Essential Live Albums

[AndySlash]

Dave Matthews Band - The Gorge

This is a nice compilation from their weekend stay at The Gorge in 2004, a now standard practice for them over Labor Day Weekend. Somehow I still associate many of the songs here as new songs, as if time stood still or the band’s life force is divided between the songs up through Before These Crowded Streets and everything after. This probably is because I associate it with my own experience with them, consistently following them through that era but mostly at a distance after the Central Park show in 2003. They do sound pretty good here, especially knocking through some of the older songs like Warehouse, Rapunzel, Drive In Drive Out, and set winner Lie in Our Graves which is phenomenal. I have always enjoyed Gravedigger (sorry folks always have), Kit Kat Jam is another highlight. Good stuff all around

The Essential Performance: Lie in Our Graves

these shows were from 2002, fyi. the set was released in 2004.

[liebzz]

Not sure if I am mixing it up with something else. For some reason though my it was 2004 with a 2005 release. In any event, I enjoyed it!

[liebzz]

Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band - Live in Dublin

There’s a certain defying of expectations that Bruce can knock you out with from time to time. I have heard this one a few times (not the extended 2.5 hour one that streaming services have), and despite knowing in my head I am getting this huge band, I still this this is going to be folkier or more stripped down than it is. This is an enormous band playing enormously, with Bruce meeting them profoundly where they are. Whether it is beefing up or in some instances stripping down American classics, or redefining moments in his own catalogue, this sort of side project ends up being one of his finest moments as an artist. There are boundless highlights here that are really high, and the ones that really stuck out on this listen were the opening Atlantic City, Open All Night (which is just an epic throwdown), and the radically reconfigured Blinded By the Light and Johnny 99. I can’t even manage to fully choose between the last three noted here cause they’re just so damned great.

The Essential Performances: Open All Night, Blinded By the Light, Johnny 99

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Live at the Gorge 05/06

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Live at the Gorge 05/06, Part I: September 1, 2005

I imagine being at this show was pretty incredible. You have lots of rarely played songs, a full chill set to start the show to enjoy the sunset with over The Gorge, Tom Petty jokes galore, and more I am sure I am missing. It sadly doesn’t play back quite that great, with the Tom Petty jokes losing their luster after the first couple, and the band seemingly missing the usual momentum they seem to carry through the sets. It’s still a very good show, but I would probably choose to listen to the bootlegs of the shows that come next in this set.

The Essential Performance: Insignificance

Up Next: Part II: July 22, 2006

[VinylGuy]

I love both of those Gorge shows. Very special shows. O6 might be better tough.

[wease]

Pearl Jam - Live at the Gorge 05/06, Part I: September 1, 2005

I imagine being at this show was pretty incredible. You have lots of rarely played songs, a full chill set to start the show to enjoy the sunset with over The Gorge, Tom Petty jokes galore, and more I am sure I am missing. It sadly doesn’t play back quite that great, with the Tom Petty jokes losing their luster after the first couple, and the band seemingly missing the usual momentum they seem to carry through the sets. It’s still a very good show, but I would probably choose to listen to the bootlegs of the shows that come next in this set.

The Essential Performance: Insignificance

Up Next: Part II: July 22, 2006

The show that brought me back to Live Pearl Jam. It also made me a believer in Sad.

[Kevin Davis]

Same here, wease - Live at the Gorge was a big moment in the resurgence of my PJ fandom, which was at an ebb following the S/T album, and a few years of just being disengaged from rock music in general. Though, I think the ‘05 show is a bit sloppy and pretty strongly prefer the ‘06 ones.

In fact both Live at the Gorge and Springsteen’s Live in Dublin were big summer 2007 albums for me. Good memories.

[liebzz]

Same here, wease - Live at the Gorge was a big moment in the resurgence of my PJ fandom, which was at an ebb following the S/T album, and a few years of just being disengaged from rock music in general. Though, I think the ‘05 show is a bit sloppy and pretty strongly prefer the ‘06 ones.

In fact both Live at the Gorge and Springsteen’s Live in Dublin were big summer 2007 albums for me. Good memories.

Glad I could bring them back to you in succession.

[wease]

Same here, wease - Live at the Gorge was a big moment in the resurgence of my PJ fandom, which was at an ebb following the S/T album, and a few years of just being disengaged from rock music in general. Though, I think the ‘05 show is a bit sloppy and pretty strongly prefer the ‘06 ones.

In fact both Live at the Gorge and Springsteen’s Live in Dublin were big summer 2007 albums for me. Good memories.

Glad I could bring them back to you in succession.

I meant that I went to the show and never stopped after that.

[liebzz]

Never been to a show at the Gorge. Would love to go there and Red Rocks some day. I am sure you had a great time. Shame they didn’t convince Tom Petty to come on down.

[oasisfan35]

Never been to a show at the Gorge. Would love to go there and Red Rocks some day. I am sure you had a great time. Shame they didn’t convince Tom Petty to come on down.

Never was able to make the Gorge happen but glad I went to Red Rocks... to see Tom Petty.

[liebzz]

Full circle there.

[wease]

Never been to a show at the Gorge. Would love to go there and Red Rocks some day. I am sure you had a great time. Shame they didn’t convince Tom Petty to come on down.

It was a big tease. We all thought it was one of those things where Tom was sitting backstage and then would come out later after Ed “begged” him a few times. Apparently not.

