Episode 295: Vienna, AUT – 6/25/2014

It’s Olympics week, and since we’ve been following heavily on some of Pearl Jam’s past European shows lately, why not add one more into the fold to keep the theme alive? This show from Vienna is like running a marathon as the band treats us to nearly 3 hours of an excellent 35-song set. Everything was on the table here as they dipped into songs from nearly every album, including many of the check list songs for all of the serious collectors.

The theme for this show? Less talk, more rock. The band wasted no time at the beginning of the show going on a run of eight straight songs to start the show. This was not necessarily a night for chatting, it was a night for amazing bass grooves and solos ala Gossard. We’ll talk about how great they both sound at this one and highlight songs such as Hail, Hail and Brain Of J where they both thrived. But the rarities also dominate the night as it’s the last time to date that they’ve played Can’t Keep, Rats and the deep Backspacer cut Speed Of Sound is also featured at this show. We also hear some rare covers involved including Rain, Public Image and Needle And The Damage Done.

We’ll also get into a deep conversation about how meaningful encore 2 sets are outside of creating the party atmosphere to close your night.