September 17, 2024 – Fenway Park, Boston, MA, USA

Show Notes:

Ed comes out with “Good evening Boston! Are you ready to sing? I’m ready to sing!” and counts off Small Town. Jeff’s wearing a shirt from the Boston hardcore band SSD, and they kick into an early Even Flow. Another…

Show Notes: 

Ed comes out with “Good evening Boston! Are you ready to sing? I’m ready to sing!” and counts off Small Town. Jeff’s wearing a shirt from the Boston hardcore band SSD, and they kick into an early Even Flow. Another singalong follows with Daughter, and Ed tags two Pixies songs, a quick line from “Wave of Mutilation” and then “Monkey Gone to Heaven” (“and the devil is six, then god is seven”). He asks for the lights up and comments “…it’s a long way from center field to home plate…I see you!” Animal is next, making it three out of the first four from the seemingly-forgotten-all-tour Vs. record. Before Immortality, Ed says “there’s a few people that aren’t here that were here last time…I want you to know that we’re thinkin’ of ’em.” Mike gets another chance to shine early and there’s another awesome ending jam. Ed starts right into Corduroy after, which wasn’t on the original setlist. However, instead of breaking it down and going into the extended version, he goes right into the “everything has chains” line and keeps the song going, the original version. Dark Matter finally gets some action with the eighth song, React, Respond, and then Ed dedicates Running to Red Sox manager Alex Cora:

“…our dressing room is right past the dugout…I’ve been smoking joints in his manager’s office the whole weekend…no that’s not true, let me clarify, I was taking gummies and I left some for him, so if he calls a suicide squeeze it might be my fault…”

It’s back to Vitalogy afterwards with Not For You, and during the breakdown Ed sings the wrong lyric, laughing and joking that “it was all those gummies…in Alex Cora’s office,” and then talks about his #34 Walter Payton jersey, saying tonight it’s for David Ortiz. Following Wreckage, Ed mentions Dick, the local man who they had brought on stage in 2018, saying he had gone to see him but unfortunately he had passed, but they had left a chair for him with his picture and the message “This is our friend Dick. Please leave him right here where we remember him…” which is shown on screen. Ed gets a little emotional speaking about it, and then mentions a cameraman, Johnny Martin, who passed in 2019, and Chris Snow, GM of the Calgary Flames, who passed from ALS. A tender Untitled follows, with the lyric changes “…34 minutes or so” and “…with your memory I could never be alone.” MFC does not follow however, they go right into Present Tense. The underrated Won’t Tell is played for the eighth time, which seemed impossible earlier this year (poor Got to Give, still just once). Ed looks for the moon and finds it, talking how Fenway Park is sacred grounds, pointing again to the Super Harvest Moon, leading into the 2024 debut of Superblood Wolfmoon. After hitting Vs. and Vitalogy earlier, it’s back to Ten for three out of the last four. Black has a space visual, possibly Jupiter, and Mike sends the solo out into outer space to match. Ed does a short improv at the end:

“We were so young then…

We were so young then…

But it wasn’t pretend…

No, it wasn’t pretend.”

He talks about the shows they played in Boston in April 1994, including the Orpheum, and says “I remember we played this song that night,” leading to a rare main set appearance of Fuckin’ Up.

After the break, Ed comes out and says “we don’t want to go, we don’t know when we’ll be able to see you again,” and says he wanted to talk about politics, “but fuck all that, you know that…we can’t fall for the bullshit, let us stand united…and ladies, don’t forget what the Beastie Boys sang, ‘You gotta fight for your right’…to women’s reproductive freedom.” The band returns for a high-energy Why Go followed by the last Dark Matter song of the night, Waiting For Stevie, which has an electricity-based visual. Jeff now has a #33 Larry Bird shirt, and Ed mentions Stone’s middle name Carpenter, adding “Carpenter Newton?” (which was Stone’s alias on the early liner notes). He changes the lyric in Crazy Mary to “…saw the full moon, followed it around.” The lights are up and the celebration is on for Alive and Baba O’Riley. At the end of Yellow Ledbetter, Mike plays a little of Boston’s “More Than A Feeling,” the first time they’ve teased it since Mansfield 2003. Ed even starts to sing the lyrics, but Mike quickly changes back to Ledbetter and finishes the night off.