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Live at the Gorge 05/06, Part II: July 22, 2006

With all due respect to the first show we’ve been discussing, if that show while great was Pearl Jam still finding their groove to start their 2005 tour, this first night of a 2 night stand is Pearl Jam at their absolute peak in closing out the U.S. legs of their 2006 tour. With this band, there are just those nights where they seem totally locked in, and as the show progresses, they seem not only to become aware of the extra something they’ve got that night but seem to embrace it and push things as far as they can take them. The Avocado songs here have fully found their personality and all sound great. Wash is always a great opener. The first encore with the reverse Momma Son, a spirited State of Love and Trust, Crown of Thorns, Leash, and Porch is spectacular, and all that building of an epic show almost gets forgotten in a stunning second encore, with the last 5 song run being maybe one of the greatest run of songs in the band’s history to this point. Go is blistering. Baba is celebratory Pearl Jam at its finest, Dirty Frank (!) is funky and perfectly on point. One of the best sounding Rockin’ in the Free Worlds you’ll find, and then closing it out with the Yellow Ledbetter/Little Wing jam/Star Spangled Banner is just straight up insane. This is one of the best single shows I have heard on this journey.

The Essential Performance: Yellow Ledbetter/Little Wing/Star Spangled Banner

Up Next: Part III: July 23, 2006

[Kevin Davis]

That “Dirty Frank” is a blast — from memory, the only time they played it where Ed got all the words right (it’s possible he had a lyric sheet — in the video he is staring at the ground more or less the whole time). I need to revisit these shows!

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Live at the Gorge 05/06, Part III: July 23, 2006

What do you do to possibly match the night before!? I am not sure this show quite reaches the height of night 1, but it sure comes as close as possible. The band kicks off on the same fire they had the night before with a killer Severed Hand, and then right into Corduroy, a kind of perfect one-two punch to keep things roaring. Here as well, their newest songs at the time are in many ways the stars of this show. Worldwide Suicide, Marker in the Sand, Army Reserve, Life Wasted, and the end jam in Big Wave are all show highlights, while the peppering of deep-ish cuts keeps the show interesting and fun - Rats, In Hiding, Satan’s Bed. The cover of I Won’t Back Down is a nice nod to the ‘05 show while Little Wing adds to what they started the night before. This truly was one of the great 2 night runs of this band, and places this live album (the 7 discs together) in pole position at least thus far in this long journey.

The Essential Performance: Severed Hand

Up Next: Pearl Jam - Vault #2: Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL 8/2/07

[liebzz]

Pearl Jam - Vault #2: Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL 8/2/2007

Part warm up for Lollopalooza, part fan club show (I was in town for Lollapalooza but sadly didn’t get into this - though we did get to see Boom smoking a cigarette in the alley during the band’s set). So we go from the great big Gorge to a small theater. The benefit being that this is a totally different vibe - the band eschewed staples like Jeremy, Corduroy, Alive, and Black for rarely played gems like All or None, Education, Parachutes, Down, and Undone. Being a fan club show, the crowd really ate it up too, as you can audibly hear them singing along to these and other selections. While it would be easy to take Black Diamond here (take two that is), I really loved the scorching Sad, and the full atmosphere channeled on Inside Job. Those are really both phenomenal here.

The Essential Performances: Sad, Inside Job

Up Next: Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day

[liebzz]

Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day

Perhaps no reunion was more hotly discussed and anticipated for decades than Led Zeppelin. Seemed like rumors swirled forever, and even once this show was done, the hope was they’d finally do it. This show demonstrated, to the excitement of those who got in and to the frustration of those who didn’t get into this one time only event, is that they could still do it. Especially as the show wears on, Plant can still deliver his lines, Page can still play, John Paul Jones belongs with these guys, and Jason Bonham a more than capable stand in. The opening blast of Good Times Bad Times is a fantastic moment. Like canons going off. In My Time of Dying is phenomenal and right in their range here. The closing 5 songs though make it seem like no time had passed from the late 70s as they banged through The Song Remains the Same, Misty Mountain Hop, Kashmir, Whole Lotta Love, and Rock & Roll in near perfect form. Still wish they’d tour.

The Essential Performance: Kashmir

Up Next: Dave Matthews Band - Live at Folsom Field

[Chris_H_2]

Pearl Jam - Vault #2: Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL 8/2/2007

Part warm up for Lollopalooza, part fan club show (I was in town for Lollapalooza but sadly didn’t get into this - though we did get to see Boom smoking a cigarette in the alley during the band’s set). So we go from the great big Gorge to a small theater. The benefit being that this is a totally different vibe - the band eschewed staples like Jeremy, Corduroy, Alive, and Black for rarely played gems like All or None, Education, Parachutes, Down, and Undone. Being a fan club show, the crowd really ate it up too, as you can audibly hear them singing along to these and other selections. While it would be easy to take Black Diamond here (take two that is), I really loved the scorching Sad, and the full atmosphere channeled on Inside Job. Those are really both phenomenal here.

The Essential Performances: Sad, Inside Job

Up Next: Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day

i remember standing in line for this thing around the frickin' block and thinking that we'd be stuck in the way back under the balcony overhang near the sound booth. but when we got in, everyone in front of us jammed themselves up on the main level. we casually walked in and hit the rail on the first elevated part of the floor dead center where we were eye level with ed and matt about 15 feet back. we could lean on the rail the whole show. it was perfect.

[liebzz]

Dave Matthews Band - Live at Folsom Field

I realized I missed some of the major live albums from these guys, so I inserted a few going backward. This one is really a split screen between the Everyday songs and the Lillywhite songs, at least before delving back into classics to close it out. When the World Ends and What You Are sound pretty good here, but that’s about it for the Everyday songs, while JTR, Bartender, and Big Eyed Fish sound great. The march to the end from What Would You Say, Watchtower, Stay, Two Step > Ants Marching is prime DMB for sure, though this one might just be a little too Everyday heavy.

The Essential Performance: Bartender

Up Next: Dave Matthews Band - Live at Piedmont Park