Pearl Jam 6/12/2003

Imagine a warm night in mid-July, with a bright moon glistening above an open air football stadium located next to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory. What could be a more perfect summer venue to play? Though throw in some merely halfway enthusiastic concertgoers and a band coming off a 50 song setlist from the previous night, making them understandably sluggish and Eddie slightly hoarse, and unfortunately, this sums up the Hershey Park show.

The stadium was not even close to capacity as “Love Boat Captain” opened the set. As they continued onto “Last Exit”, an underrated track off Vitalogy, the crowd began to finally file in, and “Animal” received a welcome cheer as Eddie broke into his familiar countdown. Their performance of “Do the Evolution” was solid, as usual, but far from the best of the tour, only to be followed by “Help, Help,” a mediocre track off Riot Act. Fortunately, “Grievance” and “Get Right” got things going with their crowd-friendly sing-along material. And as the band made their instrument changes, Eddie found a way to work in a segue to “Elderly Woman.”

Shaking things up, they moved into a most unexpected “Immortality,” a song shadowed on Vitalogy by the radio-circulated “Better Man,” but moved safely back into fan familiar territory with “Even Flow” and the rarely played “Deep,” another track from Ten. Seeming a bit tired after finishing “Corduroy,” Eddie turned to the lighter side. If “Thumbing my way” isn’t the best song off of Riot Act, it certainly wins the award for best-named track. Eddie has described the meaning of song as a tribute to having purity, and a blunt honesty in the first draft of words. Following it with Binaural’s love song, “Thin Air” was a great touch. “Once” gave the die-hards hope to hear both “Alive” and “Footsteps” to complete the trilogy, however they opted for “Insignificance” and “RearViewMirror,” with its signature guitar jam session.

As Pearl Jam left the stage, some fans began the early migration toward the exits. When the band returned for the encore set, they opened with “Driven to Tears,” an uneventful cover of an equally uneventful Police song. After the conclusion, Eddie, responding to a girl flashing her breasts in the front row addressed the crowd. With obvious disgust in his voice, he made a rather humorous reference to her “mosquito bites,” and added, “…it's all fucking girls gone wild bullshit. If every girl who pulled her top up, just educated herself and voted…”

The band finished the encore with “Alive” and promptly left the stage. Despite the stage lights remaining dim, waves of fans continued toward the exits. The crowds’ enthusiasm was wavering, and the shows end was in plain sight as they retook the stage with “State of Love and Trust.” Eddie mumbled beneath his band mates’ instruments, forcing his lyrics to be barely audible, and they ended with “Rockin’ in the Free World.”

For being such a short set list, fans were still fortunate to get some rarities. Though having played almost 50 songs in Mansfield, MA the night before, including an acoustic set, Pearl Jam just seemed worn out. Get that show, it’s a must have, and leave Hershey Park to summer memory.

Photos courtesy of Pearl Jam and Kerensa at Pearl Jam Synergy.

Complete setlist

set: Love Boat Captain, Last Exit, Animal, Do The Evolution, Help Help, Grievance, Get Right, Elderly Woman, Immortality, Even Flow, Deep, Lukin/Corduroy, Thumbing My Way, Thin Air, Once, Insignificance, Rearviewmirror

enc 1: Driven To Tears, Whipping, Glorified G, Daughter/(ABITW), Crazy Mary, Alive

enc 2: State Of Love And Trust, Rockin' in the Free World

---