September 15, 2024 – Fenway Park, Boston, MA, USA

Show Notes:

Ed says “Sing it to the moon!” as Footsteps opens, the first time it’s been played since Barcelona, when it also opened. He changes the line in Release to “…dear Sam…” and then adds “Fenway!” After Hail, Hail, he greets…

Show Notes: 

Ed says “Sing it to the moon!” as Footsteps opens, the first time it’s been played since Barcelona, when it also opened. He changes the line in Release to “…dear Sam…” and then adds “Fenway!” After Hail, Hail, he greets the crowd, saying:

“…what a day! What a night! What a thrill…a fucking thrill to be here with you tonight…”

He talks about their history in Massachusetts, saying their first gig there was at a tiny club behind the Green Monster, and thanks Sam Kennedy and the Fenway crew, and the crowd for being there. Jeff’s wearing a Larry Bird t-shirt, and a guy in a cow suit is pointed out by Ed, who jokes that “your udders are sagging a little bit…you might have been turned into hamburger long ago, so happy to see you.” He talks about Howard Zinn before Down, wondering what he would think of the current times. Afterwards, he tells a story:

“I had a friend…and we used to climb trees…I mean, I had friends when I was a little kid, and we climbed trees, Chicago, suburbs, that kind of thing, but no, this was not even that long ago…two grown men climbing 200-foot trees, ’cause we liked the feeling of being up there and we liked hanging out together, and it was a good place to be left alone, you know, we could have a chat, it’s not like we carried coffee or anything, we just climbed these trees, hang out in the wind, there’s a park called Lincoln Park in Seattle…the name of my friend was Chris Cornell, we’d climb these…[Ed has to take a second] and sometimes, by the time we got to the top, if the wind started going, it looked like a metronome ’cause there was a big weight on the end, and it was getting pretty thin where we were, go back and forth and back and forth…I didn’t know if I was going to say this or not but I might as well just say it…it was recently, it’s been 5 years since some stuff happened, and so I went by myself and I climbed the tree a few weeks ago…[He has to take another moment, getting emotional] it wasn’t as fun, by yourself, but it brought back a lot of memories, and to be honest I started to tear up a bit, and then, as if he were on the branch next to me, I heard ‘it’s okay.'”

Matt starts In My Tree, a powerful and intense version with some intricate bass work from Jeff, and Ed adds “we’re all missing him…we had a name for that tree, we called it the Green Monster.” After Wreckage, Ed introduces Mike, “batting left…he’s our Kevin Youkilis” and says “I like this part of the night, because it’s like releasing an animal from its cage.” He then sees the hematologist with the sign for Blood in the crowd, interjecting “…didn’t we not play that song the other night? You bring that fuckin’ sign again…okay, okay, he’s a doctor, I won’t insult him anymore…I might need your help someday.” Ed skips the second verse of Do the Evolution, going straight to the “hallelujah” part after the first verse. Afterwards, Ed wants to send a message to Ted Nugent:

“I mean, we love his guitar playing…the Motor City Madman…he is indeed a madman…I said recently that I didn’t own a firearm and that I didn’t want to own a firearm, and that’s just my personal choice. Ted, I just wanna tell you, we are…I like to shoot the bow and arrow, we are brothers of the mystical bow…and I throw ten-pound axes at big wooden targets, we have way more in common than you think…Ted, I think it’s reasonable, and not radical, to put in some simply practical, common sense gun laws into place to keep things like AK-47’s out of the hands of people who are not responsible enough…think about it, we send our kids to school at a young age and we give them active shooter drills…it’s a bit much, we’ve gone to the other side, we can pull it back and you can still have what you need, and not have what you don’t.”

Glorified G follows, and Ed introduces Jeremy as “another one about a gun.” There’s a fan up front with picture of Jeff’s face on a t-shirt, and Ed calls him “the Jeff Ament fan club…I started it…but I’ve given him none of the profits, I sell the t-shirts, the stickers…” He brings Josh up for Something Special, and dedicates it to all the parents and the “childless cat ladies.” The RVM jam is short, and as it’s building back up Ed pauses the song to make sure the crowd is safe.

