Episode 164: Berlin, DEU – 8/15/2009

Berlin is an important city in Pearl Jam’s Touring history. There’s no questioning that. From the 1996 radio broadcast show to the Roskilde tribute on the 10th anniversary of the incident at the show in 2010, there are no lack of major moments that have happened in Deutschland’s capital. The show we cover in this episode certainly fits into that category.

At the famous Kindl-Bühne Wuhlheide venue, the band pulls out their bag of tricks and creates a plethora of memorable moments for one of the best shows of 2009. The show may seem dominated by rare tracks with four songs from Binaural being played and four off of Lost Dogs, but some of the regulars will make for the biggest moments of the night.

Even Flow was a show stealing moment, Daughter had incredible energy and crowd interaction, Small Town, flanked by a short tease of Stones song Angie, has a big anthemic vibe. The band simply came to play on this night, but it was the crowd that helped elevate this show to elite level status. And don’t sleep on this version of Insignificance either, possibly the highlight of the night.

As mentioned, yes, there are tons of rarities! God’s Dice, Nothing As It Seems and Light Years rounded out the Binaural representation, but we also hear the Untitled/MFC combo, Glorified G, Unemployable, Bee Girl, an amazing rendition of Hard To Imagine, and the ultra rare early era song, Brother.