Pearl Jam Podcast Episodes

One of the best things about being able to share a Pearl Jam podcast with the world is to specifically hit home on some of the most notable moments in the band’s history. This night at Red Rocks in 1995 checks that box and then some. After a raucous first show where the band were clearly feeling the effects of the Colorado altitude, they walked on the stage doing something they had never done in this fashion – they sat down and played six straight songs seated. This set a precedent for important shows that would come much later on (Mansfield Experiment, The Gorge, Telluride, etc) and prove to their fans that literally anything can happen at a Pearl Jam show. The opening six songs have become the stuff of legends. Almost every song had some semblance of unfamiliarity. Long Road was in its infant stages having only been debuted a few days prior in Wyoming, Jeremy was deconstructed into its experimental “No Jeremy” version that popped up sparingly in 1995 and 1996, an OTOTO cover called Ship Song was played, a rare performance of b-side Footsteps, the one and only performance of Falling Down either live OR studio, and then the set would finish with Better Man. The importance of this mini-set would prove that PJ is always up to the challenge making the biggest moments of their career everlasting. Along with the sit down set, we’ll look into the rest of the setlist which was a completely different beast from the first night. Instead of blistering through the set with 13 straight energetic rockers, they were able to balance this show out more utilizing some of the more mid-tempo songs in order to build momentum off of. Something that would be a staple of sets moving forward that allowed for them to save energy for the end of shows.

In this episode we  chat about a show from the last tour cycle way back in 2018. Of course we know how crazy intense the Brazilian crowds are, and the crowd at this show in Rio de Janeiro would once again control this night. Joining us to talk about it is friend and Patron, Dukes Wooters, who traveled from Seattle to be there that night. Also, since we’re talking about Brazil, we’ll share a message from the band Black Circle about their experiences at this show, including an attempt to get their lead singer Lenny to sing with Ed! A lot of the content in this episode will feature Dukes story of his trip and what was happening in Brazil at the time. This show came shortly after councilwoman Marielle Franco was murdered which led to Brazil undergoing a major transfer of power. This was not lost upon the band as they addressed and paid tribute to the situation, clearly aware and looking out for Brazil’s best interests. Powerful political and progressive songs such as Can’t Deny Me, Leaving Here and a W.M.A. tag off Daughter were played as a reaction. But this show had many of the key fun moments you expect from Brazilian crowds, lots of singing, lots of chanting, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly and Black sounding otherworldly. But the band also broke out some of the deeper tracks such as Garden and Immortality. Having Josh Klinghoffer and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers join the party was another awesome added bonus to make this night special for the locals.

2008 was an interesting year for Pearl Jam. Touring in between their Self-Titled and Backspacer releases, they were given the flexibility to experiment in their setlists moreso then they had in the past. On the 13-show east coast tour, there were songs that had been almost unfathomable to hear at a Pearl Jam show prior. Who You Are, All Night, a full version of W.M.A. and a solidified set opening role for Hard To Imagine are just some of the exciting additions brought into the fold in 2008. At the Washington DC show that we cover in this episode, we’ll hear some of those unique additions as well as a few twists and turns that made this setlist memorable. We’re all familiar with the “man” trilogy where the songs Nothingman, Leatherman and Better Man are played in sequence, that’s a frequent enough occurrence in setlists. The band pulled out not one, but TWO new trilogy series combining songs with the word “I” and the word “you”. These are fun inclusions that you’ll never see in a setlist outside of this unpredictable 2008 tour. As mentioned above, one of the songs that made a huge impact in 2008 was Hard To Imagine. After using it as an opener once in Halifax on the 2005 tour, they hadn’t gone back to it in the role since then. But the song would be played five times in 2008, all as the opener, solidifying its place among the pantheon of special opening songs.

