since Europe, prefacing it with, "You'll be able to check all the bootlegs to be make sure I haven't said this to anyone else before." He says that people should use the power of the vote, if not to get Nader elected but to broaden the discussion wider to three guys. Through Ed's whole election year speech, 'Release' riffs are played. He says he is only talking about the election and Nader because "I know you're a highly intelligent and educated crowd. We won't even bring it up in Philadelphia (then slyly trails off with) ... but we might." 'Patriot' gets messy with the crowd clapping so much. Ed stops and nods his head in rhythm with the clapping for a bit and then picks the song back up. Stone comments, "OK, so you know how I screwed up that one song earlier (referencing 'Sleight')? Well, this is your punishment for that. You didn't do it. This is Ed's punishment," leading to 'Mankind.' A guy in a cow suit comes to the front of the stage (prompting a comment before 'Crazy Mary': "We don't usually play this song except for when there's a dancing cow." He asks, "Do you come to all the shows dressed like that or just ours?" [Note: this guy goes to pretty much every show at this venue and gets pointed out at every show.] Ed passes a cigarette to someone front row during 'Sleight,' gives away his tambourine after 'Mankind', and someone passes Ed a Rolling Stones Altamont show tape. Second encore begins, likely intended to finish with 'YL' but there seems to be a last minute decision to play out with 'Fuckin' Up' with Mike going crazy. Mike tags some of Aerosmith's 'Sick As A Dog' into the 'YL' solo and Ed takes more Polaroids. Seemingly a show that was never going to end with the band in such a good mood. 'Soon Forget' is on the setlist instead of 'YL' but is not played.
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review #1
review #2
order the official live cds from amazon08/30/00 - Tweeter Center: Mansfield, MA
attendance: 19,900
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Release, Animal, Hail Hail, Corduroy, In My Tree, Given To Fly, Breakerfall, Grievance, Evacuation, Footsteps, Even Flow, Daughter/(Androgynous Mind), Not For You, Lukin, NEW SONG/cover/improv, Brain Of J, Insignificance, Black
enc 1: Better Man, Go, Do The Evolution, Light Years, Elderly Woman, Leatherman, Nothingman, State of Love and Trust
enc 2: Soon Forget, Last Kiss, Rockin' In The Free World
notes: Members of Aerosmith are on side stage during the first 7-8 songs, clapping and smiling. 'Release' is a shortened version with incredible emotion. There is absolutely no chat with the crowd throughout the whole main set and they don't take a breather until the new song. 'Footsteps' is met with a HUGE crowd reaction. Stone's solo during 'NFY" is very passionate, causing Matt to look up and yell, "Go, Stone!" The song after 'Lukin' seems to be a new song, or an extended improv (see mp3 below). The set is seemingly cut short when Ed gets visibly emotional during 'Black.' Ed lets the crowd sing the second verse to 'Better Man' and the band jams it out for a good extra minute or so. During 'Leatherman' (which 90% of the crowd don't seem to recognize), Ed yells the "give me some skin" line very profoundly and flubs some other lyrics, commenting "I'm so fucked up." 'Nothingman' is absolutely beautiful, featuring glaring red lights from above during the "into the sun--burn!" line. Dancing during 'SOLAT,' and toward the end, Ed motions to Mike to go out to the side of the stage and says "Hey, Mike?" into the mic and they look at each other and wave. Someone gives Ed flowers that he puts in the mic stand, ending the first encore. 'Soon Forget' is introduced as "a small song on a small instrument by a small person" and the clapping leads to stopping the song: "Well, you were clapping out of time and I was out of tune, so we're even." Mike starts the opening to 'Baba' only to be cut short by the rest of the guys and they go into 'RITFW' instead, with Mike playing with the guitar between his legs (causing Jeff to crack up), finished with Ed distributing flowers to each side of the stage and waving goodbye to the crowd as the band plays on. An absolute piledriver of a show with a great crowd.
