Episode 246: Barrie, ONT, CA – 8/22/1998

We’ve done extensive coverage of the 2003 Riot Act tour celebrating the 20th anniversary this year. Now it’s time to celebrate the anniversary of another major tour in Pearl Jam history – 1998! We kick off a 3-episode Yield tour stretch with an outdoor festival show that took place in Barrie, right outside of Toronto. With Cheap Trick as the supporting act on tour at this time, there are multiple instances where the band gives a subtle nod to their rock heroes, including Mike using Rick Nielsen’s guitar for State Of Love And Trust.

Our Patron Alex Sink joins us for this episode to tell his story of what went down that day. For a bootleg that had a tough time capturing the identity of the show and with no visual aides available, Alex is able to take us back to what that scene was like. A rowdy crowd of over 30,000 created dirt clouds and mud as the mosh pits were in full force on this one. And the band was clearly in a good mood after watching Cheap Trick on the side stage. Ed makes multiple mentions of how great this crowd was, and even addressed some of the craziest fans he had ever seen in the parking lot during an extended version of Leatherman. We also have the world debut of the Do The Evolution music video that happens at this show with the band performing while the images are shown on a screen behind them.

If you love Matt Cameron, this may be the episode for you! Get ready for five moments that we’ve dubbed the ‘filthy fills’ that will be featured throughout this show! Our Gear Guru segments will featured Javier talking about the lack of overdrive pedal from this tour and how Mike would make adjustments on Even Flow and Yellow Ledbetter, and he’ll also discuss Mike’s using Rick Nielsen’s guitar during State Of Love And Trust.