I'm (OH), I'm still ALIVE...

This post is probably the hardest for me to write...What words can I use to describe last night?  I guess I'll just do my best to recap the night as it went.  We got to the concert, where we hit the jackpot with parking about 15 spaces from the gate...and again, FREE!  We were told that you could not bring cameras into the venues, but that some bands would allow disposable cameras.  I didn't have one, so we snapped a couple of pictures outside by the car and left the camera in the car.  They also said we could take one bottle of water per ticket holder, but it had to be sealed...so I had 2 bottles of water, one for me and Justin, and then they told me I had to pour it out into a cup.  Apparently Pearl Jam had a "no bottle" rule at their shows...Perhaps too many thrown on stage?  I didn't want to pour it into a cup and carry it around, so I painfully left my two bottles of unopened water on the garbage can.  I couldn't even bare to throw them away :)  Then when we got inside the water there was $4 a bottle.  Compared to my $5 ticket, it didn't seem quite worth it!  Ok, so we get inside the amphitheater and found the lawn seats, which were nowhere near as far away from the stage as we thought they would be.  We chilled on a blanket during the opening band "Kings of Leon" and got more and more excited with the end of each of their songs.  I was reminded of when Relient K opened for the Goo Goo Dolls, and how Jon said it was obvious that everyone wanted them to hurry and be done so they could get to the headliner.  Kings of Leon was a cool band, nonetheless.   Then for the reason we were there...PEARL JAM!  Now, I should explain that I was definitely the odd man out, because Justin and Melissa are/were the experienced concert-goers.  They came to Pearl Jam with their circa 1994 attitudes and it was hilarious!  Melissa even pulled out her Doc Martens and hemp necklaces.  The thirty minute car ride to the concert was filled with them reminiscing about all the concerts they had been to.  Neither had seen Pearl Jam, but they were on both of their "lists".  Melissa's other band she never got to see was Nirvana, which ain't happenin' in this lifetime...and Justin had a couple, like Rage Against the Machine and Smashing Pumpkins.  Then there's me.  I was not in the same category as they were EVER.  I simply heard Pearl Jam played in my house all the time...I joked with Justin earlier in the day that if I had a nickel for every time I'd heard the beginning of "Alive" being played by my brother, he wouldn't have to be in the Navy...but at the same time, if he wasn't in the Navy, we wouldn't be getting to see Pearl Jam for $5.  So back to the show...They came out and Eddie Vedder said something, maybe how ya'll doin, and the goosebumps emerged from under my hoodie :)  Justin said if he would've been closer, he might have been crying.  We are dorks, no doubt.  So highlights of the show: Elderly Woman, Why Go, Evenflow, Jeremy and of course, Alive!  Then there was one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs, Betterman, which EV dedicated to Justin (ok, to the military people).  I still haven't figure out what the heck that had to do with the military, but I was glad they played the song.  He also jibber jabbered something about how amazing it was that Live Nation was giving us such cheap tickets haha, and basically said he is against the war but thank you anyway.  We got a kick out of it.  Hearing him speak was the best, trying to decipher what in the world he was saying.  Justin saw an interview once where he told them he was a glazed donut...so yeah.  It was awesome.  I am so glad that we went...It was pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I was glad to have shared it with Justin and Melissa.  Oh, and I forgot to add that EVERYONE had cameras.  I had to do what I could with my phone...which wasn't much.  I even took video, but it was horrible.  Once it got dark that was pretty much the end of it.  I can't even post the pictures we took at the car because Justin is at work, and the camera is in the car :)  So I'll share with you the two that we took at the show with my phone. 

And a VERY special thanks to Angie, who watched Alana and Noah so this whole thing could be possible!!!

Peace, love and mumble mumble.