What If? A Mansfield Experiment For Every Era – Part 1 (1992, 1995, 1998)

Joey Goodsir Hypothesizes a Pearl Jam “Experiment” for 1992, 1995, and 1998

Seven songs into the 7/2/2003 show at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, Eddie Vedder revealed the plan for Pearl Jam’s three nights at the venue:

“Since we’re playing three shows in your neighborhood … we thought we’d play three nights without repeating a song, and get to every song (we played on this tour).”

It was at this moment that the band’s most epic performance feat was born, and three shows, 97 songs, and countless one-of-a-kind moments later it became reality.

As we celebrate its 20th anniversary, the “Mansfield Experiment” remains the pinnacle for Pearl Jam’s setlist-craftery and white-whale-nerdery. From its curfew-pushing song counts to its unique acoustic preset, the run stands as a famous gold standard behind the band’s live community that still thrives to this day.

Even though part of the Experiment’s beauty is in its uniqueness, it’s inevitable that any superfan (or even the band itself) would wonder what such an exercise would look like if attempted again. While it’s difficult to foresee Pearl Jam pulling those lab coats out of the closet over two decades later, there is a full history upon which we can run our own trials!

That will be my job alongside Live On 4 Legs Podcast’s three-week special on the original shows: for each of the band’s major touring years, I have curated their pool of unique songs into cohesive setlists — an imagination of what the “Mansfield Experiment” would have looked like in each of those years, spanning far before and far after the original in 2003.

These setlists are built upon a foundation of statistics, and for that I have LiveFootsteps.org — the best place for Pearl Jam setlist data there is — to thank for any extent to which these “shows” feel like they really happened. Despite that and some aesthetically-consistent guidelines (acoustic preset on final night, etc.), there are inevitably still gaps to fill (the potential for entirely unexpected set choices, song debuts, unique improv/tag choices, etc), and that is where my own subjective lens affects the sharpie on the paper. So, I fully welcome you to share your own interpretations and debate mine as you see fit — the possibilities with so many uncontrolled variables are endless!

As Randy and John cover the real experiment’s opening night of 7/2/2003, I will cover the hypothetical experiments way before then: 1992, 1995, and 1998…

The 1992 Experiment

With 132 shows across the U.S. and Europe energized by the release of debut-album Ten the previous year, Pearl Jam first secured its footing as a band that prioritized unique live performances and dedicated touring regimen — and its iconic shows such as PinkPop and MTV Unplugged, among others, stand as timeless testaments. There is no better early year to experiment upon! Due to the band’s average show length of nine songs and the relatively-small pool of 41 unique songs played, I believe Mansfield ‘92 can be best pulled off with simply two epic nights. They are described below…

Night One

Beginning with the year’s most-used opener in Wash, the band gets moody before erupting into an energetic pairing of Ten’s Even Flow and recently-released Singles soundtrack’s State of Love and Trust. Though the set’s start indicates a typical 1992 night, the signs that something special is afoot come fast. After Ed and the band improv (a regular practice at the time), they tease Redemption Song before beginning a relative album deep-cut in Garden. Pearl Jam only performed the Bob Marley classic twice (once just as a tease before Garden at Bogart’s on March 30th, and once as the full opener in Roskilde on June 26th) that year, and would only go on to perform it three more times since (most recently in Brazil, 11/17/2015). After Garden, the rarities continue with Dave Abruzzese-written Angel and Lost Dog-to-be Alone, played a collective eight times all year. After Ed brings back the “Saying No” tease from November 6th and 16th, the band brings the energy to a climax with a set-closing Jeremy. In the encore, a pairing of Seal’s Crazy and Dead Boys’ Sonic Reducer get the party ready for fan-favorite deep cut Dirty Frank and pre-release encore staple Leash. Another string of covers relatively unique to the year build up to the all-time show-stopping closer in Porch.