We continue our hometown series with a show in… Spokane? Yes, you heard that correctly. In relation to the Deep streaming site that was unveiled in May, we decided to pivot to 2013 and call this a hometown show. Yes, they did play Key Arena in 2013, but if we’re gonna cheat we might as well go all the way. That show will happen later in the year! Why is Spokane a hometown show? It’s not because Jeremy… you get the joke… As the second most populous city in the state of Washington, where the band has resided throughout their entire 30-year career, they’ve only played in Spokane ONE other time. It was in 1993 and there’s no bootleg or setlist anywhere. The only thing we know about that show is that Ed made… the joke. This show we cover in this episode is celebrated as being a home away from home with many apologies for waiting this long and empty promises that they’ll be back every year. Ed even busts out the novelty wine bottle for this one! There are a few things to know about this show before diving in. 1) the setlist was curated by Steve Gleason. Only a month after creating the Voodoo Fest setlist, Gleason gets another crack at it, this time adding a few more serious collector’s items to the menu. 2) A fan gets a once in a lifetime chance to join the band on stage and rock out to his favorite song under one condition, he must get his head full of dreadlocks shaved. 3) Anything you’ve read about a specific Van Halen song being played on this night is wrong and you need to forget any mentions of it. The song has only been played twice, both times in Hartford, CT and that’s it. Want to fight about it? Listen to the episode first.

One of our promises for 2021 was more Canadian shows for the listeners up north and this episode stays true to that. We continue to dig into the Deep streaming catalog tour years featuring this Montreal show that kicked off the final leg of the 2000 tour.
In this episode, we’ll talk a little bit about how important the retail released bootlegs from the 2000 tour were to the fandom expanding and growing and their live act getting some more recognition. The bootlegs from the European tour were released only a week before this leg began. We’ll discuss whether or not the bootlegs had anything to do with bringing back some of the older, more rare songs from Ten and Vs. that were played in the years following this tour. We’ll also get into a discussion about whether or not the popularity of Last Kiss led for a change up in how the Binaural record was produced and written. As for the show, while dealing with some first night technical difficulties, the band came through with some big performances at this show including a Corduroy with a riveting solo similar to ones you hear on Even Flow. The show really kicks in toward the middle of the set as a nasty Do The Evolution sets the tone for a hard rocking section with MFC, an improv and Habit. Other highlights from this show are Porch, Off He Goes, Of The Girl and Leaving Here.

We continue covering the tour years offered through the Deep project and Spotify with this absolute gem from the Riot Act tour. Buffalo was the second to last show from the first leg and it took place during a notable run. The night prior on Long Island, they were getting quarters hurled at them for mocking the President and the following night in State College, the tour ender is one of the longest shows of all-time. Only Pearl Jam you guys… Joining us to tell the stories from the night is our Patron Randy Morgan! Coming off that highly controversial show at Nassau Coliseum, there was a sense that the purpose of the Buffalo show would be meant to unite the crowd rather than divide. Examples of that were the most apparent in two spots – the tag of Wishlist and their cover of Patti Smith’s People Have The Power. Without blatantly addressing the infamous Bu$hleaguer moment (aside from a part where he mentioned there had been a lot of booing lately) they put aside whatever political differences they may have had with the crowd to play songs that would make everyone feel like they were a part of something special. Other big moments – just listen to the first 5 songs from this night! Can you ask for anything better to kick off your show? And Randy (guest Randy) will tell the story of how a simple writing accident led to his song request being granted.

**This episode is dedicated to the life of our friend Frank Slitti who was taken away from us way too soon. Miss you already…**

One of the most revered live albums in the history of music is The Who’s Live At Leeds record. The album cover itself was an inspiration to Pearl Jam’s Vault collection cover art, but even more than that, the entire performance from the record can be traced back to elements of Pearl Jam’s live act. They’d mention in this show that they were only able to properly play the city of Leeds once before this (It was actually Bradford 92, not the 2006 Leeds Festival in Weatherby) so this night was an opportunity to pay tribute to one of the band’s biggest influences on their career. There are 3 Who songs played, alongside references (a Young Man Blues tease) and nods (Breakerfall, which has an intro inspired from I Can See For Miles) that show that the band had fulfilled a dream by playing on this stage. With 22 main set songs and 36 in total, many taken from the serious collector’s collection, this set is a 3-hour marathon of amazing performances, positive vibes and a connection with the crowd leaving memories lasting lifetimes. It couldn’t have come at a better time as the band was next to finishing the European leg of the 2014 tour giving them the ability to take a deeper dive into the underutilized albums. Let’s put it this way, No Code, Binaural and Riot Act had more representation than Vitalogy… which featured one song from the record, rarity Tremor Christ. As this show prospers from the more obscure, to add a few more Yield’s Push Me Pull Me and the Stone Gossard sung Don’t Gimme No Lip amongst others, it also fully encompasses everything you want from a Pearl Jam show. Playful banter, unexpected moments and interactions and emotional tributes that had the crowd hanging on every note.

