June 25, 2000 Freiluftbuehne Wuhlheide, Berlin, GER

setlist: Sometimes, Corduroy, Breakerfall, Hail Hail, Animal, Given to Fly, Nothing As It Seems, In Hiding, Evacuation, Even Flow, Light Years, Untitled/MFC, Improv, Habit, Daughter/(Stop Your Sobbing)/(Androgynous Mind), Lukin, I Got Shit, Insignificance, Not For You, Immortality, Rearviewmirror

enc 1: Sleight of Hand, Thin Air, Wishlist, Better Man, Do The Evolution, Alive, Fuckin’ Up

enc 2: Soon Forget, Indifference

notes: First speaking to the crowd after ‘GTF,’ Ed points out that it looks like a summer day in Seattle (rather cold and it rained while people were waiting). According to Ed, you start such a day with five or six cups of coffee, “and you don’t drink this (pointing to a bottle of wine) until you drink four or five beers.” Mike seems conservative all evening, not much running or jumping. After ‘Light Years,’ Mike talks to Ed and then leaves the stage. Ed says that the next song is a request, and because it’s a request by a band member, they have to do it. They start with ‘Untitled’ and Mike is back on stage when they go into ‘MFC.’ The ‘Habit’ intro is dark and focused on the last line, “free at last.’ Rather than the “speaking as a child …” part, Ed sings “I am a doughnut” referring to JFK’s “ich bin ein Berliner” quote. The ‘Daughter’ tag (‘Stop Your Sobbing’ is a Kinks song), leads into a shouting contest between Ed and the audience about who will be louder … and the crowd is very loud. (Ed starts this out by asking if they, “Feel like singing? Loud to the sky. Feels good, I can tell you that.”) It opens with a repeated “stop, stop, stop” leading to a chant and the “hey, hey” part, finishing with the “hey, hey, it’s OK.” When PJ returns for the encore, Ed says he doesn’t know how to say “thank you” to the crowd in German. He gets a piece of paper and asks the crowd, “Fühlt Ihr Euch gut?” (do you feel fine?). He says they will do a slow one before they continue, leading to ‘Sleight of Hand,’ with Mike standing there in a very cool fashion, waiting to join in. For the second encore, Ed returns solo for ‘Soon Forget,’ commenting on how he got his ukulele in Hawaii but he believes the ukulele originally comes from East Berlin. A rocking show in a beautiful venue.