After the break, Ed says “ladies and gentlemen, you know that there’s no way we’re leaving Fenway Park until they kick us out.” He checks on everyone after the RVM incident, and thanks everyone for letting them make a “bunch of racket” in center field. He talks about Tim Wakefield, who had passed in 2023, and tells a story about getting to see Wakefield’s knuckleball up close in a bullpen session. Just Breathe is dedicated to Tim and his wife Stacy, who tragically passed shortly after Tim. Just Breathe also has to be stopped to check on an audience member. At the end, Ed seemingly ends it early but then goes back and plays the ending again. Glen Hansard joins on stage for Song of Good Hope again. Afterwards, Ed points out the hematologist and says “we’re gonna play the fuckin’ song for you,” and Blood returns to a set for the first time since Fenway 2018. Ed is struggling mightily vocally, and adds a short “Atomic Dog” tag after the first verse. The band gets mixed up but they get through it, and Ed says “we didn’t practice that!” at the end. Better Man goes over 8 minutes with a full Save it for Later tag. Ed has a Red Sox helmet (with the number 34 on the back) and Jeff has a Celtics jersey on. As Rockin’ goes into the breakdown, Ed says “…we got Boston in the house!” and Glen, actor John Krasinski, and Ed’s daughter Olivia (who sang “My Father’s Daughter” with Hansard during his set), along with others (comment if you know who the other people were), join on stage. Ed starts to say good night, Mike starts Ledbetter, but stops, and then Ed motions for one more and Ledbetter is played, and Mike finishes off the night with the Star-Spangled Banner with Peter Gammons on stage.


September 4, 2018 – Fenway Park, Boston, MA, USA

Show Notes:

A little ballpark symmetry as Given to Fly opens, just like at Wrigley 2. The Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros cover “Arms Aloft” is the first of two covers in the main set, with the lyric changed to “Arms Aloft/in…

Show Notes: 

A little ballpark symmetry as Given to Fly opens, just like at Wrigley 2. The Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros cover “Arms Aloft” is the first of two covers in the main set, with the lyric changed to “Arms Aloft/in Fenway Park” instead of Aberdeen. The first of many guest appearances on the night sees famed photographer Danny Clinch join to play harmonica on a fantastic Red Mosquito. Leatherman is scratched from the original setlist in favor of another Yield b-side, U. Following Even Flow, Ed applauds Mike for playing so well while medicated, due to a sinus infection. He then introduces the next one by saying they are going to play it “a little differently” this time. Then, for the first time since the Orpheum in 1994, Ed sings the original lyrics to Immortality:

I could take the sun
Pour a cup to share with everyone
Need to feel some comfort in this world
I won’t take it all
I won’t say that nothing’s not my fault
Cannot feel the future in the wind

I could paint the moon
With the light reflected in my room
All I need’s a mirror for the glare
I could paint the Earth, how
With the love I feel for you and her
Needn’t I to alter in the air

After Immortality, Bill Janovitz from Buffalo Tom is back out for the 2nd night in a row. Bill says it’s “wicked awesome” to be there a second time, and he and Ed trade off lyrics on main set cover #2, Buffalo Tom’s Taillights Fade. During the bridge of Not For You, Ed starts a “Let’s Go Red Sox” chant. Introducing Can’t Deny Me, Ed claims the original title of the song was “Voting Is Your Superpower,” and Mark Guiliana (drummer on Matt Cameron’s solo record Cavedweller) is invited on stage to play cowbell. Ed claims the title of the song was originally “Voting Is Your Superpower.” Jeff adds the bass line from Sweet Emotion at the end of Jeremy, as a nod to Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton, who is in attendance. The Betterman tag finds Ed pondering whether he could find a better crowd: “Maybe Philly, that’s a pretty good crowd. New York City, that’s a pretty good crowd. Some nights it just feels like you can’t find a better crowd than Boston, Massachusetts…is tonight one of those nights? Whaddya got?” Coming back out for the encore, Ed says “the next time we play together we’re gonna be in the studio, [this is] the last time we’re gonna be playing in front of people for a while,” and that tonight “we’re gonna play until David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis [former Red Sox players] come and pull us off the stage.” This prompts Youkilis to take the stage carrying a guitar, holding it in his signature batting stance. Thumbing My Way is a request for a person Matt met, as well as a friend of Ed’s. Ed asks the crowd to hold their phones up to light the stadium for Imagine. Loud “Boooom” chants after Crazy Mary, as Ed mentions Team Hawaii won the Little League World Series and that Boom’s wife is involved with the league on the island. Over the Wasted Reprise bed, Ed says he’ll miss the Monster but hopes to be back in October (the Red Sox would end up winning the World Series). Life Wasted is dedicated to John Martin from the Red Sox video crew, who was stricken with ALS. The ever-elusive Dirty Frank is teased for about 30 seconds before a debut cover, Dirty Water by the Standells.


