AKA
07-26-2003, 12:21 PM
I just got this last week, and it's probably the best of the officially-released Pearl Jam "Bootleg Series" concert I've ever heard. The band is definitely enjoying themselves and the audience, jamming for up to ten minutes on certain songs and playing three(!) encores. The show ran over three hours! I'm jealous!
Check it out if you get a chance. This is one of the few of this year's concerts that are available in stores, and at three discs for $16, it's a bargain.
Here's a review by Jason Birchmeier of The All Music Guide (http://www.allmusic.com).
For the final show of the first leg of its 2003 North American tour (Live: 05-03-03 - State College, Pennsylvania), Pearl Jam goes for broke. They play a marathon three-plus hour set that includes all their live favorites — over half of the Ten album as well as "Corduroy," "RVM," "Daughter," "Betterman," and "Yellow Ledbetter" — and they also include a number of surprises. Most notably, Eddie Vedder plays a two-song solo acoustic set of John Lennon songs — "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and "Gimme Some Truth" — and Pearl Jam closes the show with a few covers: Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary," Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," and Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." Furthermore, the band jams liberally on a number of songs, including a seven-minute "Even Flow," eight-minute "Black" and "Crazy Mary," nine-minute "RVM" and "Daughter," and ten-minute "Betterman," "Porch," and "Rockin' in the Free World" — all of which boast fiery guitar soloing and occasional improvisation. As at most of the 2003 shows, Vedder infuses his between-song rhetoric with a heavily political slant, not necessarily anti-Bush but certainly liberal, the covers of "Gimme Some Truth" and "Fortunate Son" being quite emblematic of this attitude. This State College show sprawls on and on, becoming increasingly freewheeling toward the show's conclusion, where the song structures loosen and Vedder grows increasingly vocal and charismatic. Pearl Jam fans will undoubtedly love this show, even if it's relatively casual at times and heavily unbalanced, laden with the aforementioned live favorites rather than more contemporary material. It's a fittingly spirited finale to a spirited trek across America during a spirited time by a spirited band led by an especially spirited frontman.
Tracklist:
1. Release
2. Save You
3. Animal
4. Corduroy
5. Cropduster
6. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
7. Even Flow
8. Grievance
9. I Am Mine
10. Improv
11. Rearviewmirror
12. Nothingman
13. Daughter
14. Lukin
15. Whipping
16. MFC
17. Jeremy
18. Improv
19. Blood
20. Encore Break
21. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
22. Gimme Some Truth
23. Breath
24. Do The Evolution
25. Black
26. Alive
27. Encore Break
28. Last Exit
29. Mankind
30. Down
31. Betterman
32. Satan's Bed
33. Leaving Here
34. Encore Break
35. Crazy Mary
36. Porch
37. Fortunate Son
38. Rockin' In The Free World
39. Yellow Ledbetter
Check it out if you get a chance. This is one of the few of this year's concerts that are available in stores, and at three discs for $16, it's a bargain.
Here's a review by Jason Birchmeier of The All Music Guide (http://www.allmusic.com).
For the final show of the first leg of its 2003 North American tour (Live: 05-03-03 - State College, Pennsylvania), Pearl Jam goes for broke. They play a marathon three-plus hour set that includes all their live favorites — over half of the Ten album as well as "Corduroy," "RVM," "Daughter," "Betterman," and "Yellow Ledbetter" — and they also include a number of surprises. Most notably, Eddie Vedder plays a two-song solo acoustic set of John Lennon songs — "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and "Gimme Some Truth" — and Pearl Jam closes the show with a few covers: Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary," Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son," and Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." Furthermore, the band jams liberally on a number of songs, including a seven-minute "Even Flow," eight-minute "Black" and "Crazy Mary," nine-minute "RVM" and "Daughter," and ten-minute "Betterman," "Porch," and "Rockin' in the Free World" — all of which boast fiery guitar soloing and occasional improvisation. As at most of the 2003 shows, Vedder infuses his between-song rhetoric with a heavily political slant, not necessarily anti-Bush but certainly liberal, the covers of "Gimme Some Truth" and "Fortunate Son" being quite emblematic of this attitude. This State College show sprawls on and on, becoming increasingly freewheeling toward the show's conclusion, where the song structures loosen and Vedder grows increasingly vocal and charismatic. Pearl Jam fans will undoubtedly love this show, even if it's relatively casual at times and heavily unbalanced, laden with the aforementioned live favorites rather than more contemporary material. It's a fittingly spirited finale to a spirited trek across America during a spirited time by a spirited band led by an especially spirited frontman.
Tracklist:
1. Release
2. Save You
3. Animal
4. Corduroy
5. Cropduster
6. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
7. Even Flow
8. Grievance
9. I Am Mine
10. Improv
11. Rearviewmirror
12. Nothingman
13. Daughter
14. Lukin
15. Whipping
16. MFC
17. Jeremy
18. Improv
19. Blood
20. Encore Break
21. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
22. Gimme Some Truth
23. Breath
24. Do The Evolution
25. Black
26. Alive
27. Encore Break
28. Last Exit
29. Mankind
30. Down
31. Betterman
32. Satan's Bed
33. Leaving Here
34. Encore Break
35. Crazy Mary
36. Porch
37. Fortunate Son
38. Rockin' In The Free World
39. Yellow Ledbetter