I was 17 when I saw this show. Pearl Jam was my life. I was right up front, I pushed as hard as I could through the (then Goliath-like) frat boys all the way up so I could get a good view of Eddie.

When the show started with "Sometimes" the crowd was heavily swaying back and forth so violently it was sort of dangerous and my tiny teenage, 5 foot 7 frame was getting somewhat smuushed by the muscle-bound dudes all around me, but Eddie was right there, like 10 feet away from me and I was glued to him, Mike and Stone. Jeff was a little farther back and was tough to see and I couldn't even catch a glimpse of Jack Irons because the stage was so high.

So "Hail, Hail" hits, and madness insues with the crowd. Everybody was shoving and moshing so hard I was getting knocked like a pinball and knew it was getting dicey to stick around in the front. Just then the entire band stops playing, right in the middle of "Hail, Hail" and Eddie says something like:

"Alright everybody its getting way too crazy upfront you all need to calm the fuck down right now!! Everybody take 10 steps backwards from this stage!! NOW!!"

It was clear, being so close, that the man meant business. Eddie was PISSED. I would not want to be on his bad side and the crowd knew it too, so everybody stepped back. Then they kicked right back into "Hail, Hail" right at the note where they left off! Being a young musician I remembered thinking how TIGHT the damn band was sounding just for that moment alone.

So "Go" begins and the crowd is not really letting up, my ribs were getting crushed against the bar in front of me and the giant dudes behind me, so I held out my hand to a bouncer to pull me out and he grabbed my arm with two hands and lifted me up on stage RIGHT NEXT TO EDDIE AND MIKE! But there was one problem... Because I was so skinny, my giant baggy purple cordoroys got yanked off my hips and down around my ankles when the bouncer lifted me out of the tight crowd! So there I was, on stage with my pants down to my ankles, Eddie to my left singing "Go" and Mike to my right and what seemed like a million people in front of me at Downing Stadium. I immediately grabbed my pants up to my waist and started headbanging crazily with all my hair. After all, I had grown my hair for years so in the event of being on stage with Eddie Vedder (pants-less or not) I could headbang wildly with him like the Evenflow video I had memorized.

This glory moment lasted a few seconds until another bouncer told me to - "Calm down! Put your pants on! Follow me!" And I did. She led me off stage and back into general admissions where I safely enjoyed the rest of the show, the whole time high off my pants-less stage moment with my all time favorite band. I don't think the band ever noticed me but I didn't care. It was enough wackyness to last me the rest of my life.

Thanks PJ, it was an AWESOME show and at 29 now I still haven't forgotten how killer it was. Can't wait to see you guys next.

- Jay G.