Essential Live Albums

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Jones Beach, NY 8/24/2000

This is the first live album I am covering from a show I attended (won’t be the only one or even close to it). This was my 5th Pearl Jam show (Randall’s 1 in ‘96, MSG 1 & 2 and Hartford in ‘98 preceded this one). I never considered this one of the better shows I have seen, in large part because of the sound in the venue. Ten Club tickets in hand, I remember feeling an exceptional amount of excitement as I found my seats 24 rows from the stage on the floor on Mike’s side. At the time I thought I had hit the jackpot on basically the east side of the stage. As luck would have it, this breezy night had the wind moving East to West. What that meant was despite the fact that I was 24 rows from the stage, I had to literally squint to hear anything. It sounded about the same as when I sat in the 400 levels the furthest corner from the band next to a luxury box (not in it mind you) at MSG a couple or years earlier. Granted, I could definitely feel that moment on Daughter where they hit the It’s Okay tag. No amount of bad sound could keep that down. But the rest of the show was frankly unmemorable or a bad memory for me. Not the band’s fault, but nothing much drew me back to this one.

So it’s a bit of a surprise that this one has an Ape/Man designation. Listening back now, it’s still mostly a surprise. I mean if I am questioning their judgment on Columbus, I need to take a good hard look in the mirror on what I remember and still hear as a largely ho-hum show with one fantastic moment.

The Essential Performance: Daughter/It’s Okay

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Jones Beach, NY 8/25/2000

If the Ape/Man designation is not solely the music but everything surrounding the show as far as the band members are concerned I'd say this is an easy inclusion primarily in light of Daughter > It's Okay. When the decision was made to pick the songs I'd imagine the feelings were still palpable, I have that track in a random folder for the car and it hits me every goddamn time.

Right. Daughter/It’s Okay is honestly one of the top moments I have seen them play in person - an honest highlight of the tour. The rest of the show is fine.

[LooseGroove927]

As luck would have it, this breezy night had the wind moving East to West. What that meant was despite the fact that I was 24 rows from the stage, I had to literally squint to hear anything.

I was there as well, and it's also how I remember it. The sound was awful. Completely lost to sea. But the Daughter with the It's OK tag was amazing. Something you had to be there to fully appreciate.

[liebzz]

As luck would have it, this breezy night had the wind moving East to West. What that meant was despite the fact that I was 24 rows from the stage, I had to literally squint to hear anything.

I was there as well, and it's also how I remember it. The sound was awful. Completely lost to sea. But the Daughter with the It's OK tag was amazing. Something you had to be there to fully appreciate.

I haven’t been there since, and probably have seen something like 100 shows since then in the New York area. I have been tempted but I never pull the trigger because what if that happened again.

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Jones Beach, NY 8/25/2000

THIS is more like it. This was the OG No Code show before there was all this hype on Moline. Granted, they did not play the album cover to cover, and they only played half the album dispersed through the set, but it got more play than any other album in this show by a decent margin. Plus, getting Sometimes, Red Mosquito, Mankind, Present Tense, Off He Goes, In My Tree, and Smile in one show is pretty damn great. On top of that, these are all great versions, with Mankind maybe being the definitive version of the song, especially given that this is a bit of a bust out when it ever is played.

Beyond the No Code stuff lives a really good show - Better Man is top notch from all the Ape/Man shows thus far, Rearviewmirror is killer, as is Immortality to close the main set. Baba is very good here, and the Over the Hills and Far Away tease on Yellow Ledbetter is good fun. A very phenomenal performance, and the best of the designated shows from the first leg of the US tour thus far.

The Essential Performance: Mankind

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Mansfield, MA 8/29/2000

[Higgs]

A very phenomenal performance, and the best of the designated shows from the first leg of the US tour thus far.

The Essential Performance: Mankind

This band, man.

[liebzz]

Stone: “Is my band ready to kick it?”

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Mansfield, MA 8/29/2000

The final Ape/Man designated show of the first North American leg, this show finds the band on a particular hot streak that continues nicely through this show (and really through the end of the leg In Pittsburgh). Once again the spitfire early run on this show is pretty great, with Go in particular highlighting. Habit, Better Man/Save It For Later, Rival, Sleight of Hand (take two), and Insignificance are genuine main set highlights as well. As we hit the ensure, we are reminded of the real genesis period of Eddie’s Ralph Nader phase, and a cover of I Am a Patriot. From there, they play a bunch of hits but then settle into Crazy Mary and Soldier of Love to close the first encore with RVM. Yellow Ledbetter is encore 2, but they’re not done yet(!) closing with Fuckin’ Up. A wonderful show here.

