1994 TOUR
02/22/94 - Carnegie Hall "Daltry Sings Townshend", New York, NY
set : The Kids are Alright, My Generation
= Eddie Vedder singing solo.
02/23/94 - Carnegie Hall "Daltry Sings Townshend", New York, NY [15m]
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Let My Love, Squeeze Box, Sheraton Gibson, My Generation
= Eddie Vedder singing solo.
03/06/94 - The Paramount, Denver, CO
support act : The Frogs
03/07/94 - The Paramount, Denver, CO
support act : The Frogs
03/09/94 - Civic Center, Pensacola, FL [90m]
support act : L7, Follow For Now
boot : The Jam Machine
contact : Melinda Thompson
set : I Won't Back Down, Go, Animal, Even Flow, Dissident,
State of Love and Trust, Glorified G, Daughter/W.M.A., Blood, Why Go?,
Jeremy, Black, Alive, David Gunn Jr. speech, Rearviewmirror,
Elderly Woman, Porch/(Tearing Each Other Apart), Indifference
03/10/94 - Stadium Illinois, Chicago, IL [135m]
attendance : 13,000
support act : The Frogs, Urge Overkill
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Release, Animal, Go, Even Flow, Dissident, Empire Carpet song,
State of Love and Trust, Why Go?, Jeremy, Glorified G, Daughter,
Not for You, Rearviewmirror, Blood, Alive, ???, Porch, Garden,
Happy Birthday (Jeff), Spin the Black Circle, Black, Tremor Christ,
Footsteps, Rockin' in the Free World, I Won't Back Down, Leash,
Sonic Reducer, Indifference --- Listening to You (w/ Frogs)
03/13/94 - New Regal Theater, Chicago, IL [140m]
attendance : 2,500
support act : The Frogs
contact : Caleb LaVergne
set : Oceans, Go, Last Exit, Once, Even Flow, Rats, State of Love and Trust,
Breath, Glorified G, Daughter/Improv(You're in My Body)/(W.M.A.),
Animal, Not for You, Elderly Woman, Alive, Improv,
Spin the Black Circle, Hard to Imagine, Yellow Ledbetter,
Rearviewmirror, Alone, Black, Porch, Angel
03/14/94 - Fox Theater, St. Louis, MO
support act : The Frogs
03/15/94 - Fox Theater, St. Louis, MO [100m]
support act : The Frogs
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Why Go?, Deep, Animal, Once, Rats, Blood, Glorified G,
Daughter/(The Real Me)/Improv(Do What I Say), Alive, Go, Even Flow,
Spin the Black Circle, Porch, Corduroy, Rearviewmirror, Black, Leash,
Improv, ? (full song), Baba O'Riley
03/17/94 - Elliot Hall, Purdue Univ., W. Lafayette, IN [>60m]
support act : Grant Lee Buffalo
set : Dissident, State of Love and Trust, Even Flow, Tremor Christ,
Daughter/W.M.A., Alive, Once, Rockin' in the Free World, Indifference...