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order the official live cds from amazon09/01/00 - E-Center: Camden, NJ
attendance: 25,000
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Sometimes, Last Exit, Animal, Red Mosquito, Grievance, Light Years, Dissident, Given To Fly, Even Flow, Wishlist, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Present Tense, Corduroy, Spin The Black Circle, Daughter/(Androgynous Mind)/(Hold On), Black, Insignificance, Go
enc 1: Breath, Tremor Christ, Once, Elderly Woman, Jeremy, Whipping, Do The Evolution, Crazy Mary, Porch
enc 2: Yellow Ledbetter
notes: PJ plays through the first few songs and Ed stops to tell the crowd, "There's only four shows left and the throat's starting to go. So help me out when you can." Ed is sporting a tshirt from Hickam AFB in Hawaii. The setlist obviously changed a few times as Ed walks over to the rest of the band making changes. Numerous 'Breath' signs were evident and Ed, seeming displeased that people are holding up the signs during the first three songs, tells the crowd he'll be taking requests later. In 'GTF,' intead of "Well fuckers, he still stands," Ed sings "Well fuckers, you know the rest." 'Even Flow' includes a Mike, Ed and Jeff jump, totally in synch. The 'SIFL' tag is extended and composed of completely different lyrics ("Don't run away. Why'd you have to run away? I shouldn't be here. I swore I'd never leave you alone and then I get back and you're not home ..."). 'Corduroy' is introduced as "a song written about a brown jacket." During the 'Daughter' tags, Ed grabs a mirror and reflects the spotlights out into the crowd. 'Breath' makes its 2000 tour debut, prompted by Ed returning for the encore, smiling and cursing the crowd for wanting more and saying, "OK, fuckers," reaching to the crowd, grabbing a sign out of the front and holding it up to the band and the crowd, saying "It's not gonna be perfect, but let's give it a go." At the "all these reaching hands" part, Ed reaches down to touch the outstretched hands of the first row. As 'Breath' hits its peak, Ed turns the mic stand upside down while raising it slowly, and then after balancing it for a moment, lets it swing and crash back down onto the stage. A few lyrics are neglected, but at the end, Jeff says, "Not too bad" towards Stone. Before 'Elderly Woman,' Ed speaks of a small town east of the west coast in California, but north of the border, and says that he and Matt "didn't know each other as delinquents, but we're making up for it now ..." Ed lets the crowd carry the 'Jeremy' chorus, keeping the beat by humming the tune into the microphone with the crowd filling in the words. Mike plays the opening riffs from 'Voodoo Chile' during 'Porch.' Before 'YL,' a fan up front gives Ed a Flyers jersey with "Vedder" and the #10 on the back of it. Towards the end, Ed says "There is a party in Stone's room tonight," and the crowd goes nuts. Someone tosses up an Iron Maiden shirt and Stone picks it up and puts it on Mike's amp during 'YL' (which includes an extended snippet of Ozzy Osbourne's 'Crazy Train' and Iron Maiden's 'Number of the Beast'). The lawn is chanting "Mike, Mike, Mike!" seeming to drive him on. A great vibe and the band is very responsive; Stone is very animated, duck walking and skipping. Matt is driving things home and each time he adds a different fill, Stone glances toward Matt and then Jeff and they break into big smiles. 'Rearviewmirror', 'Evacuation' and 'Hail Hail' were on the setlist but not played.
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order the official live cds from amazon09/02/00 - E-Center: Camden, NJ
attendance: 25,000
support act: Sonic Youth
set: Ed solo before SY: Dead Man, Parting Ways
Of The Girl, Breakerfall, State of Love and Trust, Hail Hail, Do The Evolution, Faithfull, Nothing As It Seems, Corduroy, Untitled, MFC, Habit, I Got Shit, Off He Goes, God's Dice, Even Flow, Rival, Animal, Nothingman, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Soon Forget, Better Man, Last Exit, Given To Fly, Footsteps, Last Kiss, Porch
enc 2: Baba O'Riley
notes: After 'DTE,' Ed says, "Is this Philadelphia or is this New Jersey? All I know is it's Saturday night ... Make yourselves comfortable, we're going to be here a while." 'Habit' is described as "about a friend who was having some problems. And if you have a friend who's having some problems, don't look away. Give 'em some help." After 'I Got Shit,' Ed says its a song that they wrote with "young Neil." He then talks about a few of the band members saw Neil's play during the break between Boston and Philly and that Neil told him to say "Hello" to Philly. He says that the Pope also asked them to say "Hello" to Philly and that the Pope is "a warm human being ... we're friends but never writes ya back." He changes the 'Even Flow' lyrics to include, "Praying out to the Pope who never writes him back." When they return for the first encore, Ed says that the front section is placing orders for songs and, "Yeah, we'll play that. Would you like fries with that? How about an apple pie?" He gives some "rock 'n' roll trivia" before 'Soon Forget,' noting Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath wrote all of their songs on a ukulele. "We're carrying on the rock 'n' roll tradition here." He messes up 'Soon Forget' twice, both times shouting "Fuck me." After the second time, he says that it's "Two these two girls who keep flashing their tits ... it's really hard to concentrate." Before startingo 'Better Man,' Ed cruelly teases 'Release' by playing the opening notes. Ed brings out the harmonica for the beginning of 'Footsteps' and Mike's solo is cut short. Someone tosses a Who t-shirt on stage when the band walks out for the second encore, Ed puts it on and they go right into 'Baba O'Riley,' a perfect ending with the entire crowd singing - Ed stops and lets the crowd carry it. Ed is in a great mood, tossing lots of picks to the crowd tonight.
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order the official live cds from amazon09/04/00 - Merriweather Post Pavilion: Columbia MD
attendance: 19,000
support act:Sonic Youth did not play tonight due to a personal emergency
set: Ed preshow: Trouble, Dead Man, Parting Ways (with Steve, Lee and Jim from Sonic Youth!)