In this episode we go back to our 2021 hometown series celebrating the best shows in the band’s 30-year history emanating from their Seattle residence. This surprise Showbox show from 1996 was the tune up for that fall’s No Code tour. We get EIGHT, yes, EIGHT song debuts from this night from the No Code record so there will be a lot of discussion about the earliest renditions of these songs and how they’d evolve. Sure, the first half of this show is No Code and as mentioned, basically everything is a debut (outside of previously played Habit and Red Mosquito) but we also get some important moments during the ‘jukebox’ set. We get the first ever extended Immortality intro and the first time Cinnamon Girl was tagged on I Got Shit. We’ll also get into a larger discussion about how some of the Ten, Vs. era songs weren’t clicking at the time the way they once were and also how Ed was considering new vocal changes that strayed from his mid-90s primal screaming.

We’re back to a more recent era in this episode as we look back at a show from the 2016 tour from Hampton, Virginia. While a great show with many moments to take out from it, this show may be remembered most for happening on the day where the band had to cancel their Raleigh, NC show due to the state’s LGBTQ discriminatory HB2 law. We’ll go into full detail about the band’s decision to cancel the show as well as John’s original plans for that week and how he almost tried for Hampton. However, thinking that the Raleigh and subsequent Columbia shows would be enough, there is a certain song that John missed on this night that we’ll discuss at length. This show has a very unique setlist with some throwbacks to past Virginia shows. For those who remember the Virginia Beach show from 2000, it was their first show since the Roskilde tragedy. Two major moments that came out of this show were the It’s OK tag off of Daughter and opening with Long Road. Both moments were called back to in this show, including a version of Long Road in the middle of the set that is almost unprecedented. We’d also hear songs that are less common in the modern day era of Pearl Jam including Brain Of J, Habit, Sad, Breath and Inside Job.

In this episode we invite Clint Brownlee, author of the new 33 1/3rd book about Vs. onto the podcast! He’ll talk about his research for the book in an extremely important era for Pearl Jam that almost tore them apart as they became the biggest band in the world. We’ll also talk about the story of his first show which was the kick off to this album tour in 1993. There is no perfect formula for handling fame when you’re popularity is skyrocketing to peaks reached by a select few in the industry. Some bands live a lavish life on the road carelessly spending money, diving into drugs and alcohol, and bringing new women backstage after every single show night in night out. Pearl Jam reacted to their fame with the concern that they weren’t prepared to reach that level of fame so fast. While Ed is donning covers of Time and Rolling Stone magazine quickly becoming one of the most recognizable faces in America, he increasingly made attempts to shy away from the spotlight. When you look at the timing of this show, two days after the release of Vs., you may be shocked to know that no one was celebrating the record breaking sales of the new album. Instead, the show and the music was used as an escape from that. Ed would address the crowd multiple times in attempt to describe how he was feeling, you got a sense of what was really happening with the band behind the scenes during this show. We’ll talk about that, some interesting soundcheck moments, a recurring improv and many references to The Who!

This episode we dip back into a more recent era to talk about the 2014 US leg opener in Cincinnati. Our Patron David Ritter will join us to talk about his emotional experience from this night! The band was in a good mood mixing up the setlist with songs representing every album and stories you could fill a memoir with. This night had classic tales including one featuring a club they played back in 1992 in Cincy called Bogarts, and a crazy story where Keith Richards pull a knife on them. The performances were on point at this show too, most notably a version of Love Boat Captain with an extended jam intro and a Jumpin’ Jack Flash near the end. We’ll also talk about the tragedy in Cincinnati where 11 people were killed at a Who show and the nice dedication that the band made for them during this show.