Episode 102: Las Vegas, NV – 10/22/2000

On October, 22 1990, Pearl Jam played their first show as Mookie Blaylock at Seattle’s Off Ramp venue. To celebrate the monumental occasion, we’re going back two decades to the band’s ten year anniversary that took place in Vegas on the Binaural tour. Joining us for this episode for some crossover love is Branden Palomo from the Better Band Podcast.

While the band came out to celebrate the moment, Ed did his best to try to downplay the situation (even after he thanked Stone and Jeff for “recognizing his great talent”) by telling stories of that first night at the Off Ramp and not even being able dream that they could be in the position they were in. The fans brought balloons to shower them with during the encore, but there is one moment that gets discussed from this show that holds precedent above all…

This was the first moment that Pearl Jam ever played a song written by Mother Love Bone and they chose Crown of Thorns. While the death of Andy Wood had always been a part of their history, it was something that was never quite addressed publicly. It’s an important moment in their history for so many reasons in which we’ll discuss in full detail in the episode, but this was a major part of their healing process after the Roskilde tragedy. When Ed gave Jeff and Stone a hug, it was the bonding between two entities that were so intertwined, yet had never met until that moment. Mother Love Bone and the life of Andy Wood forever became part of Pearl Jam’s story.