Night Two

The 1992 Experiment’s preset is influenced by the few acoustic and Ed solo outlets the band has at its disposal during the year, between the MTV Unplugged and Bridge School shows, as well as acoustic-forward covers and a certain popular Vs. song that is just coming to form! The main set of this second (and final) night opens with the only song that makes sense in Release, before the band and crowd explode into bass-driven grooves and triumphant “hey”s with Why Go. The momentum keeps going with album-opener Once and, after a noodling and early-lyric partial rendition of what eventually becomes Hard to Imagine, Alive. As Stone plays the iconic Footsteps riff, it becomes evident that a centerpiece of the night is the Mamasan trilogy that first formed the band. After some instrumental jamming (another common practice at the time), the final movement of the main set comes in the form of other beloved Singles track Breath and Deep’s descendance into madness. In the encore, Chris Cornell joins the band to reprise Temple of The Dog tracks Hunger Strike and Reach Down (as performed to close the Irvine show on September 13th), before Ed singing Fugazi’s Suggestion “slow burns” into a thrashing Rockin’ In The Free World. The party hits full force to end the show, as 1992 standard show-closing covers I’ve Got A Feeling and Baba O’Riley bring the experiment to completion.

The 1995 Experiment

While Pearl Jam only played 43 shows across this calendar year, bootleg obsessives can usually agree that 1995 is the band’s “mid-life crisis” in its peak glory. Former Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eleven drummer Jack Irons is just starting to contribute his unique feel, Ticketmaster sucks, and as a growing songwriter with a punk-rock mentality in Ed pushes back against his sudden super-fame from Self-Pollution Radio to the San Diego Sports Arena, the band gets taken under Neil Young’s wing for the recording of Mirror Ball. 67 unique songs played, an average of 23 songs a night — let’s do Mansfield ‘95 in three…

Night One

After flying out of the gate with album openers Go and Last Exit, Ed lets his voice gravel on Tremor Christ before paying first tribute to the band’s time with Neil Young on I Got Shit. Vs. and Ten’s mid-tempo grooves are showcased with Dissident and Garden respectively, before the intensity hits its second high point with SOLAT, an early version of Brain of J, and Deep. This year’s improv takes place to transition between that block and a band-showcasing Even Flow, before Better Man, Black, and Immortality bring the main set to an emotional close. Blood brings the energy right back to a ten to open the encore, before a run of covers (including Split Enz’s History Never Repeats, only played twice ever at the shows in Auckland, New Zealand) pair with Yellow Ledbetter for a celebratory close.

Night Two

The second show of the ‘95 experiment is the one that gets the slow-burn approach to start with Release, Small Town, and Oceans. Full energy surfaces with Vs. and Vitalogy hits Animal and Spin The Black Circle, before Jeff’s upright bass comes out for the standard pairing of Glorified G and Daughter. Ed chooses Split Enz’s Stuff and Nonsense, Mudhoney’s Suck You Dry, and the Frogs’ Star Boy as tags — all very encapsulating of this era’s versions of the song. Because of the three full W.M.A. performances on the year (in addition to its 14 uses as a tag), Jack Irons takes on that challenge before Whipping and Rats give the more recent two albums another showcase, and Red Mosquito/Habit give glimpses at what lies ahead for the band in the studio. After a show-stopping Rearviewmirror closes the main set, another slow build comes in the encore with Footsteps and a cover of R.E.M.’s Talk About the Passion (played once in Austin on September 16th). Things pick up speed with more covers in Sly & The Family Stone’s Everyday People (played at Soldier Field on July 11th) and Baba O’Riley, before a throwback pairing of Alive and RITFW gets the crowd leaving on a high note — some of which amped up for the final night.

Night Three

Not only does Pearl Jam have more chops going into this acoustic preset as compared to the last one, Ed has far more as a solo performer — and puts the handful of preset songs that he brought out around this time to use. Additionally, Falling Down gets the representation in this experiment that many setlist nerds may be searching for, before the other Merkin Ball single, Long Road, shows up to close it. One of the signature moments of this entire run: to the surprise of the MTV crowd, the band avoids being forced to play Jeremy by playing its No Code-esque version of the song that made appearances throughout the back half of the year. Then, Mirror Ball’s Act of Love is featured in a typical early slot, before the band blows the roof off of the place with a run of many of the year’s most powerful live songs. Now an ultimate rarity, the early-era grunge fans get their money’s worth with Leash opening the encore, before a trilogy of some of the year’s best covers climax with Porch. Indifference brings this experiment to a soulful close.

