September 14, 1996 The Showbox – Seattle, WA

A “not so surprise” warm-up show. With a ticket sales announcement leaked prematurely by KNDD, many disappointed fans were left out in the cold (rain). Hoping to hear just a song or two from outside, fans put up with mean spirited Showbox staffers’ harrassment and scalpers offering inflated tickets. For the lucky ones who gained entrance, here’s how it went:
Ed opens the show with, “Good evening. Welcome to the REM record release party. Welcome to the Pearl Jam reunion tour. Let me just clarify that we play more than Mudhoney. Have you heard the new record? Well, you’re about to again.” Stone prefaces a rather rough version of ‘Mankind’ with “All right … get ready,” and Ed says, “This is Stone’s song and it’s my favorite.” Before a somewhat rushed version of ‘Off He Goes,’ Ed says, “This song’s either about me or my roommate. I haven’t figured it out yet.” Next, Ed announces, “This next part of the show is what we call the ‘human jukebox’” and they slam into ‘Animal.’ Mike really lets go during ‘Even Flow.’ Ed slips a snippet from Neil Young’s ‘Cinnamon Girl’ into ‘I Got Shit.’ ‘Wash’ is a very cool surprise, unplayed since the ’94 Bridge Benefit. Ed hints a bit at Bowie’s “C-C-C-C-Changes” before breaking into ‘Go.’ Before the lovely closing ‘Around the Bend,’ Ed chats, “It was almost worth leaving the house for this. If I came to this show, I’d probably just stay home Monday night … cuz we were nervous tonight and so we played … well, like now we’re gonna be cocky and we’re gonna suck. I can just feel it …”

Notes provided by: Twofeetthick