Pearl Jam Podcast Episodes

Due to Eddie Vedder’s case of food poisoning that affected Pearl Jam’s 1995 show at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, many of the remaining dates on that summer’s run had to be rescheduled for the fall. The band played five shows in the first week of November that started with two in Salt Lake City, then a make up for Golden Gate in San Jose before finishing up in one of Ed’s old stomping grounds for two shows in San Diego. Since this episode covers the last night of the tour year, we’ll get to tackle a show that can be seen as a full circle moment with special performances that truly defined their setlists and sound in 1995.

First of all, this is a very heavy Jack Irons show – something that we always wax poetically about whenever we get the opportunity to cover one of the few years that he was with the group. He’s presence is hypnotic. Every time you hear a Jack performance, you can instantly notice that it’s him behind the kit. This show features some incredible versions of Jack songs, but perhaps none better than Corduroy with a solo that is absolutely out of this world. We’ll also dig into his “surf rock” influence on Alive and profound tempo on Oceans. This show also features what are considered the rare gems of 1995 such as the alternate version entitled No (or New) Jeremy, Red Mosquito in it’s infancy and a full band OTOTO performance of legendary Who song, I Can’t Explain.

We invite in Patrick Boegel from the Hallucinogenic Recipe podcast to help out on this one, and we’ll make an attempt to figure out whether Howard Stern had the right to be upset with Ed for calling Glorified G “a song I hate”. Yes, this show features THAT version!

Like any major arena rock band, Pearl Jam is most known for putting on massive shows in the world’s biggest cities. While their shows in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago are always ones to keep an eye out for, America’s smaller towns have also gotten the band at their very best. On the 2000 tour, Pearl Jam ran through dates at places they have yet to return to in 25 years such as Albuquerque, Boise, Greensboro and the show we cover in this episode that emanated from Lubbock, Texas.

Lubbock is just the 10th largest city in Texas, but still very much a small town in comparison to Dallas or Houston. While Texas Tech grads may argue that the Red Raiders are the most notable thing from Lubbock, most music fans know that it’s the hometown of rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, Buddy Holly. Anyone that knows their rock history knows about the plane crash that took the lives of Holly, Ritchie Valens and JP Richardson aka The Big Bopper at such a young age, but what some may not know is the full background of the story. We’ll share some of the eerie details of the crash and it’s aftermath as we take in a moment of tribute with the band covering Holly’s popular song Everyday.

We’ll run through the entire set and talk a little about the recent death of KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley and his impact on Pearl Jam.

We’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pearl Jam’s memorable run from coast to coast in Canada. This was the first instance where they decided to travel the entire length of the country hitting up 15 different locations from small towns like Kitchener and Thunder Bay, to big cities like Vancouver and Toronto. Eight provinces were represented, including Nova Scotia which saw it’s one and only Pearl Jam show in Halifax.. You can tell that the band truly appreciated getting to travel throughout the country and wanted to leave an impact on some of the smaller places in which they’d never return to. From trying a Keith’s to playing through some of their rarities, Halifax is one of the tour’s most prominent stops, and we’ll cover it in this episode.

As much as it’s the Canadian tour, this run also feels somewhat like the unofficial Lost Dogs tour as well. The b-side album was released in late 2003 and the songs had become popular by the time 2005 came along. Outside of other eras in which these songs may have been played, this was one of the first opportunities that the band had to showcase them in front of a crowd, and this show features two big ones. Eddie came out in the pre-set to perform Driftin’, and Hard To Imagine was used as an opener for the first time at a show. This would invite the song into the pantheon of popular openers along the likes of Release, Sometimes, Long Road and others, and it truly elevated the song to a level in which we hadn’t seen of it live to that point.

The rest of this set is full of more rarities and messes with the standard setlist structure by utilizing songs in spots they aren’t usually played.

A three night stand is a bit of a rarity in the Pearl Jam world, but any time that it’s happened, the shows immediately become a part of the band’s folklore. Mansfield’s trilogy is always the premiere go to, but the three shows at Jones Beach in 2000 are legendary in their own right. The Daughter/It’s OK moment from night two may still dominate the conversation 25 years later, but it’s the night three show where the band went to all depths of their catalog to put together an extremely memorable finale on Long Island.

The big theme of this show is centered around the high usage of an album that’s considered to be a favorite of the die hard fan – No Code. There were seven tracks from the record played, and none of them were what you may consider to be as the commonly played songs from that record at the time (Hail, Hail, Lukin and to an extent, Habit). It’s songs like Red Mosquito, Off He Goes, letting Stone sing on an inspired version of Mankind and a late encore performance of Smile, which was not considered to be a common song during this era like it is today. The band took it upon themselves to give this crowd something they’d never forget, and it wasn’t just for the fact that these songs appeared, they all blew the doors down. From Immortality as a closer, to a unique usage of Save It For Later as the Better Man tag, the kitchen sink was thrown because the kitchen sink was lit ablaze.