September 2, 2018 – Fenway Park, Boston, MA, USA

Show Notes:

Band in great spirits from the start. Last line of Sometimes is changed to “You’d like it here…dear god.” After Low Light, Ed mentions Bono “losing his throat” the night before, and thanks him for his work with the Red…

Show Notes: 

Band in great spirits from the start. Last line of Sometimes is changed to “You’d like it here…dear god.” After Low Light, Ed mentions Bono “losing his throat” the night before, and thanks him for his work with the Red Campaign and other charitable/philanthropic endeavors, and asks the “Irish” crowd to wish the “Irishman” well. After a blistering Corduroy, driven by Matt, Ed takes a sip of wine and regales the crowd with a speech about the word ‘fuck’:

…you know, it can be used as a noun. Well, it can be used as a verb, which in its best way, you know, is romantic and ‘let’s fuck’. Or it can be insulting like ‘get fucked’…and I’ve got an adjective too…like ’fucking amazing’ like the Red Sox, they’re ‘fucking amazing.’ And anyone from Boston who might be booing, ‘fuck you.’ Or, you can use it as an adjective and a noun ‘you fucking fuck’ or an exclamation, which I’m realizing now because there might be kids in the audience and I’m thinking to myself ‘fuck!’ Sorry, sorry, fuck, sorry.

Before Given to Fly, Ed mentions that this is their 23rd show in Boston and dedicates it to a local named Dick, who worked putting on shows in the area and was recovering from a recent health scare. This version of I Am A Patriot starts off with the slow intro that develops into a raucous performance with a nod to the crowd, presumably full of New England Patriots fans, with Ed proclaiming “this is the one city in the world where you don’t have to introduce this one.” Ed changes into a Red Sox “Vedder 18” jersey during Porch, traversing the front of the crowd. After the first break, Ed brings out a red Fender Telecaster given to him by Tom Petty, saying “this is only the second time that I’ve taken this guitar out of my house, because a few years ago I gave Tom a guitar that he was looking for…and then a couple months later I got this beautiful red Red Sox color Telecaster in the mail from Tom, and he said ‘this was my baby for the last few tours, but I think there’s a few songs in it.’ So I brought it tonight. He played here in 2014 and he was right, there’s some songs in it. Maybe we can get his attention if we light some lights and make this place look like the church that it is for our dear friend Tom. Please sing along with me. I want him to hear. I love you Tom” leading to an emotional I Won’t Back Down. Tremor Christ seems to be added on the spot, Ed: “If I talk to the fellas, can we play a little something we don’t normally play? We’ll try it, if we fuck it up it will be my fault and it won’t be the first time and my wife’s here to attest to that.” After a soaring Black, Ed says that in July of 1991 the band stayed at a Howard Johnson’s across the street, and he and Jeff shared a room together, while Stone and Mike roomed together, and they lit incense and it was “so romantic,” then tells a story of how he snuck into Fenway and took two pictures behind home plate, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Ed comes onstage after the second break wearing a backwards #23 Red Sox batting helmet, and talks about pot being legal in Seattle, and that they rolled one up with something they found called “The Green Monster.” Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom joins for the debut cover of Taillights Fade. Out Of My Mind is played for the first time since the final Spectrum show in 2009, Ed making the shocking admission that the song doesn’t have set lyrics and that he just makes them up. Another Red Sox jersey is thrown at Mike during the Alive solo, but he doesn’t miss a beat and wears it on his shoulder for a few seconds before tossing it on a mic stand.


August 7, 2016 – Fenway Park, Boston, MA, USA

Show Notes:

The vibe around the park was buzzing after Friday night’s set. Pendulum, now seasoned as an opener, sounds huge and beautiful bouncing off the Green Monster. Ed wastes no time getting conversational tonight, saying “things are gonna get moving real…

Show Notes: 

