Ed screams the last lines of Wash, and the crowd is warmed up and ready on this, the 23rd anniversary of the band’s first show. Bruce Springsteen is spotted on the side of the stage. Following Lightning Bolt Ed says hello and says that they had some big waves last night, but tonight may be bigger than last night, so “surf’s up.” Corduroy jam is driven by Matt’s drumming and accompanied with rhythmic clapping from the crowd. The backup vocals from the crowd continue on Mind Your Manners. Satan’s Bed appears for the first time since PJ20 in 2011 as Ed says:

 “What’s a show without one rock and roll song about Satan?”  

Considering its scarcity, it is played rather well with some of the timing only slightly off, and there also is an extended solo in the bridge which is a nice treat. Ed has a bit of a false start as he seems to start MFC before Untitled, laughing “the devil got me on that one, he got me back.” The Even Flow solo is prefaced with “you know what time it is” from Ed before Mike melts some faces, and Matt gets his chance to show off as well. After Got Some, Ed says that the last two buildings they’ve played in they’ve seen a big flag with all the special people with his name in the rafters (Barclays in Brooklyn with the Nets’ number 32, and tonight in Philadelphia for the 76ers number 6) and Given To Fly is dedicated to none other than Dr. J. Ed then asks ,“is there a doctor in the house?” Following Infallible, Ed talks about a letter they received from an Afghanistan War vet named PJ who made the trip and is recognized with a spotlight leading to an ovation from the crowd. Ed gives cheers to PJ and thanks him for the gift and the nice letter, offering that he’s back healthy and going to school in Virginia and drove up for the show. He goes on to say that PJ had expressed gratitude for the band in his letter, but that the band is thankful he’s back healthy, which gives them a little hope, as it’s not all bad news which leads to the US tour debut of World Wide Suicide. Do the Evolution has a bit of a lyrical flub in the first verse, which takes nothing away from the energy, and the floor can be heard chanting along to Stone’s solos as well as the “hallelujahs” as the church choir. A 10-minute epic Better Man closes out the first set, featuring a fantastic outro jam with Mike sporting a rose on his guitar’s neck and Ed improving off the lyric “I need you.” Out of the break, a bit of “Happy Birthday” can be heard singing from the floor which was a bit of a grassroots-organized event for the band’s anniversary, and Ed asks if it is time to break out the champagne. He offers that they might want to wait, as it caused memory loss before. He also tells of a show in Seattle where someone threw up an enormous joint on stage which he lit up prior to the encore, but doesn’t remember anything after that but that it was a great encore. He sees a woman in the crowd in what he thinks is a Halloween costume, then realizes she’s updated her makeup to mirror an image from the new album (the Future Days’ artwork) and comments “that’s fucking genius,” and dedicates:

“this next song and the rest of the show and the next 20 years to you for doing that and being so brave…we should send that to the artist.” 

Future Days is played later in the encore. Immediately following, Ed states that “a long long time ago when the setlist was 13 songs, sometimes 11, this next one was number 10,” leading into a lively Breath. Ed finishes Porch swinging on an orb before climbing down and smashing the mic stand at the close. After the break, Ed talks to the crowd and says that it might be awhile before they are back, and calls for one more bottle of wine and that out of respect for their fellow man they are going to play one for the people in the back which leads into Last Kiss, dedicated to Nick, Matt and Pierre at WMMR who he believes were the first to play the song. He continues talking about radio, adding:

“…you can call up and a real human will answer the phone and maybe even play a request for you, if you haven’t tried it, it’s a great way to get laid…the birthday present for us turning 23 today, with the help of radio, the little record we made went into number 1…the best part is that we used to not give a fuck, and we still kind of don’t, but it feels good.”  

They have trouble starting Leaving Here and Ed jokes that this is what a number one band sounds like, then quotes Neil Young from The Last Waltz, “I got it now Robbie,” and tonight’s version features Jeff’s bass on the first solo followed by Matt on drums for the rest. After Blood, Ed says, “fuck it, we played the show but I feel like it’s your birthday,” and leads the crowd in a singing of “Happy Birthday,” and takes a swig from a giant bottle of champagne which is shared with the audience. Before Ledbetter, Ed expresses his gratitude:

“Thanks for everything…tonight, yesterday, two years ago, four years ago, ten years ago, twenty years ago, thanks for everything. Take care of one another and thanks for taking care of us. Thanks for listening.” 

Before leaving, Ed introduces the band and adds a “Bruce Springsteen…inspiration,” before ending a magical night with “you can call me Ed and call us and we’ll be back anytime. Thank you very much. Love…goodnight…goodbye.”