03/19/94 - Masonic Temple, Detroit, MI
support act : Grant Lee Buffalo
set : Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Go, Animal, Why Go?, Dissident, Blood,
State of Love and Trust, Glorified G, Daughter, Rats,
Spin the Black Circle, Black, Alive, Porch, Not for You, Elderly Woman,
Even Flow, Rockin' in the Free World, Footsteps, Sonic Reducer, Once,
Leash, Baba O'Riley, Indifference
03/20/94 - Chrysler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI [115m]
support act : Grant Lee Buffalo
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Jeremy, Go, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Glorified G,
Daughter/Improv(Do What I Say)/(W.M.A.), Breath,
State of Love and Trust, Last Exit, Garden, Why Go?, Deep, Alive,
Porch/(Look Me in the Eye Man), Nothingman, Three Little Birds,
Yellow Ledbetter, Black, Rearviewmirror, Not for You, Blood,
Indifference
03/22/94 - The Cleveland State Convocation Center, Cleveland, OH [140m]
support act : Grant Lee Buffalo
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Release, Go, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Glorified G, Garden,
Daughter/(I Won't Back Down), Jeremy, Why Go?, Alone, Oceans,
State of Love and Trust, Black, Blood, Alive, Porch, Rats,
Rearviewmirror, Elderly Woman, Leash, Rockin' in the Free World,
Sheraton Gibson, Indifference
03/24/94 - Louisville Gardens, Louisville, KY
support act : King's X
set : Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Go, Animal, Dissident, Satan's Bed/Jam,
State of Love and Trust, Garden, Even Flow, Why Go?, Jeremy, Black,
Blood, Alive, Rockin' in the Free World, Spin the Black Circle,
I Could Prove to You, Daughter/(I Won't Back Down), Indifference,
Not for You, Elderly Woman, Porch
03/25/94 - Mid South Coliseum, Memphis, TN [100m]
support act : King's X
contact : Abbott Wang
set : Release, Go, Animal, Deep, Jeremy, Glorified G,
Daughter/Improv(Suspicious Minds)/(W.M.A.), Even Flow, Dissident,
State of Love and Trust, Last Exit, Black, Alive, Leash, Rearviewmirror,
Not for You, Elderly Woman, Blood, Baba O'Riley,
Porch/(Tearing Each Other Apart)
03/26/94 - Murphy Center, Murfreesboro, TN [120m]
support act : King's X
contact: Abbott Wang
set : Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Go, Even Flow, Dissident, Deep, Jeremy,
Animal, Glorified G, Daughter/W.M.A., Blood, Not for You, Elderly Woman,
Alive, Porch, Dock of the Bay, Rockin' in the Free World, Indifference
03/28/94 - Bayfront Park, Miami, FL [120m]
support act : King's X
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Release, Go, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, State of Love and Trust,
Glorified G, Daughter/(Another Brick in the Wall)/(W.M.A.), Jeremy,
Deep, Rats, Blood, Black, Alive, Porch/(The Real Me)/(You Fuck With Me),
Rearviewmirror, Not for You, Elderly Woman, Garden,
Rockin' in the Free World/Improv, Indifference
03/29/94 - The Bayfront Amphitheater, St. Petersburg, FL
boot : Hotpoint CD
contact : Caleb LaVergne
set : Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Go, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Why Go?,
Jeremy, Glorified G, Daughter/(Another Brick in the Wall)/(W.M.A.),
Blood, Last Exit, Black, Alive, Porch/(Dirty Frank)/(You Fuck With Me),
Sonic Reducer, Not for You, Elderly Woman, Rockin' in the Free World,
Indifference, Throw Your Arms Around Me
04/02/94 - Fox Theater, Atlanta, GA [130m]
support act : King's X
boot : Atlanta - the day before CD
contact : Caleb LaVergne
set : Release, Go, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Why Go?, Deep, Jeremy, Black,
State of Love and Trust, Footsteps, Once, Alive, Daughter, W.M.A.,
Glorified G, Blood, Leash, The Kids are Alright, Rearviewmirror,
Not for You, Elderly Woman, Out of My Mind, Alone, Porch, Indifference
= I got to see this show by the grace of God and Randy - and not necessarily
in that order. For a complete transcript of how I didn't get tickets to
either Atlanta show, send $2.00 to Randy and ask for "Jen's Sob Story".
Forunately for me and others, Randy and Kathy look out for their own, and
Randy sent me suggestions for getting tickets, one of which paid off. At
7:00, 12 whole standing room-only tickets were released, and me and my
sister, and two friends, were #8, 9, 10, and 11. I've got to add, two high
school guys were behind us, but only one got in (he was #12). When asked
what they were gonna do, the lucky one turned to his friend and said, "Here
are my car keys. You can listen to the radio", thus giving new meaning to
the James Taylor song 'You've Got a Friend'. Then he looked at us,
shrugged, and said, "Hey, it's Pearl Jam."