The Essential Performance: Go

Up Next: Rage Against the Machine - Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium

[VinylGuy]

Stone: “Is my band ready to kick it?”

that was a great moment

[liebzz]

Rage Against the Machine - Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium

Another one off break between Pearl Jam runs, we go for some serious hard rock here. I like this one quite a bit more than The Battle of Mexico City, even if it also has some sort of sound issue I can’t identify. Bulls on Parade, Calm Like a Bomb, Bombtrack, War Within a Breath, Sleep Now in the Fire, and No Shelter are all memorable here, though nothing seems to pulsate those adrenaline glands so much as Guerrilla Radio. That’s the winner since this is all about the rage.

The Essential Performance: Guerrilla Radio

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Detroit, MI 10/7/2000

[VinylGuy]

yeah i love that live album, not so crazy about the production though. Not sure if its better than Mexico, that dvd is intense as fuck.

[Jammer XCI]

Rage Against the Machine live at Grand Olympic is fucking awesome. They played all my favorites from that live album when I actually saw them live decades later and it was even better.

Alice in Chains' live album just kinda feels slapped together by the label or some shit, but dammit if those weren't great performances.

Pearl Jam - Katowice, Poland 6/16/2000

On this next show, the band showed up to find a half-empty arena. Perhaps another band as big as they were as a touring entity would have phoned it in or ripped quickly through their set. Pearl Jam responded by playing an all time set, complete with a full warm up of slower songs and then ripping into what may be the best main set I can think of. In the warm up, Of the Girl and Sleight of Hand are both phenomenal, and Thin Air right on. The show seems to get kicking for real with Insignificance, Grievance, a great Corduroy, Animal and on from there. It seems nearly all of this is strong blazing through a 22 song main set that never quits. The encores are similarly exciting as the band pushes on Immortality. This is one of those shows you just have to sit back and enjoy. Worth the hype.

The Essential Performance: Sleight of Hand

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Verona, Italy 6/20/00

This is the only one of all 200 or however many Pearl Jam albums came out in 2000 I've actually heard.

It's okay. I liked Live on Two Legs more.

[VinylGuy]

yeah i agree that the AIC live was something out of the label maybe to complete their contract i dont know, but it was still very cool and unexpected.

I remember going to the record store and then fuuuuck new Alice In Chains!!!

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Detroit, Michigan 10/7/2000

Final leg of the 2000 tour, and this first Ape/Man show has all the set list potential, but in the end Eddie’s missed queues are a distraction not easily overlooked. The first part of the show is quite solid as they get right down to business opening with Go, and tearing through some propulsive rock when we get Tremor Christ! This time they seem to get it down right, so a nice mid-career (at that point) song that starts a pretty great run with that, Small Town, Insignificance, Last Exit, and Animal before Ed mangles In My Tree. Better Man is really good on this one, played with the Romanza intro and the Save It For Later outtro, but the solos stick more to the studio version and it works on this night. Rearviewmirror is similarly fantastic here, sprawled out in the noise jam and brought back with great fury. Nothing As It Seems gets mangled coming out of the encore break but Spin the Black Circle is pretty tight. Parting Ways is great to get here. This was a solid show that would have been aided by a few less missteps.

The Essential Performance: Tremor Christ

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Chicago, IL 10/9/2000

[Farmer John]

Pearl Jam - Detroit, Michigan 10/7/2000

Final leg of the 2000 tour, and this first Ape/Man show has all the set list potential, but in the end Eddie’s missed queues are a distraction not easily overlooked. The first part of the show is quite solid as they get right down to business opening with Go, and tearing through some propulsive rock when we get Tremor Christ! This time they seem to get it down right, so a nice mid-career (at that point) song that starts a pretty great run with that, Small Town, Insignificance, Last Exit, and Animal before Ed mangles In My Tree. Better Man is really good on this one, played with the Romanza intro and the Save It For Later outtro, but the solos stick more to the studio version and it works on this night. Rearviewmirror is similarly fantastic here, sprawled out in the noise jam and brought back with great fury. Nothing As It Seems gets mangled coming out of the encore break but Spin the Black Circle is pretty tight. Parting Ways is great to get here. This was a solid show that would have been aided by a few less missteps.

