Podcast Episodes

We’re back around the world this week and we’ll continue the series this entire month finishing up two more stops and Europe and FINALLY getting to some highly regarded South American shows. This week though we kill two birds with one stone (Gossard) as we’ll also treat this episode as a Patreon request from our friend Luke who attended this show! The best thing that you can say about a Pearl Jam show is that when you hear the city and year, you know immediately what it attaches to. For this one, it’s Oceans for Israel. Israel was a fan from Mexico who was set to attend this show, but in June of that year suffered a heart attack and would later pass away due to complications from surgery. His friends and fans alike started a social media campaign to get the band to play Oceans, his white whale, at the show. And as the band always does, they take it a step further with a section that could’ve been seen as dedicated to Israel featuring Oceans, Light Years and Daughter with an Esta Bien tag. Other great things from this show – we’ll get to hear a great crowd participate on their most popular of songs such as Black and Do The Evolution and we FINALLY get to cover Riot Act deep cut Ghost for the first time ever on this show.

In this episode we’re covering Benaroya Hall – the 2,500 seat capacity Seattle venue usually known for being an orchestra concert hall was taken over by an insane Pearl Jam crowd there to witness the band perform some of their rarest cuts in rare form. The band usually known for their on-stage energy were confined to a seated position as they busted out, for the most part, an acoustic set of songs that fans hadn’t heard live before. They were treated to live debuts of two original songs – Fatal and Man of the Hour and a rare Johnny Cash cover of 25 Minutes To Go. But alongside the debuting tracks were songs so deep in the band’s back catalog that these fans might’ve needed to be on a different continent in order to have heard them before. Versions of Low Light and Around The Bend were sparse at the time and adding songs such as Parting Ways, All Or None, Dead Man and Masters of War gave the crowd plenty to cross off the checklist. We’ll do it old school style and go song-by-song in full as we talk about the once in a lifetime event and what made it so legendary. We’ll also recap the story shared by Kenny Mayne in our profile episode about how a ticket to this show fell into his lap during a Sonics game.

And now for something kind of different. Usually this podcast does a deep dive into Pearl Jam’s live catalog, but in this episode we change it up just a little bit. We take a deep dive into the short-lived Mirror Ball tour that spanned 11 shows in the summer of 1995 to promote the album. With the other 4 band members joining a rock n roll legend, how does the dynamic change not having Ed up on stage with them? It’s tough to make comparisons because they are of completely different styles and backgrounds, but the way Neil utilizes the band is not much different than how he would utilize Crazy Horse when touring with them. Neil is the general on stage and we’ll talk about how the band was thrust into elongated, 15+ minute jam sessions on powerful songs such as Scenery, Cortez The Killer and Like A Hurricane. This was out of Pearl Jam’s wheelhouse, but being such a talented core they were able to stretch their limits and follow Neil’s lead which would certainly help them grow as musicians during their prime. We’ll also talk Mirror Ball songs, Neil performing solo and we’ll chat with our Patreon forum about how the band was in the midst of bouncing back from the infamous Polo Fields show.

Who out there loves a show featuring a ton of back catalog? Well, if you’re someone who does then you’re gonna really like this show. Newark from 2010 on the Backspacer Tour was sandwiched in between shows in two major cities, so the band was able to play around with the setlist to bring in some of the more obscurer tracks in their history. It all starts with the opener to set the mood for the night and Of The Girl into Brain of J accomplishes that right away. This show takes from all eras of the band’s deep legacy, but one of the most profound from this show are the Ten era songs that almost never get played. Alone and Brother are a part of that grouping and this night being the last they have played Brother to date, and even Footsteps makes an appearance to fit in with the 91 era rarities that didn’t make the album. They also go back to Yield and Binaural quite a few times in favor for some of their all-time hits like Better Man, Black and Porch. We also get to make fun of people from New Jersey a wee bit and how when the band played Jersey Girl, the crowd chanted for hometown boy Bruce Springsteen instead of the original writer of the song Tom Waits. It’ll probably be a cold day in hell before Tom Waits gets any arena chanting his name, but as the incredible song writer that he is he certainly deserves that credit.