The vibe around the park was buzzing after Friday night’s set. Pendulum, now seasoned as an opener, sounds huge and beautiful bouncing off the Green Monster. Ed wastes no time getting conversational tonight, saying “things are gonna get moving real quick later on, but want to be sure to savor the moment,” prior to launching into a great trio of Off He Goes, Nothing as it Seems and Nothingman.  Wishlist is a revved up version before the night kicks into second gear with Corduroy, with a prologue of Interstellar Overdrive. Many in the crowd wanted to try and grab the 2nd to last verse, but the band had the early call and response jam for Ed built into this run. A spirited In Hiding is played as the sun disappears to summer twilight, and precedes a blues-drenched Even Flow performance by Mike. Sirens soars, Ed opines “life is short” prior to the opening lyrics, this comes up again as the band brings the song to a gentle close. Ed mentions how he and Jeff were talking earlier about the fragility of life, and how it feels there is more to lose these days. Red Mosquito is scratched from the set for Tom Hamilton to join the band on stage for an encore of Aerosmith’s Draw the Line. Mike wails on an epic Immortality. After the break, Ed gives a nod to the crowd and their energy through the years. The crescent moon has, at this time, been making its way up over the Fenway facades, prompting Ed to talk about the recording of Lightning Bolt and the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy, and Yellow Moon opens the encore, written in reference to the event. Angel is for “the serious collector,” played for only the 2nd time since 1994, and reworked with a full band arrangement. Footsteps follows as the “veteran, more your Carl Yaztremski/Ted Williams…” ‘Small hands’ Donald Trump helps bring a cake on stage to help celebrate crew hand Simon’s birthday as the band prepares to play Smile. Love Reign O’er Me features an excellent keyboard intro from Boom, on a night where he is mostly subtle and in the background, given the set choices. Matt and Ed tease a bit of Temple of the Dog’s “Wooden Jesus” before launching into Breath. With the ballpark lights on after Alive, J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr) joins the band on guitar for Rockin’ in the Free World, sporting a Cookie Monster t-shirt. Mike hands off his Les Paul to Ray Cameron during the first jam, and heads up to the drum riser to assist Matt, before eventually finding his way to Jeff’s bass, which Jeff trades for some cowbell. As the breakdown jam continues, Ed grabs his glove and proceeds to play catch with the crowd. Prior to the closer, Ed introduces Dick, who they have known from the Boston shows over the past couple of decades. Yellow Ledbetter is awash in feedback by Mike, closing with the Star-Spangled Banner. Ed reminds everyone “now don’t get ejected or arrested…goodnight.”


August 5, 2016 – Fenway Park, Boston, MA, USA

Show Notes:

Pearl Jam’s first ever show at Fenway Park opens with the 1-2 emotional punch of Release and Long Road. The mellow opening sequence continues with Elderly Woman and a stellar version of Low Light where Ed holds the final note…

Show Notes: 

Pearl Jam’s first ever show at Fenway Park opens with the 1-2 emotional punch of Release and Long Road. The mellow opening sequence continues with Elderly Woman and a stellar version of Low Light where Ed holds the final note for what seems to be an eternity. All Those Yesterdays features an incredible moment for the hometown fans as Ed points out all of the pennants hung around the park as the band all sings during the ending jam. Daughter has a short “Another Brick in the Wall (Pt. 2)”  tag after W.M.A., with an enthusiastic crowd joining in. Faithfull is dedicated to David Ortiz, and Down is preceded by Ed giving a shout out to “the greatest American historian in our lifetime…one of my favorite Bostonians who didn’t wear a Red Sox uniform”, Howard Zinn. Continuing the Red Sox theme, former pitcher Bronson Arroyo is brought on to play Black. Mike goes crazy on a fiery Masters Of War (played for the first time since 2008), followed up by a full band, rocking version of I Am A Patriot. After the break, Ed says “this thing might go extra innings tonight” and shows some Polaroids from early area shows, showing how small the crowds were, and tells a story about breaking into an empty Fenway Park to take Polaroids of the field. The ultra-rare Strangest Tribe opens the encore, followed by the Into the Wild track Society, each played for only the 2nd time at a PJ show.  Before Sleeping By Myself, Eddie asks “Can I get a uke up here?”, and a ukulele is promptly brought out by yet another Red Sox player, Kevin Youkilis, to the delight of the hometown fans. A tight SOLAT is followed up by a fabulous version of Comfortably Numb, and the extended Corduroy ends the first encore. The band borrows a song from 70’s Aerosmith as they begin encore 2 with “Draw The Line,” covered for the first time. After an energetic Alive, Ed introduces Stone as “the guy that writes most of the songs and is way more handsome than he thinks”, calls Matt “our batter,” and says Mike “throws a no-hitter every time.” I’ve Got A Feeling is played for the first time since 2004 in Boston (Ed mistakenly says it may be the first time since the 1994 Orpheum show), and is dedicated to a fan, Matthew Plummer, who had recently lost his father, via sportswriter Peter Gammons, who comes on stage as well. An epic show full of classic rock covers, rarely played songs, and baseball.


