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Pearl Jam, July 11th, Mansfield, MA: An Open Letter to the BandJul 13 '03 Write an essay on this topic.
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In order to accomplish their goal of performing their entire current repertoire over the course of the three Boston shows while not repeating a single song, Pearl Jam will play an extra one hour set at 6:30 p.m. before Sleater-Kinney takes the stage. From: Synergy/Tenclub.net, July 8th, 2003 Dear Pearl Jam, I'm taking the time to write this letter to thank you for everything you gave to me on July 11, 2003 (not to mention the other 4 shows I saw). I realize that on that night, you had to deal with a lot of moronic, drunken fans who had no interest in what was going on, or had any idea the enormity of what was going on, who were only there to hear Jeremy and be a Better Man couple. But I digress... I hope you guys realize that there were a ton of die hards there. When you made the above announcement, it was like a bomb went off in the Pearl Jam community. People literally canceled plans and flew out to Boston to see this enormous event. My friend Steph drove down from Montreal, deciding late the night before to do so. Another guy drove from Wisconsin, spur of the moment. And then there were the couple of thousand of us who had just seen you in New York. We had to be a part of history. When you first claimed you would try to play the entire touring catalog in the three Boston shows, with no repeats, many of us thought you to be crazy. But when you started whipping out stuff like Low Light, we realized you were probably serious. You came out at 6:30pm sharp and played for close to an hour. You started off completely acoustic, and you began with Long Road, a song I had not yet heard live, and one that I adore. It was gorgeous. You asked us to sit down, for no reason other than because you hadn't played to a seated audience in so long, and assured us that you weren't gonna play "an acoustic version of Blood or anything." You followed that up with two other classic opening songs, Of the Girl and Sometimes. But it was when you started playing All Those Yesterdays, a song you guys haven't played since October of 1998, that tears first came to my eyes at what I was witnessing. You played other rare tracks, like Driftin, and then closed this "experimental set" with Parting Ways and Indifference. I hope you realize that the hush that had fallen over the crowd was not indifference, but pure awe, all of us taken in by something so beautiful. You played 12 songs in that pre-set, and it was all gorgeous, every single bit of it. When you came back out at 8:45 for the real show, I knew what was coming, everyone else I talked to did as well. Can't Keep sounded really nice, almost like you guys were saying "we can't keep you here, but we're gonna try our hardest." Then you went into your little traditional "rocker" phase after the slow opener. I was loving Brain of J and Spin the Black Circle. Hell, you even whipped out Tremor Christ for only the second time all tour, first time since Australia. It's scary how accurate your sentiments towards the crowd was when you said "here's one you'll actually know" before playing Why Go for only the second time this tour as well. Most people didn't recognize it at first, since you've done a bit of re-arranging to it, but it sounded fantastic. I'll always remember that version of Wishlist, even though it was almost identical to the one in New York. I'll also always remember that version of Nothingman, as I sang the "into the sun" lines to my girlfriend, and I'll especially always remember that version of MFC, which actually got me and my girlfriend dancing together. Words can't express how happy you guys were making me feel that night. And then you whipped into Blood, and I think I scared my girlfriend I was yelling out the lyrics so loud. You left and then came back for the first encore, and you immediately ripped into Breath. Hell, by the time you intro'd Down as a b-side from the last record and said it was for the "true collectors," not even the snide comments from the Better Man couple next to me could bring me down from the high I felt from finally hearing that song live. All I ask is that it stay in the setlist rotation for years to come. I never thought Arc would work live, but it was fascinating to see Eddie make his own tape loop and sing over it. And by the time Rockin in the Free World hit, the show was nearing four hours in actual musical length. But we wouldn't let you leave. We forced you to come out and repeat a song in Boston. That's ok, I long ago made my peace with Yellow Ledbetter, and there was no other way to end the run of Boston shows. You guys didn't play everything (you missed Last Exit, Red Mosquito, and Glorified G, among other covers like Crown of Thorns and Sonic Reducer), but anyone who holds that against you guys is nothing short of being a f*cking moron. You guys gave us 44 songs over the course of nearly 4 hours. Over the course of the three nights, you gave us 95 different songs (96 songs total), and played the last two albums (Binaural and Riot Act) in their entirety. Add in my other two shows from New York and I saw you do over 100 different songs. So from the bottom of my heart, and from the entire Pearl Jam community, we thank you. You're the band that never stops giving, with the fans that never stop taking. There's been questions about how you guys have handled some things, but after July 11th, 2003, all I've felt is a whole lot of love...love...love. Cause that's all you need. Thank you for making history once again. Thank you for being the only band on the planet who would have the balls to do what you did. And thank you for doing it in my city. It wasn't obvious on July 11th, but Boston loves you. More than anything, thank you for making my summer, and a whole lot of my friend's summers, one of the most memorable and fun we'll ever experience. We'll see you next year on that mini tour...and this time, feel free to play the normal 2 hours plus. We'll understand. Sincerely, Matt Aucoin, and the rest of the Pearl Jamily. Setlist for 7/11/03 (no, I'm not making this up): Extra set before opening band: Long Road, Of The Girl, Sometimes, Off He Goes, All Those Yesterdays, Driftin', Thin Air, Sleight of Hand, Footsteps, All Or None, Parting Ways, Indifference; Set List: Can't Keep, Breakerfall, Brain of J., Spin the Black Circle, Ghost, Green Disease, Tremor Christ, Given To Fly, Nothing As It Seems, Cropduster, Faithfull, Why Go, Wishlist/(Why Can't I Touch It?), Leatherman, Nothingman, Better Man, 1/2 Full, Untitled, MFC, Blood; 1st encore: Breath, Habit, Down, Mankind, U, Black, Jeremy; 2nd encore: Arc, I Believe In Miracles, Know Your Rights, Fortunate Son with Sleater-Kinney, Rockin' in the Free World with Sleater-Kinney, One Note [literally play one note & leave]; 3rd encore: Yellow Ledbetter  |
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