The 1998 Experiment

In tandem with what Yield symbolizes in the context of Pearl Jam’s studio discography, the 67 shows in the U.S. and Australia throughout 1998 were performed by a band riding its second wave. Its current and longest-tenured drummer in Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron was just getting started, the remaining members found creative balance, and the live sets were just beginning to take modern form. 75 unique songs played, an average of 22 songs a night — you know the drill by now…

Night One

After closing the acoustic preset at the Experiment three years prior, Long Road opens Mansfield ‘98. The Merkin Ball single works with Oceans to keep the energy building steadily before new album-opener Brain of J, early-set staple Animal, and No Code rocker Habit launch the night. Early-album mid-tempo regulars and showcases respectively in Dissident and Black get the crowd belting out lyrics before the second round of punk hits with Vitalogy’s Last Exit and Whipping, as well as recent b-side Leatherman. The intensity rises back up as well with Not For You and Once, before two instrumental showcases with In My Tree and Rearviewmirror make the energy transcendent heading into the encore. After some improv, experimental Yield deep cut Push Me Pull Me yin-yangs with pop-serving Last Kiss, then Go kicks off the show’s closing movement alongside a fun pairing of old-school PJ cover standards.

Night Two

As the era of Pearl Jam’s resistance towards showcasing their first album continues, Release appears for the second-straight Experiment as the middle night opener — this time however alongside newer songs in Act of Love and Hail Hail. Even Flow makes the second Ten appearance come up quickly, but only to be countered by Faithfull, State of Love and Trust, and Red Mosquito. The era-jumping theme continues with a bust-out of Rats, but ‘98 tracks take over with Stone’s In Hiding, Jeff’s Pilate, and Ed’s new “Untitled” intro to MFC. I Got Shit appears with a tag of Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl, a feature of several versions from the year. After Footsteps breaks up some of these longer showcases, Better Man is played with the Experiment debut of the English Beat’s Save It For Later as a tag. Porch and Alive give one final throwback to Ten to close the main set, and then tenacious Hard to Imagine builds into a scorching Blood to open the encore. Another string of covers ending with Neil Young’s Fuckin’ Up lead into the pair of quintessential closers with Indifference and Yellow Ledbetter.

Night Three

By this point, Pearl Jam has developed a substantial amount of original acoustic material. These songs fill all of the preset with the exception of the Ed solo staple in Hunters & Collectors’ Throw Your Arms Around Me. A “Dueling Banjos” tease precedes main-set-opener Corduroy as was done in Birmingham on September 3rd. Then, Yield set-regulars Wishlist and Given To Fly establish a rhythm that is built upon by Spin the Black Circle. Daughter appears with Stereolab’s Noise of Carpet, Pixies’ Monkey Gone to Heaven, and the first use of W.M.A. as a tag — again, all staples within 1998 versions of the song. As the closing riff of Daughter fades out, Nothingman comes in and brings the set to a slow and soulful center. After Lukin rudely (but enjoyably) wakes the crowd out of that, Yield live rarity No Way brings some weight that climaxes with the first traditional Jeremy in the Experiment since Night 1 in 1992. Another track assuming its relatively-rare status in Tremor Christ leads into the transcendent set-closing pairing of Immortality and Present Tense. The long-awaited return of Breath is celebrated once again to open the encore, followed by an enjoyable Smile and a triumphant performance of lead singles Do The Evolution and Who You Are. Yield closer All Those Yesterdays and Stone-sung Mankind keep the good times rolling, before the covers party takes full force. The Yeastie Girlz’ Yeast Power and Ramones’ The KKK Took My Baby Away come back to take care of the task at hand, before Leaving Here and Soldier of Love make the end of the ‘98 Experiment an era-encapsulating one.

Stay tuned next week for Part 2, which will cover the major touring years around the experiment: 2000 and 2006.