April 13, 2016 – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL, USA

Show Notes:

Ed counts off the familiar “1-2-3, 4-2-3” lead in to Small Town, a crowd-friendly opening. After a delicate Nothingman, he notes that they’ve never played in Jacksonville before, and talks about veterans, spotlighting (literally) his friend Col. John McDonough, who’s…

Show Notes: 

Ed counts off the familiar “1-2-3, 4-2-3” lead in to Small Town, a crowd-friendly opening. After a delicate Nothingman, he notes that they’ve never played in Jacksonville before, and talks about veterans, spotlighting (literally) his friend Col. John McDonough, who’s in the crowd, and Army Reserve follows, with Mike’s solo ascending higher and higher. Rival is a surprise, having not been played since 2010, and has a bluesy feel to it. Setting Forth is for “the travellers…Italians, Greeks, the Aussies….” and then sees a South African flag and calls it out as well, and leads right into the new, extended Corduroy. Ed tells a story about Stone and Mike in the old days, and says their kids were born on the same day 9 years ago. Rabid solo by Mike on Even Flow, then Matt takes over before they crash back in to the last chorus, Ed giving the mic to the crowd. Ed prefaces Of the Earth with “this here song’s about having a good seat to the end of the world…” Both songs about vinyl get a spin near the end of the main set. After the break, Ed comes out alone and talks about his “all-time favorite Floridian,” and plays a tense I Won’t Back Down on electric guitar, turning it into a crowd singalong. I Am A Patriot follows, also Ed solo electric. The Fixer is on the original setlist, but scratched in favor of Ghost, a request from Dimitris, Ed saying it’s “…for the Greek!” In the middle of the floor, someone is spotlighted dancing in a pillowcase and Ed asks for the spotlight to be put on them, then changes the lyric to “Dimitris, he talks to me…” Ed praises the crowd’s singing during Evolution, and lets them sing the beginning of Better Man. Smile is played to the back. A fan up front has a sign for Thumbing My Way, Ed notices and shrugs, but it ends up being tagged onto Black! Stone has a long solo on RITFW, and Mike finishes the night off with the Star-Spangled Banner. 


April 11, 2016 – Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL, USA

Show Notes:

It’s all rockers to start, until Ed slows it down on the new Corduroy, leading a call and response, asking “…you gonna make us work for it?” Love Boat Captain starts with an upbeat jam intro, without the organ, before…

Show Notes: 

It’s all rockers to start, until Ed slows it down on the new Corduroy, leading a call and response, asking “…you gonna make us work for it?” Love Boat Captain starts with an upbeat jam intro, without the organ, before going into the song. Ed holds out the last note of Low Light, which garners a huge audience reaction. Red Mosquito is dedicated to Nash. During the intro to a powerful Hard To Imagine, Ed dedicates the song to a fan named Bill who survived brain cancer. My Father’s Son is for “all the dads out there…no no, hope it doesn’t apply, it’s for all the shitty dads out there.” After Getaway, he tells a story about working as a security guard at a fancy hotel, and stealing the keys to fancy cars to take them “for a little spin.” The crowd cheers, but he comments it was a “stupid fuckin’ thing to do.” In the Moonlight is brought back for the first time since 2011, and is dedicated to all the surfers who like to surf at midnight. The famed cow statue, which he says Stone used to have on his amp back in the early years, appears from the crowd, and Ed uses it to intro Blood, saying “this is when you milk a cow for blood…” Beautiful renditions of Pendulum, Off He Goes, and Come Back to start the encore. At the end of “Come Back,” Eddie starts listing hockey teams, including Red Wings, Blackhawks, Rangers and the Penguins, among others, but “none of those guys we named a record after,” referring to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they proceed to play the title track, Lightning Bolt, with a Tesla coil special effect. Small Town is for the back, and during this time, the screens play drone footage of everyone standing and waiting for the show earlier in the day, causing the crowd to erupt. After an explosive Life Wasted, Ed asks to see the Tesla Coil one more time, but it doesn’t go off. At the end of Better Man, Ed smashes his guitar into pieces. Sonic Reducer is loud and fiery. After Baba, Mike plays the opening notes of Yellow Ledbetter and the arena explodes in cheers, but then he stops and goes into Little Wing instead.


April 9, 2016 – American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL, USA

Show Notes:

The night kicks off with a charging Corduroy. Stone and Jeff shine during the early set mainstays, Do the Evolution, Save You and Dissident. Ed welcomes the crowd and recognizes that this is the band’s first Miami show in over…

Show Notes: 

The night kicks off with a charging Corduroy. Stone and Jeff shine during the early set mainstays, Do the Evolution, Save You and Dissident. Ed welcomes the crowd and recognizes that this is the band’s first Miami show in over 20 years before launching into Pilate. Before the first full performance of W.M.A. since 2012, Ed apologizes for the late set start time due to “traffic”, but reassures the crowd that the venue’s curfew is set up for a “late night town.” Ed thanks Dead Moon for writing It’s O.K. A spirited Sad makes its tour debut, followed by Down, both songs making their first appearance in nearly 2 years. The show takes a comical turn during the lead up to Tremor Christ, as Ed sees two fans in the front row with the song written on their foreheads and adds it to the setlist, joking “no chance in hell these guys are getting laid tonight.” High-flying rockers SOLAT and RVM close out the main set before Ed returns to kick off the encore with a solo acoustic rendition of “Good Woman” by Cat Power, the first time he’s performed it at a PJ show. Next up, Ed dedicates Just Breathe to a friend and community member who had just lost his wife to breast cancer. The crowd continues singing Sirens after the song is over and they play a little full band reprise of it. The intense Porch jam goes on for over 4 minutes, Mike soloing like a madman then Stone takes over and finishes it off. The band returns for the second encore with the first Soldier of Love since 2010 (performed for the audience situated behind the band). Ed brings out Kevin Shuss and has the crowd sing Happy Birthday to him. Matt bashes through the end of the Black solo, adding some intensity, then Ed brings it down quiet with some improv lyrics, stretching the song past 8 minutes. Mark Zupan, captain of the U.S. Wheelchair Rugby Team, is brought on stage to share in the Rockin’ in the Free World jam with a tambourine, and Ed triumphantly concludes the show by slamming his microphone stand on the stage.

