Here are some reviews from around the Web. I can't find the words to describe the experience of seeing and hearing Pearl Jam play live. It was without a doubt one of the most amazing events of my life.........

September 17, 1996

Pearl Jam tour blasts off in Seattle

SEATTLE -- About a third of the way through their triumphant tour kick-off/homecoming party here Monday night, the members of Pearl Jam congregated near centre stage for an impromptu group meeting. After what seemed like an eternity, Eddie Vedder approached the mike, tongue lodged a mile or two into his cheek and, in a mischievous speech that managed to assert the band's rights, subvert the audience's expectations, and fire a broadside at the city's most powerful employer all at the same time, began to expound in the way that only Eddie Vedder can expound: "The reason we're taking a bit of time between songs is that, before the show we worked with Microsoft to do the set list," he patiently explained, "and they, um, programmed in the hits and all the songs you'd want to hear." Carefully timed pause. "Then the equipment failed and everything got jumbled , so we're just going to meet and find out what WE want to play for you." Thunderous applause. Strangely enough, what Pearl Jam wanted to play at the sold-out 17,000-seat Key Arena did, in fact, include the hits and all the songs you'd want to hear, Alive, Even Flow, Jeremy, and Daughter, among them. But, in a deft bit of musical juggling, the marathon 130-minute set also featured a hefty chunk of the band's new release, No Code, along with lesser-known album tracks (Rearviewmirror), cultish B-sides (the opener, The Long Road, and the final encore, Yellow Ledbetter), and the obligatory oddball cover (Eddie Holland/The Who's Leaving Here, the group's contribution to last year's noble Home Alive benefit album). When the tour resumes this Saturday at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens for the band's sole Canadian date this year, fans will see a stark, stripped-down stage set-up, consisting of little more than a few candles, a cloth backdrop, and what can only be described as a contraption that resembles a crown of thorns decked out with Christmas lights and suspended high above centre stage. They'll also be treated to a much tighter outfit than they're accustomed to. After rehearsing for an uncharacteristically long two weeks, Pearl Jam sounds like a band that has nailed their parts so well, they can throw them out the window and make up new ones. Still, during the early going Monday night, the group seemed to be holding back out of fear that the fanatical crowd -- the first two fans, 22-year-olds Chris Nagano of San Francisco and Mike Guttierrez of Gilroy, Calif., plunked themselves down outside Key Arena at 10:30 p.m. the previous night, 20 HOURS before the doors opened -- to make sure things didn't get out of control. (The floor area Monday night was general admission). That hesitancy resulted in uncharacteristically perfunctory performances of new tunes Hail, Hail and Who You Are, and a sluggish start to the proceedings in general. Appropriately for a band with such close ties to its audience, it took the first stage-crasher of the night to really get things going. After the delirious fan had raced around the stage for a few seconds, Vedder affectionately grabbed his arm and raised it in victory. He then scolded the security guards who were frantically trying to arm-wrestle the intruder to the ground. "Hey, it's okay," Vedder instructed. "It ain't tackle football. Let him go." That gesture was all it took for Vedder to, as the song says, drop the leash. Here's a round-up of some of the many highlights that followed:

- NOT FOR YOU: Unlike past performances, this one started out in almost subdued fashion before building to a lung-shredding climax. The new sense of dynamics made one of the band's most potent anthems even more powerful.

- DAUGHTER: The song that followed Vedder's little speech at the top. A surprisingly fast, punchy version, with an extended middle bit that featured Vedder vamping wordlessly over the main riff.

- EVEN FLOW: Greeted by a huge cheer, this boasted the evening's finest solo, courtesy of guitarist Mike McCready.

- LUKIN: "We're okay if you're okay," said Vedder, glancing anxiously at the mosh pit. "And I'm okay because in two hours I'll be sitting in somebody's kitchen with a beer, laughing about it all. I can even tell you whose kitchen," he added, before launching into this one-minute blast about seeking refuge at the house of Matt Lukin of Mudhoney.

- ALIVE: The single most riveting moment of the night. While the chorus was originally written as a curse, last night Vedder gave in and whole-heartedly transformed it into the life-affirming singalong the crowd has long embraced it as. A stunning act of creative complicity, which is, after all, what Pearl Jam -- and its fans -- do best.

When they came back on for the first encore, Vedder took one last opportunity to speak his peace about the turmoil the band and their fans have put up with for the past two years. "There was no promoter for this show," he said, matter-of-factly, "we just set it up ourselves. I don't want to make a big deal out of it, but we did go and sell tickets in a certain way (through alternate agency FT&T and through the band's own fanclub) that didn't give away all the money," a thinly veiled reference to TicketMaster U.S. and what the band -- and many fans -- see as unreasonably high service charges. "And last, with the tickets and everything that's gone on, we want to thank you for putting up with this band. We really appreciate you coming." Likewise we're sure.