A jam packed show as we go back around the world for the first time in a few episodes. We’re close to rounding out our European trip and what’s Europe without doing a show in London? We go back to 1993, two months before Vs. was distributed, to talk about a show in the famous Brixton Academy club. Prior to our show coverage, we had the privilege to chat with Tom Pugh, the founder of a charitable organization called Given To Live that helps people affected by illness, addiction, domestic violence or any other personal struggle to get a concert experience that they otherwise couldn’t afford to have. Tom tells some wonderful and heartbreaking stories about the people he’s helped and will share a story about how Eddie learned of his organization. Follow them on Twitter and IG @GivenToLiveUK – Because You Matter. As for the episode, we get into a truckload of topics that can only be touched upon in the era. One big talking point was how some of the more methodically paced songs such as Release, Black and Garden sounded with Dave A as we questioned some of his stylistic choices and how it might not have been part of the band’s vision going forward. We’ll also talk about Ed’s comfort with the crowd and ability to take the stage having each member of the audience eat out of the palm of his hands. Big moments from this show were significant to the era. The encore is a perfect collection of songs that defined who the band was during this time – Leash, Fuckin Up and Sonic Reducer. They are raw, unfiltered performances that allowed the band to completely let loose and blow the crowd away. Also, we get very early versions of Vs. songs to talk about including Blood, Animal, Rearviewmirror, Go, Daughter and Indifference.

We’re taking a request from not just one, but two of our Patrons! We welcome Sean Rashkis and Brian Anderson to the show to talk about a rare occasion in Pearl Jam’s live catalog – a night 3 show, this one from the batch of San Francisco shows in 2006. Surprisingly, these set of shows were the first time the band played the bay area city since the infamous Polo Fields show from 1995 where Ed was struck with a bout of food poisoning and led to Neil Young jumping in as a replacement. To say this stint went better than the last would be a massive understatement. They gave the bay area fans three nights filled with 90 songs in total and 50 different tracks spanning their entire catalog. Night 3 was no exception as the main set dug into some brand new Avocado tracks along with some deep cuts that you may not hear as much nowadays. Songs like Untitled, MFC, Sad, Light Years, In Hiding, Down and the very appropriate Red Mosquito all filled up the main set. We’ll talk about the set and the songs, but we’ll also discuss the entire 3 -day experience with our guests who recall GA lines being super long and the GA itself being smaller than most venues, leading to some challenges down in the pit. We’ll also talk about a few moments from the previous nights including Ed completely forgetting the lyrics to Sometimes and performing Last Kiss from the crowd.

We’ve come a long way this series – we’ve talked to great people, talked about great shows and basked in the amazing moments this band has celebrated at one of the United States most treasured landmarks in Wrigley Field. And now it’s time for this series to come to a close, but we’re gonna go out with a bang! Just like we started, Night 2 of 2018’s big storyline was the rain. This time it was different. There was no beautiful day gone wrong, the band never took the stage at the time they were supposed to as they did in 2013. There was waiting… and waiting… and rain and more rain. Until the band finally took the stage around 9:30. They came out of the gates swinging knowing that this crowd was gonna be ready to erupt blasting an impassioned version of Given To Fly and followed up with a tight set of speedy rockers to get the crowd excited. As we’ll mention in the episode, it was an immaculate setlist for the situation that they were in. the brought out the big guns and the songs everyone was ready to sing while mixing in some special favorites such as In My Tree and U. But the thing that this show will go down in history as being most famous for was the OTOTO of Evil Little Goat. Never before and pretty likely that its never happening again, the crowd was treated to one of the deepest cuts in their back catalog.

