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Episodes Covering Pearl Jam Concerts in 1997

Episode 357: Oakland, CA – 11/18/1997

Pearl Jam found time after No Code to take a bit of a breather during 1997 to get out of the spotlight, recalibrate and record their next record Yield. The tours that had been utilized without the usage of Ticketmaster were put on pause for the year, but they found a way to get a couple shows in with the help of rock ‘n’ roll titans, The Rolling Stones. For four dates in November, Pearl Jam opened for the Stones in Oakland playing hour-long sets and showcasing some brand new songs from the Yield record.

This episode is a watch along episode, so if you planned just to listen, take a stroll over to our YouTube channel so you can watch us watch the entire show in full. This show was recently brought to light by band archivist, Kevin Schuss, on their social media Rearviewmirror lookback video series. He shares a story about how it was pouring rain on the third night of this run and how he ran out to a golf pro shop in order to grab some rain suits for the band to wear on stage. Even though they looked like a hip hop dance troop, the band puts on a great performance in the rain as the warm up for the Stones. There is an OTOTO opener that we’ll get into at this show, and we’ll talk about top flight versions of Hail, Hail, Corduroy, Brain Of J, Immortality and more.

We’ll also get into a discussion about the Stones and why Pearl Jam and other popular bands of the era were opening for them on that tour, and how Yield set the band up for their writing process on future records.

Episode 156: Oakland, CA – 11/14/1997

1997 was somewhat of a quiet year for Pearl Jam, at least on the touring side of things. Busy recording their fifth studio album, Yield, they kept a low  profile and took a break from having to deal with their continued Ticketmaster boycott. It wasn’t until November that Pearl Jam would play a 4-night stint of shows in the Bay Area as the opening act for The Rolling Stones. In this episode we’ll discuss the first night of the four show run and take a glimpse into the transitional time period for them. This show is interesting mainly because Pearl Jam is not quite the focal point. While a big stage is built for the Stones’ elaborate set-up, Pearl Jam was confined to a smaller section of the stage which crammed up their space and didn’t allow them to build a connection with the large stadium crowd. If you watch the YouTube video, you would never be able to tell that the band was playing in a football stadium. But the Stones invited them along for these shows in order to entice a younger crowd and sell tickets. This was originally set for a two night stay, but since these shows were in such high demand they continued to tack on dates. Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crow only play for two nights a piece on this tour, and Pearl Jam’s set lasted 20 minutes longer. That’s being in high demand right there! After debuting some of the Yield songs at a fan club show in Santa Cruz two nights prior (billed as The Honking Seals), the first night of this run featured three key album tracks being played for the second time. Given To Fly displayed it’s ability to soar in an outdoor venue and benefited from the Jack beat that is routinely identified with the song, Wishlist showed a bit of trepidation as Ed busts out the e-bow for the first time in front of a large crowd, and Do The Evolution was an early indication that the fans were in for something fresh and raw on the new album. But as their stage time was held to only an hour due to being the opener, most of this set has your standard, mid-90’s Pearl Jam fare.

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