Written by Jeff Benanto


April 8, 2016 – BB&T Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

Show Notes:

With little fanfare, the band walks to their instruments, fiddle through the intro to Go and then roar into the song with an eruption of sound and green light, and just like that, the tour has begun. Ed teases the…

Show Notes: 

With little fanfare, the band walks to their instruments, fiddle through the intro to Go and then roar into the song with an eruption of sound and green light, and just like that, the tour has begun. Ed teases the audience early with, “I can hear you, but barely!” As Corduroy rips through, the crowd answers, taking over a verse. Mike is burning through guitar picks like notes, filling the fans’ treat bags early and often. Help, Help makes its first appearance since 2011. After Small Town, Ed tells a funny story about brushing his teeth in his hotel room, saying “toothpaste with flavor crystals…it might not just be flavor crystals, it might be a little more…” Ed announces that it’s Mike’s birthday and the crowd decides to do an impromptu Happy Birthday singalong, but Ed stops them, imploring “if you are going to do it…all together!” and then the crowd and band sing Happy Birthday. Ed continues: “When you are Mike McCready…you get Cheap Trick to play at your birthday party!” With this, the band plays a little over a minute of Surrender, the first time they have done so, and then follow up with a fantastic version of Even Flow. Mike’s guitar work is on fire here, taking center stage. After I Am Mine, Ed acknowledges some of the local adult establishments nearby, saying “We’re just trying to be as good as the fucking Booby Trap!” Who You Are is bumpy but they find their groove. After the break, Ed hits both ends of the age gap, as he points out a 5-year-old and two gentlemen, Frank and Joe, who are 90 and 91. Band is seated for Yellow Moon and Footsteps, then Last Kiss is played to the back. Mike comes in scorching on the Black solo, the long quiet outro captivating the crowd, but Ed wakes them back up with “a loud one,” Comatose. Mike kicks into overdrive on Porch, with Jeff showing off his ninja lantern-dodging skills and Ed leaning down to the rail. After the break, Ed addresses the recent loss of friend and crew member Tim “Scully” Quinlan, leading to an emotional Light Years. House lights come on for Baba and stay on through the rest of the show. Ed comments how there are more veterans in Florida than anywhere else in the country, and bemoans the lack of care and support they receive when they return. I Am A Patriot is played solo acoustic, the first performance since the Vote for Change tour in 2004. Mike breaks out the bow for Indifference, closing the opening night of the tour. 


September 21, 2012 – DeLuna Fest, Pensacola Beach, Pensacola, FL, USA

Show Notes:

Ed joins Gaslight Anthem early in the day for State of Love and Trust. Oceans fittingly opens a hot summer night at this beachside venue. The stage appears a bit smaller than some of the other places on the tour,…

Show Notes: 

Ed joins Gaslight Anthem early in the day for State of Love and Trust. Oceans fittingly opens a hot summer night at this beachside venue. The stage appears a bit smaller than some of the other places on the tour, there are also 2nd level side stage sections with handfuls of fans, adding to a more intimate feel. Beach balls show up in the crowd near the stage during Once and appear throughout the show. Before Given To Fly, Ed notes “…we haven’t been here since 1994, so thanks for welcoming us back,” and points towards the sea during the “…made a trip to the ocean…” lyric. Amongst the Waves continues the ocean theme, with Ed noting beforehand that “…it isn’t often that we get to play next to the ocean, this one suits the mood,” as he waves to some boaters. A muscular version of Grievance is introduced with a mention of the new Florida voter ID laws, Ed adding that if you’re going to swim naked after the show, don’t lose your ID. He mentions Mike just told him he was born in Pensacola, saying “welcome home,” and urging to people to support Wounded Warriors to help support those coming home from their service before tearing into a searing Worldwide Suicide.  Leading into the “It’s O.K.” tag in Daughter, he asks the crowd if they could be loud because “20 years of playing, I can barely hear anything so if you can sing, you have to be kinda loud…” Ed jokes that Of The Earth is “one you might not know, this is one we might not know” and makes its American debut with a crunchy swagger that resolves into a spacey jam. Parachutes is supplemented by a lyric sheet and dedicated to Johnny Ramone and anyone who’s suffered recent loss. Unthought Known is dedicated to the moon and is particularly strong with Ed and the band really feeding off Matt’s heavy hand. Ed gives the crowd a shot at the Evolution riff, which doesn’t quite take, but it’s a strong performance nonetheless. After the break, a gorgeous Black sees Mike, with his new Joe Strummer-style mohawk, looking to the heavens before his solo even starts, and Ed repeating “…baby, baby, baby…” before “…we didn’t belong…together….” Encore 2 features a shoutout to Ben Folds and Guided by Voices, with Ed noting Robert Pollard responded to his invitation to play with “I’ll be there…but I’m going to be really fucked up at that point.” Ed says he appreciated the honesty, which reminded him of Matt Lukin, leading into an interesting Lukin/Alive pairing. Ed wanders side stage during Alive and climbs up some scaffolding, channeling 1994 a little, to the crowd’s delight. Mike adds on the full feedback-drenched Star-Spangled Banner at the end of Yellow Ledbetter. Ed leaves with “don’t forget to vote…goodnight, love you…very kind. Have a great weekend…see you next year!”