There’s only two shows left to cover in our Wrigley Field Series as we’ve crossed off 2013 and 2016 and we’re now onward to the most recent year the band has been on tour. This episode will cover the 2018 Night 1 show where the band had a lot to follow up on. They had to follow up on a massive Seattle performance only a week prior that everyone was still raving about, and they had to follow a 2016 performance at Wrigley that was one for the ages. The stakes were high, but did they meet expectations? We’ll invite a panel of our Patreon members onto this episode to discuss a few topics including the performances of Missing and I Won’t Back Down and the infamous incident where a fan ran onto the field and stole home during RITFW. The first two moments being two of the absolute most memorable from this night and included Ed playing on Tom Petty’s guitar with the fireflies lighting up in the darkness. Missing was an incredibly emotional, albeit subtle, tribute to Chris Cornell without any official dedication. Other moments from this show that we’ll talk about are how the band performed some of the early set tracks such as Breakerfall, Getaway and Leavin’ Here in alternate tuning. It was a strange vibe that didn’t sit very well with us, but there are plenty of other moments in this set to get excited about including Wash as the opener, Present Tense, a combo of Footsteps/SOLAT/Breath and one of the oldest songs in the catalog Alone.

Could this be the best of the five shows played at Wrigley Field? It’s a question worth asking. With all that’s gone down in Wrigleyville between rain delays to dedications, special and uninvited guests, this can easily be argued as the best of the bunch. Joining the show is our old friend Matt Helbig to help put this massive night into perspective. Both John and Matt were in attendance for this show and right off the bat, you’ll notice that they were absolutely stunned by some of the songs they came firing out with. Oceans to open, Footsteps as a #2, Better Man #4 and an old tribute to Jane’s Addiction to lead into Corduroy. This set would have Andre Dawson asking what year is this? Because the first 13 songs could’ve easily been selected from a 1998 setlist and no one would notice. The band went back to their roots for this show and the crowd was rewarded with old favorites like Sonic Reducer and Blood that you wouldn’t expect to get busted out on the big stage. As much as this was a night for old cuts, it was also a night for deep cuts as well. The band went into their back catalog to bust out some cherished fan favorites including Black, Red, Yellow that brought Dennis Rodman up on stage. The unreleased crowd-pleaser Of The Earth also made its way onto the set and managed to be one of the top moments of the night. Add those two in with Stone Gossard taking the mic for a little Don’t Gimme No Lip and you have a crowd of collectors left satisfied. Overall, this 36-song monster of a setlist that’s only had 4 years of life is already considered an all-timer by many hardcore fans. And consider that the Cubs went on a magical run that broke the curse of the Billy Goat that fall, it’s safe to say that Pearl Jam spread some magic and left it out on that field to be shared by all.

We’re now 4 episodes into our Wrigley Series and in this one we’ll talk about some of the best moments from the first night in 2016. The band returned to the friendly confines, this time under better weather conditions, and put on a show with so many special moments befitting of the ballpark atmosphere. One of the first biggest moments we discussed in full detail with the man himself, Dr. John Evans, on the previous episode about his well documented journey as he spent 4 days camped out in front to be on the rail while they played Release. The band dedicated the song to him in an emotional tribute. But it wasn’t the only emotional moment of the night. There was also a marriage proposal on stage, a final goodbye to the Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie and an inspirational appearance from Steve Gleason speaking to the crowd before an incredible version of Inside Job. As usual with the ballpark shows, there was also a heavy array of cover songs that we’ll talk about in full detail. The big ones from this show are without a doubt Masters of War and I Believe In Miracles played acoustically. Near the end of the show Ed would show his love for the Cubs bringing out family members of former 3B Ron Santo and his all-time favorite player, Jose Cardenal, to join him for a special rendition of Cubs anthem All The Way.

In this episode, we begin a new series and cover the first Wrigley Field show in the lineage from 2013! Chris Buckley tags in as both he and Randy share experiences of travel, community, weather and merch in one of the biggest and most highly anticipated Pearl Jam events ever. The big story coming out of this day was obviously the 3 hour rain delay and how that factored in to both the band and the fans well being on the night. As the fans evacuated the field to spend 3 hours huddled together in a tunnel with limited access to food, water and, god help us, alcohol, the primary objective of the night of witnessing one of the most epic Pearl Jam performances ever was never in question. Even when the band halted after the first 7 songs, there was still an energy inside the friendly confines that no thunderstorm was gonna put a stop to. As for the set, they busted out some of their best efforts that night. Bringing out Mr. Cub Ernie Banks to play Cubs anthem All The Way was certainly a sight to behold. Versions of Corduroy, Release, Hold On, Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns, Rearviewmirror, BUGS, and Mike’s Eruption solo made for this to be a special night that we unfortunately have not been able to relive on soundboard quality bootlegs. That may be the biggest letdown from this show. Aside from that, nothing but magical moments as a kid from Evanston, Illinois’ dream came true.

