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Ok, I got back home yesterday from an extended vacation in ottawa this past weekend to see my fav band (sorry das hip) PJ. The show Friday night was INSANE. 2hrs and 50 minutes of pure PJ goodness. Here's my mini review...

Ok, first things first...
FANTASTIC SHOW!!!!
My first of the tour and it was a barn burner. I was kicking myself for not making it out to MTL on Thursday night but last nights show was SOLID.
Had seats on the floor, 20th row on Mikes side, all the way on the end ... this kicked ass for reasons I'll divulge later on.
Last Kiss preset... meh. I was hoping for Dead man, oh well. If it ment they weren't going to play LK full band then I was happy.
Wash as the opener, very fitting since it was pouring rain last night. Very tight version.
The next five songs were pure madness, 5 full on rockers in a row. Nice to hear Brain of J. Ed got REAL pissed at his guitar on Corduroy, he slammed it aginst the mic stand and the whole thing few across the stage... at the time a was thinking 'shit, Ed's not in a good mood, this can't be good', but he recovered nicely and was in god spirits for the rest of the show.
Immortality was the shit, fantastic version... Ed did mess up the lyrics on the first verse (when hasn't he done that!) but no matter, Matt was on fire and his work at the end of the song was legendary, and Mike was shredding like mad.
In Hiding, my first time hearing it, phenominal song! Then Stone got rid of his guitar and took the mic in hand. Ed said something about it being time to let Stone sing... Don't Give Me No Lip was soooo tight, wicked version. Stone was pogo-ing throughout the song, fantastic vocals.
Nice extended jam on Even Flow. Ed then spoke for a while. Kissing Canadian ass, which was nice. Then he said "but I do have one criticism... what's up with your roads?" For anyone who has drivin on our highways, you know what he's talking about, a little bumpy eh? He then said there was an American company who would be willing to work on the roads for a small fee, Haliburton. In all fairness the Bush bashing was kept to a minimum. Green Disease is played next (fitting).
A solid combo of Insignificance -> I Got Shit (very nice), Ed got a little lost on the Jeremy lyrics, Black was extended at the end (as I think they've been doing for the past few shows), and Ed tagged Save It For Later on Betterman. RVM to close the set with an extra long tease at the beginning of the song full with mini fills by Matt. A great first set all in all.
Ed and Jeff came out for the first encore and Jeff had a guitar in hand which could only mean one thing, Bee Girl! Kick ass.
I Believe in Mairacles was nice to hear (I'm a fan of the slowed down acoustic version over their faster interpretation so smiles all around from me on this one). Sleight of Hand was a surprise and REAL tight. Small Town was a crowd sing-along like non other. Since it's my first show of the tour I'm not sick of it yet. Crazy Mary was SICK!! Boom played the hell out of those keys, Mike slipped in a Stairway to Heaven solo then went over to dual with Boom which got a great crowd response. Mike gave Boom a pat on the back after the "battle" and the crowd responded with a BOOOOOOOM chant. Alive finished this set, another singalong. Normaly I wouldn't be pumped about this tune but during the end solo by Mike he walked into the crowd up the side aisle (with a couple of bodyguards of course) and made it all the way back to the 20th row RIGHT NEXT TO ME AND MY BROTHER!!!!. He was literally 2 feet away from us rockin' out. A wicked finish to he first set, very unexpected. My broher saw him when he was about 10 feet away, he yelled at me to grab the camera but all I could do was point and cheer... so no pics.
Given to Fly was nice to hear (I'll take any Yield tunes I can get)a great 2nd encore opener, Not For You had a nice Sleater Kinney mini tag at the end. Daughter, tag-less... oh well. Harvest Moon was cool to hear, Sleater Kinney only add to this song with great backing vocals. Leaving Here was great, Jeff took ALL the solos in the mid section and Sleater Kinney really filled out the song nicely with the "ooooh yeah" parts and the mod style dancing, very fitting for the tune.
RITFW was great (first time I've heard it live... I've gotten Fucking Up twice o this was a welcomed change). I can't say SK detracted from the song, the boys were having a GREAT TIME up there and that's all that matters to me.
Ledbetter closed, a nice Zepplin tease of 'Over the Hills and ar Away' near the end by Mike.
All in all, a fantastic show. Thanks to the TenClub for hookin us up with great seats. I met some real cool fans, everyone was sooo nice and pumped to be there.
THANK YOU PJ. See you in Halifax!!

Doc

dude, awsome review...i think if i were writing it it would have been exactly the same...except i sat 3rd row dead center on the floor