We’ve made it near the end of the first leg of the Dark Matter tour! With the last stop in Seattle happening as this episode airs, we thought it would obviously be appropriate to cover a show that took place in Pearl Jam’s hometown. Since we’ve covered many of the well known Seattle shows in past episodes (check out the archive to listen, lots of good ones!) we’re turning to a benefit show from 2001 in which the band didn’t go out and tour on. The Groundwork Benefit was put together to help the Food and Agriculture Organization to solve world hunger. This night featured acts like Alanis Morrisette and R.E.M. as the headliners alongside Pearl Jam.
It’s only a 10-song set, and since it’s still in the shadow of Binaural, the album has a heavy presence at this show. No Ten or Vs. songs were played, but we do get an early version of a Riot Act song over a year before the album release. We’ll talk about John Lennon song Gimme Some Truth and how Ed initially wanted to play that during the Tribute To Heroes performance after 9/11, but it became a staple of Pearl Jam’s touring circuit during the Iraq War. But the song that’s going to resonate the most is a rare closing set performance of Long Road. It’s a ten minute version that features Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, the nephew of Nusrat who recorded a version of Long Road with Ed for the Dead Man Walking soundtrack. One of the most heartfelt versions of Long Road that you’ll ever hear.
Along with that, we’ll talk about Ed making a guest appearance during R.E.M.’s set to sing People Have The Power and It’s The End Of The World As We Know It, and also a little bit of the Athens alternative legends teasing Better Man. Javier joins in for this one, and we’ll spend a lot of time talking about our upcoming trip to see the band in Seattle!
Just to note, in this episode I may have made some small but rare mistakes regarding facts that I do apologize for. We’ll also mention the audio from the YouTube video mixing the guitars really low, but the bootleg that we play in the episode sounds completely normal. A lot of 4am bedtimes in the last month, I’m sure you all understand!