We were fortunate enough to make it down to Philadelphia for the final event at the Philly Spectrum on Saturday – a three-and-a-half hour marathon Pearl Jam concert that I won’t soon forget. Witnessing a show like last night’s killed any remorse I had for missing the first three shows of their four-show stand at the legendary Broad Street venue. The Rocky music lead-in that the band came out to was the perfect introduction to a match that was about to go until the final bell, leaving both fighters – the band and the fans – completely drained.
A show on Halloween night, paired with the World Series being in town and knowing that it was the last event in the Spectrum gave us more than enough optimism for something different. With a new album worth of material to play, I knew I’d hear some songs that I had never heard live before, but Pearl Jam really threw a couple of punches that none of us expected. After the one encore, Pearl Jam acknowledged Halloween by coming out onto the stage dressed as Devo and playing Whip It. I guess the Devo shirt that Eddie was wearing earlier in the night foreshadowed the moment, but seriously, who would’ve expected such a funny sight. The cover was actually really good, but I don’t think my laughter subsided until about halfway through the song. Great moment.
Another surprise was when Eddie took the stage…which an accordion. Pretty much anyone who owns, or owned, Vitalogy knew what was coming. While Bugs isn’t exactly the song that you get excited about hearing for the quality, it’s surprise inclusion in the set helped set the night apart from the twenty-plus shows I’d attended. Of course, two surprises aren’t really that crazy at a Pearl Jam show, so to make the night even more unique, the band played Sweet Lew for the first time, Out of My Mind for only the third time, and songs like Pilate, Crown of Thorns, Rats, and Satan’s Bed; all of which are the antitheses of the Cordoroys and Even Flows heard show after show.
The band was clearly having a blast on stage and just when you thought the show was coming close to an end, they kept going…and going…and going…until the confetti shot up into the air and the balloons dropped from the rafters. Of course, even that didn’t represent the end. While I could go a lifetime without hearing Yellow Ledbetter send us home, closing the Spectrum with a song that signaled the beginning of so many events at the soon-to-be-demolished venue – The Star-Spangled Banner – seemed fitting.
All-in-all, the only show that I can confidently say rivaled this one was State College in ’03. I’ll call it a split decision.
