Bern

LOCATION: Train en route from Bern, Switzerland to Bologna, Italy
Last night's show: Bern (Bern Arena)

Setlist:
Go
Animal
World Wide Suicide
Severed Hand
Hail Hail
Dissident
Breakerfall
Evenflow
Glorified G
Elderly Woman....
Sleight of Hand
Jeremy
Marker in the Sand
Betterman
Army Reserve
Satan's Bed
You Are

Encore 1
Garden
Low Light
Do the Evolution
Alive

Encore 2
Last Exit
Why Go
Rockin'in the Free World
Yellow Ledbetter
Little Wing (Sung)

We're passing through the Swiss Alps right now, and the scene is unreal. It's a sobering reminder of how small we really are compared to nature. We're surrounded by snow-capped mountain peaks and rolling hills on both sides, and the wooden houses that are scattered around seem miniscule, too, when set against the backdrop of the alps. I swear at any moment Julie Andrews is going to appear singing!!!

It feels like we're on Amazing Race: Pearl Jam Edition. Because of the show schedules, its obvious we will be running from city to city without having much free time to venture out. I was in Bern less than 24 hours and will spend the same amount of time in Bologna. This, of course, means a lot of sightseeing has to be made up during our off days, which there aren't many of.

Last night was our first show, and it was an awesome start. I met Warren in Bern, and after settling in, we headed over to the arena around 5pm. On the 10c line, we ran into a friend of his who didn't know he'd be here. Jess is the female equivalent of Warren. She is a walking, talking database of facts and set lists - last night marked her 92nd show.

I was happy to learn that the entire venue would be general admission, not just the floor. We all agreed that the best thing to do would be to grab seats on the side of the stage so we'd be close and have a good view. When we walked in, though, we saw that the stage was set up differently. Instead of being at the tale end of the arena, it was right in the middle, up against the seats on the side. Because of this, the floor was a lot smaller than normal. Seats to the left or right of the stage would be too far, so we opted to sit directly behind the floor. This was a perfect choice, because our view was amazing.

Once seated, we met this couple from Washington, who had traveled to Switzerland and were continuing throughout Italy. We were all exhausted from traveling and our energy was seriously dwindling even through My Morning Jacket's set, so we had to resort to Red Bull to pick us up. After MMJ's performance, we were wired - but we knew it wasn't just the Red Bull kicking in.

Although we weren't expecting it to be, this show was amazing. We all thought the first set was unreal and the audience really surprised us. They were trickling in up to 15 minutes before PJ took the stage, so we were concerned they wouldn't be as into it or as loud as they turned out to be. Jess and I were hoping for a slow opener, but once Go came on we forgot all about it - the audience and the band's energy was non-stop after that. This was their first time in Bern, and it was great to see that they didn't only play their better-known songs. I think we all agreed that Alive was the highlight of the show. The audience's reaction and their participation was unlike any I've seen or heard, and Warren and Jess (who collectively have 152 shows between them!!) agreed. During the show, we ended up sitting on the wall that separated the seats from the floor, and during Alive, we could feel everything shaking.

We were kind of hoping for a longer 2nd encore, but didn't get it. At the end of Yellow Ledbetter, Mike started in on Little Wing. Towards the middle of it, he looked over to Ed and Ed gave him a 'sure, why not' shrug. He then began the lyrics and sang for several verses. Once he was done, he walked over to the side of the stage, bummed a cigarette off of someone, and watched Mike's solo fade.

Next stop: Bologna