The Essential Performance: Tremor Christ

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Chicago, IL 10/9/2000

I hate to be one of those "I was there" people, but I was there!

I love that version of Nothing As it Seems, despite the mangled bridge. Ed then steps it up a notch and it leads to the best final chorus they've ever done.

The live debut of Parting Ways was also a highlight for me.

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Detroit, Michigan 10/7/2000

Final leg of the 2000 tour, and this first Ape/Man show has all the set list potential, but in the end Eddie’s missed queues are a distraction not easily overlooked. The first part of the show is quite solid as they get right down to business opening with Go, and tearing through some propulsive rock when we get Tremor Christ! This time they seem to get it down right, so a nice mid-career (at that point) song that starts a pretty great run with that, Small Town, Insignificance, Last Exit, and Animal before Ed mangles In My Tree. Better Man is really good on this one, played with the Romanza intro and the Save It For Later outtro, but the solos stick more to the studio version and it works on this night. Rearviewmirror is similarly fantastic here, sprawled out in the noise jam and brought back with great fury. Nothing As It Seems gets mangled coming out of the encore break but Spin the Black Circle is pretty tight. Parting Ways is great to get here. This was a solid show that would have been aided by a few less missteps.

The Essential Performance: Tremor Christ

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Chicago, IL 10/9/2000

I hate to be one of those "I was there" people, but I was there!

I love that version of Nothing As it Seems, despite the mangled bridge. Ed then steps it up a notch and it leads to the best final chorus they've ever done.

The live debut of Parting Ways was also a highlight for me.

I’ll have plenty of “I was there” moments across this. It’s nice for others to have those moments too.

[Happy Trees]

Pearl Jam - Detroit, Michigan 10/7/2000

Final leg of the 2000 tour, and this first Ape/Man show has all the set list potential, but in the end Eddie’s missed queues are a distraction not easily overlooked. This was a solid show that would have been aided by a few less missteps.

Saratoga and Pittsburgh (the two best shows of the middle leg) not being Ape/Man shows compared to shows like this one is completely ridiculous and a perfect example of why I take issue with the whole concept.

[liebzz]

Yeah. I was wondering how if they were memorable shows how the Ice Bowl show didn’t get the designation. That seemed like a pretty unique experience.

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Chicago, Illinois 10/9/2000

Over the years, this is the show I revisit most when I want to listen to one of the 2000 shows, with good reason. This one smokes from the start, a solid Release pulling right into Corduroy, Grievance, Gods’s Dice and Animal. The fun really starts with a killer Red Mosquito coupled with Nothing As it Seems, all stellar versions. This first set that keeps on giving also features the “man” trilogy that is really well done, and closes with a 1-2 combo of epic versions of Black and Parting Ways. The set closing Baba O’Riley is one of the best out there. This is an all-timer for Pearl Jam, definitely at least in that conversation.

The Essential Performance: Black (with a Parting Ways bonus!)

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Las Vegas, Nevada 10/22/2000

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Las Vegas, Nevada 10/22/2000

There were a lot of swirling circumstances surrounding a very important show in this band’s history. With I am sure the tragedy at the end of the European tour weighing on them, and the uncertainty they had on whether the ride would continue, they - and Eddie Vedder in particular - rose up to meet the significance of the day, 10 years from their first show. I read somewhere that the band was very close to calling it a day after that tragedy and that the North American tour restored their faith in what they were doing together as a band, and this show must have been a significant piece of that healing.

The show itself is pretty spectacular, with the band definitely elevating their game, be it exceptional versions of their standards from this tour, or the bust outs, Crown of Thorns that really is an iconic moment of them recognizing the path of their journey, or a place specific rendition of Can’t Help Falling in Love. In the end, Eddie’s words to the crowd on all that surrounded the show may end up the most powerful part of this show, along with that Crown of Thorns, of course.

The Essential Performance: Crown of Thorns

Up Next: Pearl Jam - San Diego, CA 10/25/2000

[VinylGuy]

How cool was Ed letting their bandmates know he wanted to play a song from their previous band? I love in the PJ20 doc when then show the moment were ed tells stone and jeff about it.

Very special.