Ciao! This Episode our Around The World series takes us to Verona, Italy where Pearl Jam performs in the historic Roman amphitheater the Verona Arena – a Coliseum that was built way back in 30 AD. We all remember the Immagine en Cornice DVD that documented all of the amazing scenery and culture of Italy, but it was actually back in 2000 where they played this incredible building for the first time. At a time where, unbeknownst to the band, they were about to hit a major career and life changing transition due to the Roskilde tragedy, this is a rare time in the Binaural era where they are feeling pretty upbeat and positive on stage. The Binaural tracks were continuing to hit their stride – Grievance and Insignificance being two that the allowed Ed to tap into something that brought the anger out of him, and Nothing As It Seems being played with Mike’s original pedal brings a special kind of sound that makes the song feel like it’s lifted into the atmosphere. This show had other great moments such as a ‘f it’ moment during Habit where a light was blinding Ed and they’d finish the song with a fury. The band was also doing something uncommon for the time in playing a full 31-song set, but the gap between the stage and the crowd left a little bit of the interaction feeling a bit empty.

We’re back at the festival circuit for this episode! From Pinkpop 2000’s incredibly speedy sprint of a set, we change the landscape a little by bringing in the jammy atmosphere from the 2008 Bonnaroo show. Joining us to share his experiences is patron and friend of the podcast Mike Packard who was one of 80,000 that waited hours to get to see the band play. The curation of this set list was next to perfect, you had your hit songs that you’d expect from any set, but versions of Better Man, Black and Porch hover round 10 minutes long with the latter including one of Ed’s most impassioned speeches about making change. Along with hits and songs that give you energetic festival vibes, they busted a few songs out for the serious collectors. Lost Dog opener All Night makes it’s first ever live appearance on this show, as well as a full version of W.M.A. that hadn’t been performed in that fashion since 1995. We’ll also get to talk about the Kanye West controversy that came out of this show. His elaborate stage construction that took 2 hours to rig added in with his narcissistic demeanor threatening the show promoter to put him on stage at a time where no one else was playing. So Pearl Jam took advantage of the timeslot and played for an hour longer than allotted. Kanye’s response? Well, it was the beginning of a massive downward spiral that we hear at LO4L don’t give a rats ass about!

This episode we take a look back at one of the most popular and recognizable shows of the Binaural era, the 2000 Pinkpop Festival. It had been 8 years since the memorable 1992 Pinkpop show, so the band knew the stakes were high to please 60,000+ fans in attendance. They channeled some of that raw energy from the height of the grunge era mixed in with the mature sound they developed after 6 albums produced and the outcome, as per usual, was pure grit and passion. In the 90-minute set, they bulldoze through 18 songs mixed with a variety of hits, rarities, new tracks as well as a decent sample size from the five prior albums. We’ll talk about how Corduroy kick starting the show set the tone for the night introducing a set that had absolutely no lulls or dead spots. The Binaural songs were also played to perfection with the vigor and force that stemmed from the era. We get renditions of Rival and Insignificance that fueled political anger and a Light Years digging into the deepest of emotions.

This episode features coverage of the Bern, CH show from the 2006 tour. Out of respect to the situation that happened in America at the time of this recording, no episode details will be noted here. This episode is for archival purposes only.

