Pearl Jam Podcast Episodes

This episode we take on some uncharted territory as we head to the heartland of America to cover a show from Lincoln, Nebraska on the Lightning Bolt tour in 2014. The state had been a flyover state for them since 1992 so this crowd, with the show being 22 years in the making, showed them why some of the often forgotten states deserve more love. Joining us for this episode is our Patron Curtis Hames who was there that night with many stories to share. When you think 2014 shows, Moline is probably the first that comes to mind. The Moline show where they played No Code track-by-track happened 8 days after this show, and you have to wonder with three No Code songs mixed into this setlist, was this in preparation for that night? There were also 3 Binaural tracks mixed in this show which is pretty rare for any show in the past decade. There are three moments to look out for in this show. One is within the middle of the set where Ed makes conversation with a child celebrating his 6th birthday and sung 1/2 Full directly to him. Another moment came during a wild version of Porch where Stone took a solo and Ed went all Miley Cyrus and swung on the green orbs like a wrecking ball. And in the final moment of the show is a very memorable Yellow Ledbetter where Ed was using a faulty mic and led to some humorous moments, including him singing into a beer bottle.

In this episode we dive back into our Seattle Series celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band by reliving the best hometown stories. This one may be the cream of the crop. Everybody knows it, you’ve all seen the pictures, maybe you’ve even imitated the antics at some point in your youth. This episode dives right in to the infamous Drop In The Park show from 1992. We’ll talk about how this show had some hiccups getting underway in May of 92 where just days before the event was set to happen, the mayor of Seattle canceled it due to safety and traffic concerns. The band pushed back, especially because it was an event to encourage voter registration, and they were able to reschedule it to September only a week after finishing up the Lollapalooza tour. And of course there is the show… and Ed and what he did. It goes down in history as one of the craziest stunts he’s ever pulled. It was fun to go back and basically do a play by play of this as it was all happening. It’s one of the band’s most iconic moments and images and we discuss where this stands on the all-time most important shows list.

Bundle up and put on your Bernie mittens because this episode will leave you freezing your ass off! This one covers the infamous Ice Bowl show from Alpine Valley on the 2000 tour. On an October night where temperatures dipped down to 28 degrees, the band took the stage and ripped through a 26 song setlist as if they were inside an arena. Joining us to share his stories is our Patron, Kirk Walton, who was there that night to witness all of it! After you see the band take the stage wearing jackets and blowing on their hands to keep warm, they burst through Of The Girl and Hail Hail before Ed greeted the crowd by welcoming them to the Ice Bowl. The nickname given to an infamous Packers/Cowboys game at Lambeau Field in 1967 where they played in -15 degree temperature conditions. From there on out, the band zipped through the set playing familiar songs in order to keep the crowd warm. From all this information shared, you’d assume the band would’ve struggled throughout this set, but quite the opposite! If you listen to the boot, there are small instances where you can tell what the conditions are (Ed singing “it’s too fucking cold to sing” during Corduroy) but aside from that, if you replaced this with an arena show bootleg you would barely be able to tell the difference. The band jammed through great versions of Insignificance, Dissident, Black, Porch and Smile to help make this memorable night unforgettable.

We’re runnin’ back to Saskatoon! In this episode we head to the prairies to tackle a show in an unsuspecting Canadian location from the big 2005 tour. Joining us for a chat is author of the book This All Encompassing Trip, Jason Leung. His book touches up on what it’s like for a fan to follow the band around for an entire tour and since he just dropped a brand new hardcover book, he’ll join us to talk about all of his experiences in 2005 and 2006, including this Saskatoon show! So ask mentioned above, Saskatoon is not a prime concert location or vacation spot. It’s located in the prairies of the Saskatchewan province, which would lead you to believe that maybe this would be a smaller crowd that they may not get the kind of reaction that you’d expect from larger Canadian cities. But as you’ll hear in this show, the crowd was on fire for this one the same way a crowd in Boston, London or Sydney would be. After 15 years of the band utilizing the city as a fly over, the fans were ready to erupt and show their love. There are some great moments from this one that we can’t wait for you to hear. Attempting to appease the crowd in the encore, the band takes the stage with an impromptu version of The Guess Who’s Runnin’ Back To Saskatoon which was played on the spot unrehearsed. There’s also great versions of I Got Shit, Whipping, Daughter, Porch, Present Tense, Alive and Off He Goes jam packed into a short but very fun show!