The standing room-only tickets meant we had to stand behind a 4 1/2 foot
high wall behind the back row of floor seats. Of course, I would have hung
upside down from the rafters if that would have gotten me in the building
to see this show, so these tickets were fine by me.
You know, before the PJ show, I considered myself at 5'6" to be of medium
height. As the concert began, however, I realized 5'6" could pretty much
qualify me for midget wrestling in this venue. At 9:32, as the strains of
a song began, every person 6' or taller in the building decided to meet and
stand in front of me. Oh well, I was there to hear the music (right?), so
I did what any true PJ fan would do - whined, cried, held my breath,
stomped my feet, and yelled "1,2,3, sit down!" When that didn't work, I
remembered how lucky I was to be there, beggars can't be choosers, blah,
blah, blah, and I pogoed (yes, pogoing is alive and well along the back
rows of PJ shows!).
Also, there was a little ledge a foot up the wall I could stand on for up
to 30 seconds without falling off - you know, standing in precarious
positions for given lengths of time, making mad dashes up aisles, and
running to the bathroom - doing your business - and getting back to your
seat between song changes need to be added to the Presidential Physical
Fitness test in schools to better prepare our children for concerts. But
I digress...
As you've probably read in the 100 reviews before this one, or seen on
boot video tapes, PJ began their show with no lights and just the
beginning notes of some nondescript song - although you could see the
silhouettes of the guys along the backdrop. Let me tell you, as the music
began, excitement was high, as you will note from the snippet of
conversation I overheard from the two girls in the row in front of our
wall :
Girl #1 : "There's Eddie!"
Girl #2 : "Where's Eddie?"
Girl #1 : "I see Eddie's hair! It's growing!" (as if he's a Chia pet - just
add water)
Girl #2 : "Will they cut on the lights? They will cut on the lights, won't
they?!?!" (said in great panic).
After Eddie sang the first line of 'Release', the audience screamed,
whooped, and hollered, and then began singing along with him. When 'Go'
kicked in, the lights came on (yes, Girl #2, there is a Santa Claus) and
the band and the audience were off and running. I may not have had the
best seat in the house - hell, I didn't even have a seat, I was in SRO,
remember? - but I was surrounded by one fun group of people and was
listening to one incredible band. From 'Go' on through 'Animal',
'Dissident', 'Even Flow', and 'Why Go?', everyone sang every word to every
song, except for Girls #1 and #2, who appeared to be auditioning for 'The
Grind' when they weren't sqealing over Eddie (much discussion about his
hair). My friend Gregg commented after the show that he had never been to
a concert where so many people knew all the words to all the songs, and
this was especially true of the people in our area. There were quite a few
times when Eddie's singing was drowned out by our own voices - it's as if
we were all taking one long shower together!
There was very little between-song chatter during the first half of the
show, which is fine except that I was forced to listen to Girls #1 & 2's
inane comments like, "The preppy one (Stone?) is kinda cute" and "You can't
see Eddie's face because of his hair". It got to the point where I thought
"C'mon, guys, I'll take a weather forecast - just say something to drown
them out!" Someone did pass a straw cowboy hat up to the stage, Eddie put
it on, and Stone played a few notes - as in the major riff - to
'Sweet Home Alabama'.
The band went on to play quite a few numbers from Ten - 'Deep', 'Jeremy',
and 'Black'. Eddie then waxed nostalgic for a while about the beginnings
of the band and the demo of songs Stone sent him - how he knew he'd love
the band because the music was so "incredible". His soliloquy was
interrupted by chants of "Eddie, Eddie", so that he finally stopped and
said, "Hey, I know my name, and if I knew yours, I'd tell you to shut the
fuck up!" [BTW, this is one of my all-time favorite Eddie quotes]. He
finished up saying how important the guys in the band were to him and how
important "trust" is, followed by the song, you guessed it,
'State of Love and Trust'. Still feeling talkative, Eddie explained the
'Alive'-'Once'-'Footsteps' trilogy before the band performed the songs in
reverse order, for no apparent reason other than that they seemingly each
want to go back into their mother's womb.