Our Around The World series takes us to France this episode as we talk about one of the best shows from the 2006 Avocado tour. Joining us to talk about it are some old friends of the show making a long awaited return, our old co-host Matt Helbig is back and right alongside him is his brother, Steve Maytan, who gets to share his experience being at this show and doing a small portion of the European tour that year. The show starts off hot with a version of Long Road that on paper would seem a part of the slowburn openers but in turn gives this show the much needed engine start up that pushes them through an extraordinary 6-song kick off to this show. Matt Cameron is the key player on this night and his performance shines through on Corduroy and Even Flow especially. Also on this night you get a handful for the serious collectors. Fatal would be busted out live for only the third time ever, Satan’s Bed was thrown in the mix as well as Leash which was in the midst of a resurgence in 2006. But the one talking point from this show that everyone walks away with is the incredibly rare appearance of Dirty Frank. Don’t worry, we have a LOT to say about Frank and it’s popularity with the fans. We try to both make sense of it and celebrate its presence by breaking down why the band never wants to play it even though its one of the most requested songs from the fanbase.

Mansfield, Massachusetts is an important place in the history of Pearl Jam as over the course of three shows there in 2003, the band attempted to play everything in their catalog without a repeat (with one small exception). This episode, however, takes us to five years after those experiment shows on a night that ended a short east coast leg of the 2008 tour. End of tour shows and night 2 shows in general are usually a little bit unpredictable, which is why the setlist had a few seldom heard songs slotted in. Education, Satan’s Bed, Bee Girl and an opener of Wash were just a few rare ones they busted out for the Boston adjacent crowd. We’ll also get knee deep into versions of Last Exit, Even Flow, Who You Are, Garden and Rockin’ In The Free World on this episode. Stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear a sneak preview of an episode of our monthly setlist draft that we feature on Patreon!

On the heels of the 20th anniversary of the release of the Binaural record, we take our Around The World series to a fun Prague show from the middle of that tour. In the episode, we’ll get to look back on how Binaural was kind of the oddball of Pearl Jam records and why it doesn’t connect as well with the casual fan base. Considering there aren’t many songs from this album that get consistently played live nowadays, it was a nice change going back and reliving some of the tracks when they were brand new. Speaking of Binaural songs from this show, there were only 5 played which could be considered a low total for a promotion tour. This show featured the live debut of Sleight Of Hand, a nasty Mike McCready opening the show on fire with Of The Girl, Grievance, Insignificance and Light Years. Aside from that, the set list was quite balanced with all 6 albums getting more than one song played. The reason to listen to this show was Mike McCready and how untouchable he was this night. He shined best on tracks like Animal, Red Mosquito, Even Flow and Black – all which are featured within this episode.

This episode focuses on one of the most well known shows from the No Code era. The Berlin 1996 performance is remembered fondly because it was one of their shows that was broadcast live on radio stations throughout the world in the same way that Atlanta 94 and Soldier Field were both showcased. This was a completely different era in the band’s history though as the trials and tribulations from No Code’s reception knocked the band off their perch as the biggest in the world. While their fame dwindled a bit, it allowed the band to present a looser live act with less scrutiny on them and all of the eyeballs paying attention belonging to those in for the long haul. Those who stuck with them were treated to a hell of a show that had one of the best first half main sets of any show in history. Kicking off with Long Road, their stretch from Last Exit, Animal, Hail Hail, Go and Red Mosquito and rounding out with Mankind and a Hunger Strike tease was a statement as to how powerful a live act they still were during a turbulent time period. Other main highlights that we’ll feature on this show include excellent versions of Sometimes, Immortality, Blood and a unique encore that wouldn’t quite fit in with today’s repertoire.

We’re back to Europe as our Around The World series continues with a stop in Copenhagen, Denmark from 2012. It was the end of a 13-show summer European tour in a year where the band wouldn’t tour much outside of those dates and a few late summer US festivals. It would also mark the end of the Backspacer era leading way to new music a year later from Lightning Bolt. It is pretty much a guarantee on the last night of a tour that the band is gonna be in a good mood and leave everything they have on the stage. The Monday crowd brought their A-game too as they showed their chops on versions of Elderly Woman, Do The Evolution, Love Boat Captain, Even Flow and Better Man. The band looked to sprint through the first set (that ended at approx 67 minutes) to get the crowd to sweat inside a very hot building.