Friday night Pearl Jam with openers Mudhoney played here in Edmonton. I had been trying to get tickets for a few weeks before the big show,to no avail. I was looking for floor tickets but had no luck, all that were available were seats behind the stage. So after work on Friday, I came home and had me some beers and hummed and hawed about whether I was going to go down to the Coliseum and see if I could get decent tickets from the scalpers at a decent price. I got down there about an hour before show time and tried my luck. I wasn't able to find the guy I usually deal with for tickets, so I made my rounds talking to those that were selling tickets. The scalpers made out like bandits at this show. They were asking for 200 to 300 dollars for floor seats and 150 for tickets in the stands (face value for all tickets were 82 dollars). I went with 100 dollars and wasn't about to spend more then that. I was having no luck, what they were asking was way out of my league. I then ventured to the bar across the street and had me a few beers and waited til just before Pearl Jam hit the stage. I had been asking one scalper about a single ticket on the floor row 41 earlier, he wanted 200, then 150, by the time I got to him again about 15 minutes before Pearl Jam I managed to get the ticket for 3 dollars over face value. It was his last ticket and he just wanted to get out of there. He still wanted a hundred, but I told him all I had was 85, so he said between long hairs, he sold me the ticket for 85, sweet, sure it was a shitty seat, row 41 on the floor, I haven't had shitty seats like that for a show in a very long time, but I really wanted to see Pearl Jam again. Mission accomplished. I got talking to the guy that sold me he ticket, he was a guy I had never seen in Edmonton selling tickets. He told me he had been following the tour all across Canada selling tickets. If Friday night was any indication, the guy was doing very well for himself.
So, now I have my ticket for the show, a printed out ticket, first time I have not had a hard copy ticket for a concert. But the ticket worked and I am in. Down to the floor I go and get to the bar to order my rye and ginger, the lady gives me a rye and coke, I give her two 5's and she gives me change for a twenty, cool, this is working out good so far, ya she messed up my order, but I got for free, so a guy can't bitch about that. Also while in the line up for drinks, who is next to me, Shawn Horcoff of the Edmonton Oilers, I was tempted to ask him to pay for my drink, after all he is the most over paid hockey player in the league. But I kept my mouth shut and carried on to my seat. Wow, row 41 on the floor is a long way back. Third last row on the floor. But hey, I'm in and am going to make the best of it. I sit down and talk to the guy next to me, ask him if he smokes, he says no, but the two buddies he is with in front of us, does, ok cool. We got that out of the way, when I light up, I now know who I can pass to. Also, the guy asks me how much I paid for my ticket, so I tell him, he then tells me they had paid 250 each for there tickets from the same guy I did. Wow, that's a lot of money for row 41 on the floor.
Now the show starts, the lights had barely gone down when the guy in front of me turns around and passes me a doobie, nice, that one is done and I get a tap on the shoulder, the lady behind me passes a doobie my way. Then a big native guy three rows up, saunters my way, this is weird, this guy is massive, he comes up to me and asks me if I have a light, hell, I have whatever you want, this guy is big, but all he wants is a light. I give him a light, he lights up and passes it to me, I have a hoot and he goes back to his seats three rows up. he does this three times during the course of the concert. Weird stuff, but hey, I was thankful for the hoots. This went on all night, this is the most smoke I have seen since I saw Page and Plant in Vancouver years ago. What an awesome time I had this show, the people in the back rows sure know how to have a good time,lol.
I missed openers Mudhoney. This was my third time seeing Pearl Jam in concert, and again they were amazing, such an awesome band to see live. No big gimmicks, no screens,no lasers, no fancy light show, just the boys out there playing some kick ass trippy rock n' roll. The sound started a little muddy I thought, but by the third song in, that was cleared up and the rest of the show rocked. Pearl Jam played for two hours and played a great set with songs from there twenty year career. One surprise was them breaking in to the Pink Floyd song "Another Brick In The Wall" during the encore. There wasn't a person out of the sold out 15,000 people that sat through out the whole show. A great night of rock n' roll and although the seats weren't great, I had an awesome time. The pasties after the show were brutal though, I couldn't have talked if I wanted to. I couldn't wait to get off the LRT to get me some water. All and all a really really good show and good times!!!
Here are a few pictures I took from row 41 on the floor. Most of these shots were from early in the show, the rest of the night I was busy passing doobies around. I took one joint with me and finally got to light it up during the second encore.
Setlist for the Edmonton show.
MAIN SET:
1. Wash
2. Why Go
3. Given To Fly
4. Got Some
5. Severed Hand
6. Setting Forth
7. Not For You
8. Evenflow
9. Marker in the Sand
10. Down
11. U
12. Present Tense
13. Black
14. Half Full
15. Last Kiss
16. The Fixer
17. Wasted Reprise
18. Life Wasted
ENCORE 1:
19. Just Breathe
20. Come Back
21. Unthought Known
22. Daughter / WMA / Another Brick In The Wall
23. Do The Evolution
24. Alive
ENCORE 2
25. Once
26.Betterman / Runaway
27. Kick Out The Jams
28. Keep On Rockin' In The Free World
29. Yellow Ledbetter
T-shirt from show.
Front.
Back.
Poster from the show.
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