Ed is wearing his “Rocky” shirt, which was also seen during the historic 2009 run at the Spectrum. Low Light returns with the line “…all I feel is fucking calm,” as well as the extended vocal outro.  The audience is ready on the first chorus of Small Town to take over and keep it going throughout the entirety of the song, Ed’s “this is going to be a good one tonight, keep going” are all the encouragement they need. Released just 10 days prior, the title track off the new album Lightning Bolt already feels like a classic and is not out of place following a song that is 23 years its senior. Following Animal, Ed has the lights come up to see everyone. He continues:

“…for about the 20th time in a similar situation we get to say these words, ‘Hello Philadelphia’…nice place you got here. You were probably there when we tore down the Spectrum…fuck it, let’s tear this one down too. Slowly, piece by piece. Up amongst the flags and championships there’s a whole lot of speakers and we got a lot of speakers up here. We got Matt Cameron on the drum kit, I say we pace ourselves and have a nice long evening of it.” 

After Even Flow, Ed points out “Michael motherfucking McCready on guitar.” The layers of guitar sounds shine on the next Lightning Bolt track, Infallible. Ed has a bit of a lyrical flub but catches himself and rights the ship. Without skipping a beat, they complete Merkinball with I Got Id, which will always sound like Neil Young on guitar and tonight is no exception. The familiar chords of Wishlist are next, with a lyrical change to “…I wish I was the city of brotherly love’s hands upraised to the sky,” and “…as fortunate as Philly.” The song finishes with Ed’s E-bow and a return of the improved lyrical ending:

“I wish to wish for nothing…my only desire, desirelessness. My only wish is to wish for nothing. ‘Cause who could ask for more than this?“ 

He continues once the song finishes and tells of a flashback he had while putting powder on his nails before the show to a time when he was 15, taking speed called “Black Beauties” and how he named that guitar “Black Beauty.” He goes on to say:

“I’m not sure about the successful-musician-doing-drugs thing. What more could you ask for than what you give us here tonight? To be up here playing loud, loud music with some of your best friends for a bunch of friends you don’t really know but you feel like you do. We are just so grateful, thank you. Thanks for keeping me off the drugs.”  

This leads into a fantastic Sirens. Lukin is introduced as a “quiet singalong” and right off the last beat Matt continues right into Not For You. Ed jokes that the next two songs “are about the same goddamn thing,” with Let the Records Play followed by Spin the Black Circle, Mike’s running around in circles the entire song. A punishing 8 minute Rearviewmirror closes out a fantastic first set. Out of the break, the band is seated and Ed offers a quick “…cheers to you, Philadelphia.”  He then turns around and asks how the back is doing, commenting:

“Now even that is 20-30 times more people who came to see us the first time at JC Dobbs…we could only dream of a crowd like that. I like the Ramones fan with the ‘Gabba Gabba Hey’ sign…can we get him a better seat? I’d like to see that sign right next to Stone. You can’t like, solve all the world’s problems, but that would be a good one right there…start small. Last time we were here we had 99 problems, we’d only have 98.”  

He then talks about a friend of his, a train conductor who lost a good friend by suicide, pointing out that the friend was a veteran, and that they should be taken care of and that if anyone knows one to check in, given the epidemic rate of suicide for veterans, and dedicates Man of the Hour to the friend. Ed can be heard cracking a bit at the end, an emotional performance. Ed remains seated while the rest of the band stands for a stellar rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Mother,” with the crowd answering the “should we trust the government” question as one might expect, and Ed gives a quick “thanks, Roger, for letting us borrow your song.” Mike plays the ½ Full solo behind his head, Ed using his guitar to reflect a spotlight around the arena during the “won’t someone save the world” portion. He then introduces Andy and Jordan, who had the ‘Gabba Gabba Hey’ sign, noting that this is Jordan’s first rock concert. Ed assures him that they are all like this and they dedicate I Believe in Miracles to them and “everyone else in the back.” Coming out of the final break, Ed says:

“If you’re not leaving we’re not leaving. When you can stand here and see everyone in the back moving as much as everyone in the front and the sides you’re on to something good. Goddamnit, thanks a lot Philadelphia once again.”

He continues, introducing the band, including Boom, whose brother Keith flew in for the show on his birthday. Then, a fan up front says it’s his 18th birthday today, to which Ed teases:

“…you’re going to be drinking some of this right now…don’t film him for litigation purposes. All cameras are off…no fucking cell phones, don’t fucking tweet that shit of him getting his first drink, getting me in trouble…[I’ll] fucking find you…happy birthday Keith, happy birthday Jake, happy birthday Crazy Mary.” 

Crazy Mary features the audience taking over the “…quite a crowd…” line and singing throughout. Following the song the crowd serenades Boom and Ed gives him another shout out.  The last chorus of Alive is changed to “Philadelphia, we’re all still alive,” and the crowd immediately begins the outro chant. Before leaving, Ed closes out the show with:

“Alright, thanks very much…thank you in the back, thank you in the topside, middle, front back, the whole thing…we should just spend the night…much love, we’ll see you soon. Thanks, love you. Take care of each other. Beautiful. Good night.”