Sometimes, Breakerfall, Corduroy, Grievance, Dissident, Do The Evolution, Nothing As It Seems, Given To Fly, Untitled/MFC, Habit, Daughter/(Androgynous Mind)/(It's OK), Lukin, Not For You, Even Flow, (Romanza)/Better Man, Black, Rearviewmirror
enc 1: Leaving Here, Insignificance, State of Love And Trust, Wishlist, Crazy Mary, Porch
enc 2: Soon Forget, Indifference, Rockin' In The Free World
notes: Unusual start with Ed's solo set and the SY guys joining him for 'Parting Ways.'
When it is announced that Sonic Youth would not play and that PJ would start early, some people cheered. Ed comments on Sonic Youth's emergency and absence: "Sometimes it's kind of difficult to play music, believe it or not ... and tonight's kind of like one of those nights, but because of your presence here, it doesn't allow us any option but to play ... we'd probably listen to music to get through itanyway, so might as well listen to it together and play." 'Insignificance' is described as a song about "being small" and Ed motions above his head. 'Wishlist' is dedicated to a friend who isn't there and the mirrorball is lowered. For the second encore, Ed introduces the ukulele, holding it up and saying, "One of the original instruments of rock 'n' roll - and more importantly, heavy metal." He thanks people for registering to vote. He says that if people don't see the need for revolution then they aren't looking and mentions some corporations (dissing Bill Gates and Microsoft, saying 'Soon Forget' was written for him). He makes an analogy about the start of the Republican party and how they got Lincoln elected (and the slaves were freed) and the Green party, and apologizes: "enough from me." 'Soon Forget' is performed perfectly, after Ed asks the crowd to be quiet so they can hear the words. 'RITFW' gets a huge crowd reaction and Ed tosses out two tambourines, ending with crashing a third over the mic stand.
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order the official live cds from amazon09/05/00 - Post Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake: Pittsburgh, PA
attendance: 23,126
set: Ed pre-show: Trouble, Dead Man, Parting Ways, Naked Eye (both Naked Eye and Parting Ways w/Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, and Jim O'Rourke)
Even Flow, Hail Hail, Animal, Corduroy, Grievance, In My Tree, Nothing As It Seems, Light Years, Daughter/(Bull In The Heather}/(Androgynous Mind), Leatherman, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Sleight of Hand, Given To Fly, Last Exit, Rearviewmirror, I Got Shit, Black, Porch
enc 1: Breakerfall, Go, Once, Mankind, Elderly Woman, Crazy Mary, Wash, I Got You, Insignificance
enc 2: Baba O'Riley
notes: The 'Daughter' tag (Sonic Youth's 'Bull in the Heather') is a surprise. (This hasn't been tagged on 'Daughter' since the '96 tour and is more extended.) Ed runs off the stage during 'Daughter,' returning with a sheet of lyrics that he uses to sing the tag. The band is very manic tonight. Ed lets a fan in the front count off the "1,2,3,4" to open 'Porch' and Mike smashes a guitar. He tosses it up into the air, and then after it crashes to the ground, he picks it up and then smashes it to smithereens against a speaker. Ed throws himself full speed at the same speaker. Before the first encore, Ed says that it's usually the second to last show of the tour that's the best, but not this time -- the last show of the tour is the best one. During 'Go' Ed is running around centerstage backwards in a circle. Lots of glowstick throwing. Ed throws one from the stage to the upper half of the pavilion. Both Mike and Ed have their fun kicking beach balls into the crowd. Stone before 'Mankind': "All right, I'm gonna sing one!" 'I Got You' includes two band huddles, where they all strum each of their guitars trying to figure out the right notes for the song. After the first one, Ed says "I think we got it", only to have to meet again because they don't have it. Ed comes back, spreads his arms and says, "What the fuck?" At the conclusion, Stone quips, "Nothing like a little improv." He also says it had been a tough tour, but the fans are making it tough for him to quit. Members of Sonic Youth help out with 'Baba,' ending with Ed doing multiple Townshend jumps and windmills.
The Wash Story: Just before 'Crazy Mary,' Ed says that they are getting to the part of the show now where they were going to get a little crazy, "or to borrow from another Seattle band, they are going to go 'Crazy On You'" (a nod to Heart). Ed then mentions that there is a woman with a white umbrella, and he wants security to find her and to bring her down to the side of the stage. "She's OK; let her come on down." After 'Crazy Mary' Ed asks if they found the person with the umbrella (which they did - Pete went out to find her). So then the person (hi, Amy!!) is brought out from sidestage, and they have a private conversation, after which Ed says, "Hey everybody, this is Amy ... I asked her how many shows she's been to,'cause we've seen her at like the last 12 or 15. She said over a hundred. Oh my God (hugging Amy). And then Ed proceeds to take Stone's stool, and puts it down right next to his microphone, and sits her on that stool and they play 'Wash.' After the song, Ed introduces her to all of the band members; Mike hugs her, Stone kisses her and she has a brief chat with all of them.
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order the official live cds from amazon09/26/00 - Live double CDs from each show of the European 2000 tour are officially released
Copyright © 2001-2004 Jean Bruns, All Rights Reserved
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