The Pearl Jammers at the Fleet Centah

Last night for the fourth, or fifth time, I saw Eddie and the boys play live. Like all of the other times I've seen them, it was completely awesome. They really put on a great, great show. They play some of their new stuff, but still bust out their hits.

Some sights and sounds, before I list the set list:

- Brownie and I sat in the upper bowl, an appropriate name for the amount of pot being smoked, so while we were a little bit farther away that I'd like to be, we still got a great view. One of the views was during the song "Once" everyone on the floor were throwing their left fist up in unison. Brownie and I looked at each other and said, "Damn, that looks like a Hitler youth rally."

- For some reason actor Tim Robbins came on stage during the second encore and sang a song with the band. Don't ask me how he did because with three guitarists, a bass player, a drummer and a keyboardist, not to mention a lead singer, Robbins' voice was lost. I never thought I'd see Nuke LaLuche sing ... I wonder what kind of underwear he was wore?

- I am officially old. A joint was being passed around and it came to me, I let it go by. Brownie the same thing. I asked him, "How come you didn't smoke?" He said that he had work the next day. He asked me the same question, "I have a lot of work too, and I have to get up early." I doubt that would've happened ten years ago.

- There weren't a lot of empty seats last night. And from what I hear, there wasn't a lot on Tuesday either. Many people have counted this band out as a dinosaur, a relic of a flanneled past, but I'll tell you this, there were a lot of college and high school kids there. Pearl Jam could easily pull a Grateful Dead and not record a studio album ever again and just tour off their old stuff.

- They played a song called "Alone" last night that they haven't played since 1994. That was pretty cool. They also played five and a half covers. Aside from a bar band, I don't think I've ever seen something like that.

- Eddie and his friend Jason were there last night too. Jason seemed like a cool guy, Brownie and I grabbed a beer with them at the Beer Works then went to the old Canal Street bar (it's called something else) and had a beer with our old roommate Mark. Good guy, that Mark, we were trading engagement worry stories. I don't see him too much, which is a shame. He was a good roommate.

Here is the set list:

Setlist:
Ed Pre-Set:
I Am A Patriot

Main Set:
Go, Animal, Do the Evolution, Save You, The American In Me, Immortality, Wishlist w/tag, Grievance, Alone, Present Tense, Corduroy, I Believe In Miracles, Once

Enc 1: (Acoustic Set)
Lukin (acoustic), Off He Goes, Man Of The Hour, Parting Ways, Black

Enc 2:
The Seeker (The Who), Daughter/(War), Glorified G, Lion's Share (The Germs), The New World (X),

Enc 3:
I've Got A Feeling (Beatles), Rockin' In The Free World

I didn't see Ed's set. Sucks because I love that tune.

Usually on Thursday nights, I go home to Amesbury and watch Survivor with my mom. For the last five years it's been our little ritual. She usually makes dinner, I offer my pithy opinions, we talk about the people we took in the pool and I tell what I'm going to write in my Friday wrap-up, etc. It was pretty fun. Not this year. It's not my mom, she's still really cool. It's Survivor.

To say it's boring is an afront to boring people. For one thing it is split into men vs. women. We've done that before. There is an equal amount of "pretty" young people vs. "ugly" old people, which is where the tribal lines are drawn. Seen that before. And every other minute it's a new argument. The debate is always between two mental midgets about something incredibly ridiculous. Yeah, I liked that show better when it was called The Real World.

Here is why Survivor worked in the past, yes, there were arugments, all good reality shows use arguments as their corner stones, but they don't make their homes out of arguments. There just weren't that many and when there were, they usually meant something pretty big. They meant something. Fighting just to fight is worthless, it's just words.

One of the worst parts of Survivor are the Jordan's furniture commercials. These two clowns are just fucking terrible. They've been recycling the same jokes over and over again, "I wish they'd vote YOU off the island. Har, har, har." "Could you survive a desert island? I can barely survive the Big Dig!"

SHUT UP! For the last two years area furniture companies have been inindating us with "local celebrities" like these Jordan assholes, Bob and his hot little blonde, and the twin hellspawn demons, Bernie and Phyl. These two down-home, country fried, small town New England bumpkins have been driving me up a wall with their terrible over acting, oat-meal thick New England accents and low quality commercials.

Bernie, who I think is the guy -- they rarely ever address each other, makes Celtics broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn sound like Winston Churchill. It used to be that car commercials drove me nuts, now it's furniture commercials. As God as my witness, I will never by furniture ... ever!

So dad and I have been making plans for our trip next summer. We have one last Hall of Fame to go to, the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. So far, we've planned that we're going to fly into Cleveland, catch an Indians game (hopefully, the Cincinnati/Cleveland tilt) then hit the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, before going to Canton.

I'm really looking forward to it. In 94, my dad and I went to Toronto and caught the Blue Jays and the Hockey Hall of Fame. I had a good time, but I don't think I really appreciated it as much as I should have. For one thing, I was still in college and was into my own thing. I didn't really get to connect with my dad as much as I should have. I'm looking forward to doing that with him next year. Especially considereing I'm geting married next year and won't really have too many opportunites to do this again.

Jay might be coming too, which would be fun. He's not too keen on flying out there, but maybe we can hit over the head with a hammer before we go on the plane.

Speaking of going places Ellie, Keri and Kristen are going to Florida in two weeks. Mom wanted to take Aly and go along with them. Ellie said no because mom never invited her to the Murray/Magrane Christmas events. I guess payback is a bitch. I'm sure they'll go the next time they all go. Ellie can't hold a grudge that long.

I think my mom is really pumped to have a daughter.

I forgot to tell this story, I'm sitting at my desk and out of the corner of my eye I see something racing behind the radio. It was a fucking mouse. I have a mouse in my house, which has caused me to rhyme all the time. I'm going to have to kill that stupid thing. Maybe I'll get a rat trap and snap that fucker's neck. I don't like rodents.

BTW, this may be my last Blog for a week or so. I'm going to Miami on Sunday for a conference until Wednesday. I'm sort of looking forward to it, but I like being home and sticking to my schedule. I'm also going with two people that I don't know very well. It would be a lot cooler if I was better friends with them. Maybe I'll find out that they're cool while we're down there.

The one thing that blows is that the Sox begin the playoffs on Tuesday and play on Wednesday, I better be able to see those games.