Next, several Vs. tunes were showcased, featuring Jeff on stand-up bass for
several of them - 'Daughter', 'W.M.A.', 'Glorified G', 'Blood' (every time
I hear that wah-wah guitar part I can't help but picure Starsky and Hutch
squealing by in their red and white-striped car), and finally 'Leash'. The
band must have been feeling as wiped out as the audience did because Eddie
announced they were going to rest for a bit and then come back out and play
a few more numbers. Eddie was only gone a couple of minutes before coming
out alone and telling us that due to tonight being daylight savings time -
clocks moving up an hour - the band would be unable to come back out and
play anymore. While visions of the Who concert in Cincinnati danced in my
head, Eddie must have heard Girl #2 stamp her foot and say "Pookie",
because he immediately picked up a guitar and launched into another story -
the Tortured Voice of Our Generation had much more to share. He said (and
I paraphrase) he dealt with his teen angst by holing up in his room,
listening to music, and noodling on his guitar. One favorite was
'The Kids are Alright', which he treated us to and which made me feel all
warm and fuzzy inside. Afterwards, Mike, Jeff, Stone, and Dave trotted
back out, picked up their gear, and everyone launched into
'Rearviewmirror'. Eddie dedicated the next song, a new one called
'Not for You', to all the scalpers who profited at the expense of the band
and other fans who didn't have $400 in spare change. Versions of
'Elderly Woman', another new song called 'Already in Love', and 'Alone'
drew much applause and foaming at the mouth from the more rabid fans,
present company included, before the guys launched into the ten minute opus
that is 'Porch'. The best thing about 'Porch' live is the mid-song jam
when Mike, Jeff, and Stone, um, get off on each other's instruments (it's
really quite French if you think about it). From the looks of the
audience, the Fox Theater appeared to be sponsoring an air-guitarist
convention.
After 'Porch', the band said goodnight, thanks for coming (I won't touch
that one), and waved goodbye, but we the audience know better - what about
the encore thing? We clapped, stomped, shouted, and considered offering up
human sacrifice before the magnificent 5 came back out for one more number,
'Indifference'. The song is definitely the one to end the show with. The
slower tempo is calming after 2 1/2 hours of singing, shouting, and
dancing, but the words are really what kill me. For a song about how
apathetic we are to the events around us, this song - more than any other
PJ song - says to me, when all else fails, at least music can make a
difference in our lives.
I wish I were Gina Arnold (author of Route 666 : On the Road to Nirvana,
rock journalist, and music lover), because she can so perfectly and
poetically sum up her feelings toward a band and their music. In her book,
she talks about being at a music festival in Denmark (coincidentally, PJ
was there) when the audience got riotous, the bands got disgusted, and she
got depressed. When she overheard someone say Fugazi was playing a live
show in Germany that night, she felt such an overpowering need to hear
their music that she hopped a train to Germany. For the past 2 1/2 years,
Pearl Jam has been my German Fugazi show, the music I've turned to time and
time again for comfort or reassurance or just to get me going. This
concert was the first and only time I've gotten to see them live, and it
was everything to me I could ever ask music to be, but of course I didn't
expect and less from these guys. To quote someone in the know, "Hey, it's
Pearl Jam."