We’ll dig into heavy discussion on all of the best performances from this show mentioned above, as well as Do The Evolution, Rearviewmirror, Black and the rare Binaural tracks for the era!

This episode covers night two from Pearl Jam’s three night stay at Jones Beach Amphitheater in 2000. This show will forever be known for a moment that’s considered to be one of the most emotionally impactful in their history. The first North American leg of the Binaural tour was coming off the heels of one of the worst tragedies in music history when nine fans were killed during their set at the Roskilde Festival. Having decided to stick with the tour plans as scheduled, there was no time for the band to fully enter the grieving process, which meant that a lot of it needed to be done on the road or during their shows. One of the songs that was added to the live repertoire was from a band named Dead Moon called It’s OK. This was the song that helped the band heal during this challenging time period.

We’ll dig into a lot of what this version meant for both the band and fans alike. Featured on the Touring Band 2000 compilation, the majority of the fanbase have been able to relive this moment over and over again throughout the years. The warmth of a song like It’s OK and it’s lyrics provided a message of hope. When things may appear to be at their worst, there is always a way to pick yourself up. This is how the band was feeling at the time, and this is how many of Pearl Jam fans have felt when they needed this song the most. We’ll discuss this rendition being the hurdle that needed to be crossed in order to move forward and continue a life on stage post tragedy.

Stay tuned for night three next week!

In August of 2000, Pearl Jam was going through a period of growth following the aftermath of the tragedy at Roskilde. As they toured throughout North America, every stop was a chance to heal from that moment. As they hit close to the end of the month, they prepared for three massive shows at Jones Beach Amphitheater located on Long Island in the shadow of New York City. There was a sense that they needed to deliver, and they exceeded every expectation.

Night 1’s show might not get the same praise as the two that precede it, but it was a great way to warm up this crowd and get things kicked off on the right note. In this episode, we’ll spend some time breaking down some classic Binaural performances such as Nothing As It Seems, God’s Dice and Sleight Of Hand while sharing our favorite order to hear the Man Trilogy and a superb Long Road open. We’ll also talk about this version of Daughter which sets the tone for the legendary Daughter and It’s OK tag performance the next night.

This is just part one! The next two episodes will cover the remaining Jones Beach shows from 2000, so stay tuned for our breakdown of those legendary nights!

As we sit here only mere weeks after Matt Cameron stepped down as Pearl Jam’s drummer after 27 years, it’s completely understandable to be a little bit anxious for what the future of this band holds. While Cameron has been a staple since taking over for Jack Irons in 1998, there were a very small handful of times that we got to witness the band perform shows without his presence. In 2022, Cameron had to pause on touring in order to deal with a positive covid test. The band had about 24 hours to scramble and plan with the knowledge that he wasn’t going to be available, so in stepped three drummers to help – Josh Klinghoffer who had just joined the band a year prior and was opening the show with solo material, long time friend and bandmate of Jeff Ament’s in RNDM, Richard Stuverud, and a lucky fan who was plucked out of the crowd to be involved with a once and a lifetime experience named Josh Arroyo.

After the first Oakland show in 2022, we got the opportunity to interview Josh which you can listen to here: https://liveon4legs.com/podcast/pearl-jam-fan-profile-josh-arroyo/ Since that time, Josh has become a great friend to the podcast and community, and we’re thankful to have him join us on this episode to discuss the departure of Matt Cameron, and also get to hear another side of the story that he didn’t get to share in our original interview. He’ll take us through his backstage tryout and how the Pearl Jam security team and management knew him prior to his appearance on Ledbetter. He’ll also share stories of mingling with Ed at Bridge School and Ohana shows, and he’ll share his opinion on who he thinks the next drummer for Pearl Jam will be.

We’ll also run down the setlist and talk about Rockin In The Free World opening a show for the first ever time, the origins behind Nothingman in connection with Richard Stuverud, and what to be prepared for as we move into a new chapter of Pearl Jam without Matt Cameron.

On June 30th, 2000, Pearl Jam headlined the Roskilde Festival in Denmark while touring Europe for their Binaural album. About an hour after they took the stage, there was a sudden surge towards the front. Multiple fans lost their footing on the muddy terrain, and some were trampled. The outcome is one of the worst tragedies in live music history as the lives of nine fans were lost. This incident permanently changed the lives of each member of Pearl Jam, and everything from that point forward about their live show changed. From heightened security, to a renewed sense of empathy and compassion, their goal was to ensure that nothing like Roskilde would ever happen at one of their shows again. They’ve made good on that promise.

On the 25th anniversary, we look back and examine the stories and healing process that followed in the aftermath. Part two takes a look at the band’s return to Copenhagen for the first time since the tragedy, how general admission at shows would slowly be reinstated over time and powerful performances of Black and Love Boat Captain played at pivotal moments where they paid tribute to the families who lost loved ones. You’ll get to hear from our esteemed panel who will share their personal stories of how they reacted to the incident, and will discuss why sticking together was always the best and only option for the band.

