Episode 275: Pensacola, FL – 3/9/1994

This episode begins our coverage celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pearl Jam’s Vs. tour in 1994. With this tour falling smack dab in the middle of the band’s prime, there are a plethora of storylines inside and outside of the shows that make this year a memorable one. Vitalogy songs were getting played in the set prior to the album’s release, legendary shows took place in cities such as Boston and Atlanta, dealing with Ticketmaster, bomb threats, backstage break-ins, and Dave Abbruzzese exit from the band.

This episode features a Rock For Choice show that took place in Pensacola, Florida a year after the death of Dr. David Gunn, a doctor who performed safe abortions on women who were unable to birth a child. The band has actively supported a women’s right to choose going back to their formation. You may remember moments such as Ed wearing a t-shirt with a coat hanger on it during their 1992 performance on Saturday Night Live, and most famously at MTV Unplugged where Ed wrote pro-choice on his arm with a marker. The point of the episode is to discuss some of the band’s history of activism, but also within the nature of our world at this current moment, it was extremely difficult to provide an episode on abortion rights without addressing what’s going on. That means you will get to hear our heartfelt opinions on the subject at hand. If this is something that you are uncomfortable listening to at this point in time, please take note of that before checking out the podcast.

The entire night had references (some subtle, others not so much) to the cause that they were fighting to defend, none more relevant than opening with a cover of Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down. The performances are the height of the era with the band absolutely locked in, and Ed tearing into the vocals on songs such as Dissident, Glorified G, Blood, Alive, Porch and many more. We also get to hear a speech from David Gunn Jr. as well as instances where Ed will attack the subject head on.