August 23-25, 2000 Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY

(23rd)

Ed solo (prior to Sonic Youth’s set): Dead Man

setlist : Long Road, Corduroy, Grievance, God’s Dice, Animal, Faithfull, Nothing as it Seems, Wishlist, MFC, Habit, Even Flow, Daughter/(Hold On), Better Man, Leatherman, Nothingman, Not For You, Rearviewmirror

enc: Soon Forget, Present Tense, Sleight of Hand, Last Exit, Do The Evolution, State of Love and Trust, Black, Fuckin’ Up

notes: Not a very talkative show and the show starts off a little slow as the crowd is a little quiet. At the end of a troubled ‘Wishlist’ Ed sings, “I wish I was a singer … that remembered all the words …” The ‘Hold On’ tag in ‘Daughter’ is an audience participation thing orchistrated by Ed; he tells the crowd to sing “hold on” after him. It continues for about five reptitions, and then he continues, making it more difficult for the crowd to keep up with his high notes until they eventually quit singing. At the start of the encore, Ed talks about reasons he’s excited to be in New York and that it’s an exciting year to vote. He says that they wouldn’t tell us who to vote for (Ralph Nader), or that he’d in any way influence our decision (Green Party), but that we should vote. He says he doesn’t know if Ralph Nader has ever heard Pearl Jam’s music, but he thinks he’d like the next song, which is ‘Soon Forget.’ During ‘State,’ Ed brings the mic to the crowd and lets a fan sing a refrain. Mike’s solo in ‘Black’ amazes everyone, including Ed. During ‘Fuckin’ Up,’ Mike is playing the guitar behind his head. Celebrities fans are in attendance in Ten Club seats (Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Pete Sampras).

(24th)

setlist : Of The Girl, Breakerfall, Corduroy, Grievance, Last Exit, Do The Evolution, Dissident, Rival, Given To Fly, Nothing As It Seems, Light Years, Even Flow, Daughter/(It’s OK), Lukin, Insignificance, (Romanza)/Better Man, Porch

enc 1: Spin The Black Circle, Hail Hail, I Got Shit, Elderly Woman, Crazy Mary, Black, Rearviewmirror

enc 2: Last Kiss, Yellow Ledbetter

notes: This show was carried by regional radio. During ‘Grievance,” Ed sings “champagne breakfast for all New York.” ‘Do The Evolution’ comes early and includes the lyrics, “I do what I want, irresponsibly. Why? I’m a republican baby!” The ‘Even Flow’ lyrics are changed to “understands the weather of the summer’s on it’s way.” ‘Daughter’ is tagged with the Dead Moon’s ‘It’s OK’ and Ed gets the crowd to sing the chorus and he sings the last verse. After getting his layered clothing buttoned down, Ed goes into the crowd during ‘Porch,’ which has a very bluesy feel. As the band returns for the first encore, Ed sends “a call out to 92.7 and request for them to … go back to playing vinyl and only vinyl on the radio.” [It's actually 92.3.] He gives a similar speech as the previous night about not wanting to influence how people vote. ‘RVM’ was switched into the setlist instead of ‘Footsteps’ and ‘Go.’ The ‘Last Kiss’ lyrics are screwed up. Mike has an awesome show, throwing bits of ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ and ‘Substitute’ into ‘YL.’ He’s wearing a Clash t-shirt. Not a lot of chatting tonight, this show has a bit of an inconsistent energy. The crowd was much better than the previous night.

(25th)

setlist : Sometimes, Grievance, Corduroy, Whipping, Do The Evolution, Animal, Evacuation, Red Mosquito, In Hiding, Even Flow, Mankind, Untitled, MFC, Rearviewmirror, Present Tense, Given To Fly, Thin Air, Off He Goes, Black, Jeremy, Immortality

enc 1: Go, Insignificance, In My Tree, Elderly Woman, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Smile, Baba O’Riley

enc 2: Yellow Ledbetter

notes: During ‘Sometimes,’ Ed makes some errors on guitar, prompting Mike to look over and put both his fingers in his ears. At the close of ‘Evacuation,’ Ed greets the crowd: “How’s that, fuckers?” He references the chemical spraying the previous night (an effort to combat the West Nile Virus carried by mosquitos), which leads to ‘Red Mosquito.’ ‘Untitled’ is a much longer version with different verses. Ed talks to Stone and then says that Stone wasn’t afraid to arrive in a helicopter but he’s afraid to play ‘Breath.’ Stone retorts: “Should I tell you the song that Ed doesn’t have the guts to play or not?” Ed says they’ve come to a “mutual disagreement” which leads to ‘Elderly Woman.’ The ‘Save It For Later’ tag includes the first verse of the song. Ed makes reference to various NY venues (from the Wetlands to Roseland to Irving Plaza to CBGB). There are no political speeches. Before ‘Smile,’ Ed talks about a special harmonica he got in Paris and how he’s been saving it for a special moment and he gives it away. Mike tosses a little of Zep’s ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’ into ‘YL.’ Everyone is in a great mood .. at one point, Mike kisses Jeff !