Make sure you check out the part one episode of this series if you wish to hear this story told chronologically.

On June 30th, 2000, Pearl Jam headlined the Roskilde Festival in Denmark while touring Europe for their Binaural album. About an hour after they took the stage, there was a sudden surge towards the front. Multiple fans lost their footing on the muddy terrain, and some were trampled. The outcome is one of the worst tragedies in live music history as the lives of nine fans were lost. This incident permanently changed the lives of each member of Pearl Jam, and everything from that point forward about their live show changed. From heightened security, to a renewed sense of empathy and compassion, their goal was to ensure that nothing like Roskilde would ever happen at one of their shows again. They’ve made good on that promise.

On the 25th anniversary, we look back and examine the stories and healing process that followed in the aftermath. We’ll share powerful performances of songs from the 2000 tour and how Eddie’s song writing at that time was impacted by the incident. Joining us on this episode is author of the PJ20 book, Jonathan Cohen, to bring perspective to the story, and we invite Pearl Jam community members on to share their personal stories, including witnessing the band at their Virginia Beach show, and one of the nine live performances of Arc.

Please stay tuned for Part 2 which should be released shortly after the release of this episode.

The 1995 tour was one of the most tumultuous for Pearl Jam in their history. Their Ticketmaster boycott was in full effect, so while shows were more affordable for their audience, tickets were tougher to acquire and venues were at a premium. Eddie at this time is dealing with struggles of being in the spotlight, and instead of opting to travel with the band, he spins records in a van driving from location to location on tour. There are historic shows that happen on this run like Red Rocks and Soldier Field, but everything comes to a head when they reach San Francisco. The night before the show, Ed comes down with a case of food poisoning and needs to take a trip to the ER. After getting IV fluids, he is still completely sick when it comes show time. However, he goes out there, makes it through seven songs and then walks off the stage no longer capable of playing. This episode looks back 30 years later after the infamous incident at Golden Gate Park.

As luck would have it, Neil Young happened to be there that day originally slated to make a guest appearance prior to the Mirror Ball record’s release three days later. While it was certainly a huge benefit to have him on hand in a desperate time of need, the crowd paid to see Eddie. They were restless throughout the entire set having to sit through unreleased songs off a brand new record in an unfathomable heat for San Francisco. For as incredible as the band’s efforts were in this moment, winning over the crowd was a fruitless task.

This is a jam packed episode with a lot to talk about. We’ll cover the era and how the fallout from this show just narrowly avoided a break up, we’ll talk about the crowd’s reactions, Eddie’s struggles and some of the oddities in song selection that included not one, but TWO versions of Rockin’ In The Free World! We’ll also invite our good friend, Mar Vigil, on to discuss what it was like to be there on that day.

Ten years ago, Pearl Jam headlined a festival called the Global Citizen’s Festival in Central Park where the mission was to raise funding in order to end world poverty. They were joined by the likes of Beyonce, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Sting and others who wanted to get this message across. It was their only US show in 2015 and was broadcast on network TV, something that Pearl Jam hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to do in their history.

The 12-song set certainly has it’s highlights. For one time one time only, Beyonce got to share the stage with Eddie for a performance of Redemption Song. It’s not something that’s gone over well across the community over the years, but we’ll give it it’s due and discuss the connection the two of them were able to make on stage together. The other big moment from this show is Ed getting to tell the origin story of Unthought Known, having wrote it in a hotel that overlooked Central Park. We’ll also talk about Big Bird, pirate rabbis, dating origin stories and why Bill Nye should probably stay away from rock ‘n’ roll stages.

We invite our Patron, Richard Green, on to talk about his personal experience at this show, and if you stay tuned until the end you’ll hear a eulogy for a loved one who left us too soon.

The final destination on Pearl Jam’s spring 2025 tour will be Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a city that’s no stranger to big time shows. Although they haven’t been back there in 12 years, there was a time where the Steel City saw it’s fair share of shows. From 1998-2006, there were five shows played, every one of them memorable in their own way. This episode covers their 2006 show from the Mellon Arena that kicked off the second leg of the North American tour that year with the band and the crowd so hot that the nearly melted the igloo.

Sometimes you’ll notice that certain Pearl Jam cities are known for having a song that’s connected with them. For example, people usually connect Wash with Pittsburgh due to the umbrella moment in 2000. But at this show, another song developed a connection as they covered the Rolling Stones Waiting On A Friend for the first of a small handful of times. It was done to pay tribute to the Stones after opening for them at PNC Park the year prior, and it’s a moment that the Yinzer crowd is proud of. Other great moments that we’ll talk about include a monstrous Release to kick things off, an incredible version of Black with an It’s OK tag, Stone’s smokin’ solo on RITFW and a plethora of Avocado songs that were kicked in high gear during this era. We’ll also discuss how songs like Inside Job and Smile have continued to grow and become fan favorites throughout the years.

We run down the entire setlist, but you’ll want to stay tuned to stories from Javi’s Nashville trip where he met not one, but two members of the band. You won’t want to miss it!