I mean, c'mon, how could you ask for a better setlist? Night Three at the Spectrum, after the guys had promised to attempt to play every song they've ever written during their four-night stint in Philly.
They didn't waste any time.
"Gonna See My Friend" made its East Coast debut, paving the way for "In My Tree" and "Tremor Christ," which was spot-on. Stone rocked the shizzle out of it. Before I knew it, Eddie was announcing that they were going to try a song they believed that they'd never ever played live: "Hold On." Everybody sang along. The guys seemed like they'd played it a thousand times before.
Then it was a foray into some darker subjects, as "Deep" (possibly my favorite Ten song) and "Habit" popped out. Eddie actually sang the "Speaking as a child of the '90s" lyric, followed by the band drilling the end of the song, a la the Binaural tour.
Eddie prefaced "Off He Goes" by dedicating it to Ben Harper and describing it as a song about people who are on the road and unable to spend time with their friends and families back home. Prior to "OHG," Eddie had mentioned maybe calling Ben from the stage to wish him a happy birthday; at a later point, he took out his cell phone and then, saying, "I think I broke it!" he chucked it over his shoulder, back toward Boom's organ. "Force of Nature" sounded every bit as awesome as I'd expected, once again making Stone shine.
Encore 1 made its way into my top PJ live moments. Even though I'd just seen "Just Breathe" the night before, it in no way got old on this night and was actually a more profound experience for me. "Parting Ways" with just Eddie and the strings was awesome ("This is a song that's about the exact opposite of the last one"). I think he was playing an electric sitting down for that one. My parents were in the process of getting divorced at the time, and the song provided me with a profound moment of catharsis. Meanwhile, Mike and the guys were seated around the stage, seeming to just take in the moment.
Then "Jeremy" came, featuring the string quartet. What a stroke of genius. The band stayed seated, even though they were rocking out. It was a tempered rock in the beginning, but somewhere around the second verse, it had become more forceful, although you could still totally hear the strings. Stunningly beautiful.
How to top that? Play "Breath." 'Nuff said.
The duel between Mike and Boom during "Crazy Mary" was strong but not nearly as vigorous as I had seen in D.C. in June 2008. I As always, it was a gift to hear the "trilogy" of "Footsteps"/"Once"/"Alive." "Once" was particularly aggressive.
"Sonic Reducer" was all I needed; "Baba" was icing.
(Eddie joined Bad Religion on stage during the opener.)
Comments
I mean, c'mon, how could you ask for a better setlist? Night Three at the Spectrum, after the guys had promised to attempt to play every song they've ever written during their four-night stint in Philly.
They didn't waste any time.
"Gonna See My Friend" made its East Coast debut, paving the way for "In My Tree" and "Tremor Christ," which was spot-on. Stone rocked the shizzle out of it. Before I knew it, Eddie was announcing that they were going to try a song they believed that they'd never ever played live: "Hold On." Everybody sang along. The guys seemed like they'd played it a thousand times before.
Then it was a foray into some darker subjects, as "Deep" (possibly my favorite Ten song) and "Habit" popped out. Eddie actually sang the "Speaking as a child of the '90s" lyric, followed by the band drilling the end of the song, a la the Binaural tour.
Eddie prefaced "Off He Goes" by dedicating it to Ben Harper and describing it as a song about people who are on the road and unable to spend time with their friends and families back home. Prior to "OHG," Eddie had mentioned maybe calling Ben from the stage to wish him a happy birthday; at a later point, he took out his cell phone and then, saying, "I think I broke it!" he chucked it over his shoulder, back toward Boom's organ. "Force of Nature" sounded every bit as awesome as I'd expected, once again making Stone shine.
Encore 1 made its way into my top PJ live moments. Even though I'd just seen "Just Breathe" the night before, it in no way got old on this night and was actually a more profound experience for me. "Parting Ways" with just Eddie and the strings was awesome ("This is a song that's about the exact opposite of the last one"). I think he was playing an electric sitting down for that one. My parents were in the process of getting divorced at the time, and the song provided me with a profound moment of catharsis. Meanwhile, Mike and the guys were seated around the stage, seeming to just take in the moment.
Then "Jeremy" came, featuring the string quartet. What a stroke of genius. The band stayed seated, even though they were rocking out. It was a tempered rock in the beginning, but somewhere around the second verse, it had become more forceful, although you could still totally hear the strings. Stunningly beautiful.
How to top that? Play "Breath." 'Nuff said.
The duel between Mike and Boom during "Crazy Mary" was strong but not nearly as vigorous as I had seen in D.C. in June 2008. I As always, it was a gift to hear the "trilogy" of "Footsteps"/"Once"/"Alive." "Once" was particularly aggressive.
"Sonic Reducer" was all I needed; "Baba" was icing.
(Eddie joined Bad Religion on stage during the opener.)