This episode takes us down to Jacksonville, Florida where the band kicked off their 2016 tour playing four dates in a state that they hadn’t played four years prior, but outside of festival shows hadn’t played since 2008. Joining us to help tell the stories from this show is Horizon Leg Patron Chris Everett! As the tour was happening 3 years after the initial Lightning Bolt touring leg, the band was at liberty to utilize pretty much anything in their catalog without the necessity of promoting an album. All 10 studio albums are accounted for at this show, this is including some of the more obscure in their catalog. Representing Binaural is the seldom played deep cut Rival, Army Reserve made an appearance as a dedication to veterans down in Jacksonville and Riot Act’s contribution was the rarely heard song Ghost dedicated to well known super fan Dimitri. But potentially the best of the rare cuts that night has to come from a version of Of The Earth because any time that that song graces our presence live its a special moment. A booming performance in the middle of the set plopped directly after Even Flow was absolutely a highlight of this night. There’s also the appearance of Glorified G which, if you’re looking at the date of this show, is only 3 days prior to the Greenville show where Vs. was performed in full. The band probably knew what they were doing for Record Store Day and used the song as practice. Speaking of RSD, we also get the lethal combo of Let The Records Play and Spin The Black Circle which was also brought back in Greenville.

This episode begins our 2021 year-long series featuring important shows from the band’s hometown in Seattle. We kick it off with a great show from the Mural Amphitheater right outside where the Space Needle resides. This show is notable for so many things. It’s their final show they played before the official release of Ten, it’s the first show that drummer Dave Abbrusezze joined up with them and it’s the first performance in an outdoor venue. In this episode we’ll talk a little bit about this time period and has the turbulence of going through two drummer changes within a 3 month span didn’t seem to deter them from going out and playing shows. Although this might’ve been Dave A’s debut, you would’ve never been able to tell by the way the band presented themselves. It’s a Ten era show and maybe the unofficial kickoff of the Ten era, but it felt like the band was destined for bigger things at this point. Getting their own spotlight on a stage right in front of the Space Needle was exactly what they needed in order to grow and evolve into the superstardom that would develop in the following year.

Our final stop of the 2020 Around The World Series leaves us in Canada to talk about a show from Toronto where they did they inconceivable and played the Binaural record in full. The band at this point is coming off two full album shows in 2014 as well as two earlier in 2016 with Vs. in Greenville and Ten in Philadelphia. Since Toronto was the last spot on the tour and a city that the band has such rich history in, they busted out the album with possibly the rarest songs they’ve ever played live. While this is such a huge treat to all the Pearl Jam lifers, Binaural isn’t an album that resonates that well with the casual crowd. So 13 songs in a row that they almost never play live will leave you a mixed reaction no matter how you slice it. But the situation was of course unique and a service to the many late era fans who probably checked off a lot of serious collector boxes this night. God’s Dice, Evacuation, Rival, Sleight of Hand and Parting Ways are songs that were barely consistent in their set when the album came out in 2000 so to get them here, and as a podcast we don’t get to cover these songs too often, it’s a treat break these songs out of the back catalog. Along with the entire album we’ll discuss the rest of the set, the hits and misses and what made this show so hard to construct a set for.

This is the penultimate episode in our Around The World series as we dip into this great Mexico City tour closer from 2003. There are many ingredients in the recipe for a perfect show, but the integral pieces from this set are so unique and unlike any other of its kind. First off, it’s a tour closer. Second, it’s a lucrative night 3 show, those don’t come around too often. Does it have rare songs? You bet! Guest appearances? Hell Yeah! Well, it can’t possibly happen to have all of that AND be on the birthday of a band member, right? Oh, you are in for a treat my friend! The band says goodbye to the far traveled and controversial Riot Act tour by throwing a massive party to celebrate. It happens to be the founding member, Stone Gossard’s date of birth, so what’s a better gift than to bring out a mariachi band to sing Las Mananitas, La Bamba and Guantalamera? You can tell from the energy on the stage how good a mood everyone is in for this show as they play up to a red hot crowd and hangout with friends and tour opener Sleater-Kinney. Big highlights from this night include an opener of Wash, Hunger Strike feat. Corin Tucker, Black, Rearviewmirror with an improv, Mankind for Stone and a phone call to none other than Johnny Ramone before a performance of I Believe In Miracles. It’s a show more than worthy of a high spot on Pearl Jam’s all-time lists!

In this episode we’ll focus on the one and only time the band took a trip down to Central America as Ed and Boom were able to catch some waves down in Costa Rica. If your expectations for this show are as high as any show in Argentina, Brazil or Chile, do yourself a favor and lower them immediately. You cannot go into this show thinking that the crowd is going to be red hot for everything. They had their moments where they came through and sounded pretty good on the boot, but this should not be lumped into the same category as shows from those other nations. With that being said, this show coming towards the end of the 2011 run which was still promoting an album that many people deemed unspectacular doesn’t raise a lot of eyeballs. Some nice moments such as a Vs. opener combo of Go into Animal, a great Daughter/Why Go transition that was completely dictated by the crowd and a nice little surprise Oceans in the encore are enough to raise eyebrows, but some strange setlist decisions and way too much from Ten doesn’t set this show enough apart from others. We’ll dissect what worked and what didn’t and we’ll also mention a mini riot that occurred near the beginning of the show.