October 16, 2013 – DCU Center, Worcester, MA, USA

Show Notes:

Ed makes mention early on that his voice is still recovering from the raucous show the night before, they ease into the evening with a couple of slower-paced songs. Mike channels Jimmy Page, using a bow on his guitar for…

Show Notes: 

Ed makes mention early on that his voice is still recovering from the raucous show the night before, they ease into the evening with a couple of slower-paced songs. Mike channels Jimmy Page, using a bow on his guitar for Pendulum. The aforementioned vocal strain makes an appearance during Given to Fly and Mind Your Manners, Ed adding “we went pretty hard last night..” and asking for help from the crowd. My Father’s Son is introduced as

“…a thank you letter from a son to his father, thanking him for all his…mutant genes.”

Cropduster is busted out next and they start to hit their stride during the more anthemic songs that follow, Wishlist, Sirens, and I Am Mine. Mike and Ed face off during State of Love and Trust and Ed has some fun with the people up front. Ed lets the Lightning Bolt intro go for a little longer before starting to sing. He picks up the mirrored guitar during the Porch jam and reflects the spotlight into the crowd. They come out seated for the encore and Ed talks about how the Red Sox game is going (not well) and talks about their first visit to Boston:

“The first time we were ever here, first time, we played a little club called the Axis, we stayed at this Holiday Inn, it was right across the street, or right next door to Fenway Park…me and Jeff were [jokingly makes quotation marks with his hands] roommates, gettin’ weird looks from the maids all the time…and it was the All-Star Break, so there was no game in town, and there was no chance of getting in there, but I did, however, right before we left town I climbed this fence that had a barbed wire barricade on top, flipped over the fence, and this guard-type guy, or guy in a suit kinda called after me and then I started running, and he ran after me and then there were two guys in suits running after me, and I went down this hallway and then I turned down another, and I went up this thing, and I was right behind fuckin’ home plate. It was fucking beautiful, it was like seeing your friend’s sister naked when you were twelve or something…so I took three Polaroids, ran back out, jumped in the van, and we moved off to Hartford or wherever the fuck we went…and now cut to twenty years later, we’re sitting front row watching David Ortiz do a fucking baseball miracle like I’ve never witnessed before…”

Other Side makes only its second appearance, by request, with Ed reading the lyrics from a sheet of paper. Gone returns for the first time since 2009, a strong version. The chairs go away for Jeremy. There’s some confusion on stage between Ed and Stone, and Mike takes the opportunity to play a tease of Little Wing, causing Ed to look over and exclaim “you’re fuckin’ with me, fuck you,” to which Mike throws his hands up innocently. As Daughter begins, Ed says “…we got it now, Robbie,” and does some vocal runs and breathing instead of a tag. Dick from the local event staff is brought out on stage and has a nice moment with Ed during the second break. Everything off of Lightning Bolt besides Getaway and Sleeping By Myself was played between the two nights.


October 15, 2013 – DCU Center, Worcester, MA, USA

Show Covered by Podcast

Show Notes:

Subbing in for Boston, scrappy Worcester becomes the two-night home for the band. The historic and underutilized venue and timeliness of the shows (with the Red Sox currently in the midst of a playoff run down the street in Boston)…

Show Notes: 

Subbing in for Boston, scrappy Worcester becomes the two-night home for the band. The historic and underutilized venue and timeliness of the shows (with the Red Sox currently in the midst of a playoff run down the street in Boston) underscored the lively setlist, which kicked off with an emotional 1-2 punch of an opener–a powerful Release followed by Long Road, the first time these two classic opening songs have opened a show consecutively! An anthemic Small Town serves as the logical follow-up, before a segue into a rotation of Lightning Bolt-era tracks that sustains the energy of the night. Hail, Hail and Whipping rip with furor, and Nothing As It Seems is atmospheric and moody. Ed frequently chats about the Red Sox and the band’s friendship with former GM Theo Epstein, who is referenced on Better Man. Corduroy anchors the back part of the set, a surprise at that part of the night. However, the biggest setlist highlight is, not surprisingly, Leash, played in response to Ed’s recognition of a sign-waving fan that had been following the band around for several shows. The encore features a poignant Man of the Hour opener and another fan request, the first Fatal since 2010! A blistering Porch closes out encore one before a unique second encore blends solo-driven stalwarts like Crazy Mary and Alive with an atypical closing pairing of Sonic Reducer and a big singalong on Indifference. Ed leaves the crowd with “it makes a difference, no matter what they say…thank you very much.”