We travel back around the world to look into one of the shows from the 2003 Japan tour. This being an early show from the Riot Act era, the band was still getting a feel for how the new songs worked on the live stage. Joining us for this episode is patron Eddie Quintana to talk about his passion for the album and the era. Nagoya is a unique show, but one that doesn’t get brought up enough in the pantheon of Pearl Jam performances. It took place in a small college theater holding only a few thousand in attendance, and while Eddie had to use a translator to connect with the crowd, the usual songs with sing-along sections such as Better Man and Daughter lacked their usual punch. It’s interesting to witness this as we break down how the call and response in the hit songs fell by the wayside in some of these Japanese shows. Another thing that made this show different centers around a lengthy, jammy improv in the middle of the set without Eddie’s presence followed up by a completely different take on Immortality. The jammy songs were certainly in the forefront as we’ll discuss a tremendous rendition of You Are that fit the mold of this set. Other Riot Act era songs that we don’t get to discuss often such as Love Boat Captain, Get Right and the LO4L debut of Bu$hleaguer will get major focus as well.
Episodes Covering Pearl Jam Concerts in 2003
State College, PA is a show that goes down in history as a fan favorite. Being the final show of the first leg of the 2003 US tour, the band decided to pull out all the stops to make this one of the longest shows in their history. 3 hours and 37 minutes later, the band made good on their promise. This is a set list where strength is less in numbers and more in… well, strengths. It’s proof that going by the book and playing common songs in common spots is never a bad recipe for a Pearl Jam show. Within 36 songs lies 4 separate sets with an incredible encore 3 that lasted for about 45 minutes. Funny enough, it’s the rare content that has its tough spots in this set. Songs like Mankind and Satan’s Bed hadn’t been played in some time, but both songs (which were played due to fan requests in encore 2) had a rough go of it that night, even if the band was out there having fun with them. They are memorable moments from this night, but will we give it a pass because of it? Patreon donor and friend of the podcast Patrick Boegel joins us for this show talking about his experience on that night.
Through 32 episodes we’ve covered emotional moments, historical moments, legendary moments. Band defining moments such as the push for Breath at MSG, Immortality with original lyrics at The Orpheum and when the stage shook during Do The Evolution. Throughout all three of these iconic moments, one of us on this podcast shrugged them off and downplayed their impact. I was worried that Matt would never get to break out and enjoy the emotions of a performance instead of critiquing the sound…That is until this episode! We continue our coverage of the MSG series with the second night of 2003, one of the earliest show’s that Matt attended. For years and years and years Matt talked about how Crazy Mary was one of the band’s best openers, only for the band having ever done it twice. I shrugged him off and called him… Crazy… due to the song being a staple in the encore act. Low and behold we finally get to talk about it and while it has emotional impact for Matt, I find a way to make good logical sense of the decision. Overall the band had to follow a tough act from the night before where they were greeted with special guests and rocked so hard that the stage shook. They put together a great mix of the old and the rare tracks that were uncommon in 2003 such as Deep and Glorified G and spliced in some Riot Act songs that still to this day remain rarities – including Get Right that hasn’t been played since that tour.
A legendary performance in a legendary venue that turned into a legendary concert DVD. We continue our year long MSG series focusing on the band’s 3rd time playing the famous arena and it’s one of their most iconic shows of all-time. Randy and Matt have a lot to discuss in this episode, including how this show was one of the first live exposure that Randy had to the band. From the moment the DVD showcased the black and white photos of NYC landmarks and dissolved into the piping organ of Love Boat Captain, there’s a certain aura you can feel. It paved the way for a night chock full of amazing moments. Of those moments, none may be more memorable than the appearance of long time Pearl Jam friend Ben Harper. His rendition of Indifference and the tag of With My Own Two Hands on Daughter go down as two of the best collaborations that have ever happened on a Pearl Jam stage. We talk about how Harper captured two major emotional moments from this show and how people still talk about them to this day. Also, lest we forget that this was the night they SHOOK the stage at the Garden during Do The Evolution! Legend be told at the time, they shared this distinction with only the Grateful Dead, Iron Maiden and Bruce Springsteen. Was this the moment that turned Pearl Jam from great band into legendary band?
As the band waved goodbye to a historic 2003 US tour, they went out with a unique bang taking two songs from every album and playing them in chronological order. While it was a creative way to break into the first set, a major part of this episode debates whether or not they made the right song choices from each album. With some dead spots within the set, could the band found a better way to develop this arrangement or did they put themselves into an awkward position? Along with a memorable first set, they were joined in the encore by opening act Sleater-Kinney for an array of covers, including a rare version of Hunger Strike. We’ve been critical of the SK appearances before, but did they redeem themselves this time around?
The 2003 Riot Act tour has been seen by many as one of the pivotal tours in Pearl Jam’s entire legacy. Historic shows such as State College, The Mansfield Experiment and the show that spurned the Live At The Garden DVD all took place in a very busy year for them. Camden Night 1 fell right in between Mansfield and MSG during an amazing run for the band. On a hot summer night a day after the 4th of July, what better than seeing your favorite band with a fireworks display going off in the background? When the band notices and rearranges the set accordingly, you know you’re in for something special. As a disclaimer, this episode does get a little heavy into politics discussing how the band was handling their critics at a time where the country was at odds over a war. We do get a little bit into how our current situation in this country compares to what was happening then, but we do our best to try and understand both sides of the spectrum. Tied in with that we talk a lot about Eddie and Johnny Ramone’s friendship and how even through their differences they were able to find common ground.