Pearl Jam at Verizon Wireless Music Center

My brother (@JLipan) and I had the chance to see Pearl Jam this past Friday at Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, IN. Not only was this the 7th time I've seen PJ live, it is the 2nd time I've seen them in my own backyard (the 1st in 6/03 as my wife & I have lived in Noblesville for almost 8yrs now). Of the 7 times I've seen them, this show sneaks in to my top 2 despite some weather issues and a lengthy delay. I got our tickets through the 10 Club and was hoping that they would have been closer but I guess I can't complain about upper pavilion with a sold out show.

Band of Horses as the opening band sounded great despite missing the first part of their set. I had never heard of them before this show and am excited to get some of their stuff. Easily the best opener I have heard for any of my PJ shows so far.

Despite an hour delay due to weather and the band making sure that everyone was in the venue and safe, they played a 29 song set, which included 2 encores, for a total of 2.5hrs. They opened with a vengeance going from "Release" into "Last Exit" around 9:30pm and ended the show with the trifecta of "Alive", "Baba O'Riley", and "Yellow Ledbetter" at 12am. Everything in between was solid as well. Of course there were crowd favorites like "Even Flow", "Elderly Woman", "Wishlist" and "Betterman" with a few fan favorites like "Down", "Force of Nature", "Off He Goes" and "Whipping". The new stuff from Backspacer sounded great, the older stuff sounded great and it appeared as though the band was having a great time. Mike McCready was doing his thing all around the stage, Eddie interacted with the crowd quite a bit and showed he hasn't lost any energy by roaming around and jumping off monitors.

Overall, a great show! Tons of energy coming from the band and the crowd, despite a wet start to the night and a cold breeze throughout. If you are a Pearl Jam fan and haven't seen them live yet, I suggest you check them out, I trust you won't be disappointed.