Pearl Jam: Camden, NJ June 19 & 20

After over two long years Pearl Jam returned to the Philly area with back to back shows at the now Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ on June 19 & 20. Needless to say, I was extremely excited to get my Pearl Jam fix and I wasn’t disappointed with the two electric shows that the boys treated us to.

On June 19 my small group and I tailgated with some fellow Jammers in one of the beautiful parking lots in Camden. We had a great time chit chatting about the band, politics and whatever else, not to mention drinking some beers. I was getting a bit antsy towards 6:30 cause I wanted to snag a poster, but I decided to chill out and enjoy the moment. We finally got inside a little after 8 and I was able to still get a poster and hit the bathroom before the band hit the stage. After a couple of mishaps, like one of my friends getting taken away by security for a minute, we took to the lawn and found a great spot.

Pearl Jam came on around 9:15 and opened up with “Hard to Imagine”, which pretty much set the stage for a fantastic show. The guys were on fire with a set list that included rarely played live gems like “All Night”, “U” and “Who You Are”. Of course hits like “Corduroy”, “Better Man”, Even Flow” and “Given To Fly” made the cut, but they sounded fantastic. The addition of songs like “Rats” and “In Hiding” made the show even more spectacular. The crowd was also insane, singing along to almost ever song, which impressed the heck out of me. Throughout the night Eddie kept telling the crowd that there was no curfew, so I was expecting a lengthy show. However, the main set seemed all too quick as they ended it with “Why Go”, but I knew that two encores were coming up.

The two encores were sick. The band came out during the first encore with their unbelievable cover of the Who’s “Love Reigin O’er Me”, which was followed by “Better Man”, “State of Love and Trust”, “Black” and “Leash”! Now it was time for the second encore which kicked off with Eddie doing his protest tune “No More”. The rest of the band came back out and closed the night with “Crazy Mary”, “Porch” and “Yellow Ledbetter”.

Here’s the set list:
Hard To Imagine, Corduroy, Severed Hand, Do The Evolution, All Night, In Hiding, Small Town, Gone, Who You Are, Unemployable, Even Flow, Light Years, Grievance, Given To Fly, U, Rats, Why Go
Encore 1: Love, Reign O’er Me, Better Man/Save It For Later, State Of Love And Trust, Black, Leash
Encore 2: No More, Crazy Mary, Porch, Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner

Here’s “Love Reign O’er Me”, with a story about the expensive venue beer, from June 19.

With such a great show, I honestly didn’t know how they were going to top it on June 20.

I was extremely beat going into night two, but caught a second wind once I returned to Camden. I got inside around 8:30 and grabbed a shirt before finding my seats. They weren’t bad seats at all, thank you very much Ten Club, although some fan members were complaining.

The band came on earlier this night, just after 9, so I was expecting a longer show. They surprised me by opening up with “Severed Hand”, cause I was expecting a slower song, and was hoping for “Long Road”, but it was all good. The guys were once again on fire and delivered an electric set. They didn’t throw out any huge surprises, but it was still a killer set list and show. Some of my favorite songs of the night were the Binaural tracks “Nothing As It Seems”, “Thin Air” and “Insignificance”. They also whipped out “Low Light” and “W.M.A”, which was awesome. Funny moment of the night was when Eddie attempted to do “Love Boat Captain”, but forgot the words and moved on to “Corduroy” instead. The crowd was once again insane and the band seemed to relish in it.

They ended the main set with “Why Go”, again, and delivered a short, but thrilling, first encore of “Lukin”, “Comatose”, “Given To Fly” and “Rearviewmirror”. Right before the best version of “Rearviewmirror” that I’ve seen, Eddie put on a conductor’s hat and exclaimed “All abroad”. It was classic.

For the second encore the band came out with “Footsteps”, which was followed by “Once”. During this time it dawned on me that they were playing a reverse Mamasan Trilogy, and they did when they kicked into “Alive”. Just for folks that don’t know, the Mamasan Trilogy is a mini opera by Eddie, which were also the first three songs he put lyrics to in Pearl Jam. The trilogy tells the story of “Alive”, you know about the boy that finds out his real father has passed away, “Once” is about this kid going nuts and killing people, and “Footsteps” deals with the kid getting sentenced to death for his actions, which he blames his mom for. The reason it’s reversed is because “Alive” is no longer a curse and has a positive spin now. Anyways, for Pearl Jam freaks it was a special moment. The band then said goodbye to Camden with another rousing cover of the Who’s “Baba O’ Riley”.

Here’s the set list:
Severed Hand, Brain Of J, Animal, Dissident, Low Light, Down, Nothing As It Seems, Green Disease, Love Boat Captain (intro Only),Corduroy, Even Flow, Thin Air, Daughter/War, Insignificance, W.M.A., Do The Evolution, Whipping, Better Man, Why Go
Encore 1: Lukin, Comatose, Given To Fly, Rearviewmirror
Encore 2: Footsteps, Once, Alive, Baba O’Riley

Here’s “W.M.A.” from June 20.

Two great nights from Pearl Jam, as usual, makes me even more amped for the upcoming Madison Square Garden shows.