-FOOTSTEPS
04/03/94 - Fox Theater, Atlanta, GA [140m]
support act : King's X
boot : Atlanta (KTS)
contact : Abbott Wang
set : Release, Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Even Flow, Dissident, Why Go?, Deep,
Jeremy, Glorified G, Daughter/(Another Brick in the Wall), Go, Animal,
Garden, State of Love and Trust, Black, Alive, Blood, W.M.A.,
Better Man, Elderly Woman, Rats, Satan's Bed, Once, Sonic Reducer,
Porch/(You Fuck With Me), Indifference
04/03/94 - Eddie Vedder DJing, Atlanta, GA
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Cigarettes, I Only Play for Money, A Little Story, Joy Without Pleasure,
?,?, Disconnect, Baby Drop, Let Down Left Out Laughed At
04/06/94 - The Civic Center, Springfield, MA [120m]
attendance : 6,800
support act : Mudhoney
boot : Alive [JOK 061 B/C] CD
contact : Caleb LaVergne
set : Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Go, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Glorified G,
Daughter/W.M.A., Why Go?, Deep, Rats, Last Exit,
State of Love and Trust, Black, Alive, Porch/(Hey Hey, My My),
Not for You, Blood, Yellow Ledbetter, Once,
Out of My Mind/(A Bit Too Much), My Generation, Elderly Woman,
Rockin' in the Free World, Spin the Black Circle
= My pal Scott & I ventured down from Maine in order to catch PJ & Mudhoney
at the 6800 capacity Springfield Civic Center. I had an excellent "seat",
sitting on the boards that rim the floor (it's a hockey arena)
approximately 20 feet diagonally from the stage. Scott happily moshed the
evening away. I love Mudhoney. They were GREAT, but it seemed few in the
crowd cared - at one point a girl near me actually yelled "Shut up & put
Eddie on!".
The headliners took the stage & ripped into an intense, potent
'Rearviewmirror'. The "Ed-die" chants following RVM prompted him to warn
"That's my name, don't fuckin' wear it out". They then tore most
enthusiatically into the scorchin' trio that is 'Whipping', 'Go',
and 'Animal', and my head was gonna implode. Jeff's bass (stand up on 2 or
3 songs) and Dave's incessant bass drum pounded in my sternum all night &
at times my HAIR was shaking to the beat. Next, an emotional 'Dissident',
featuring some heart-breaking and very pretty guitar. Apparently Mike had
recently celebrated a birthday, because Stone couldn't help himself & yelled
"Happy B-day, Mike". For a minute, I thought we were going to sing the
birthday song, but Stoney thought better of it. Mike did make quite the
fashion statement, though, through his succession of interesting hats,
beginning with that way-out purple sorta top hat.
Next, a very lively 'Even Flow'. I still love this song, despite it's
airplay, and I was mightily impressed by the boys' ability to call up their
collective reserve of enthusiasm yet again. It helped, too, that they
seemed to be having the time of their lives up there, all evening.
Ed especially (who was, and I can tell this is going to become a cliche,
'sans wine bottle and monster mask') was in a great mood, continually
joking with the crowd. Following 'Even Flow', he held up an envelope :
"Someone wrote me a letter - who was it?" When the crowd chanted "Read
it!", he agreed to, then did so silently. The sheer joy that radiated from
that stage for 2 hours was alone well worth the ticket price. What an
enormous pleasure to watch as they all stood in each others' faces,
smiling big & bursting out laughing & jumping & leaping. You couldn't
possibly be in a bad mood watching this continual display of sheer GLEE,
folks. But back to the music.
My fave from Vs., 'Glorified G', followed and just kicked, it kicked I tell
you! No lyric change as there was on other nights ("that's OK, man, cause
I love MAUDE" - Bea Arthur, Edward?) but it was still just as bouncy and
rockin' as the dickens. Next was 'Daughter', which jammed out into 'A-A
It's OK', then 'Why Go?', which is so amazing for me cause it's my least
fave from Ten, but is fantastic live - a whole different song. But great
as it was, 'Deep' blew it away. Such amazing, jangling guitar. I found
myself rolling my eyes to heaven in disbelief over what I was hearing. Ed,
too, seemed wound up by this as he spent half the song spinning around in a
small circle and almost fell.
A so-so 'Rats' followed, then a song I didn't know, but whatever it was
caused the glee level on stage to rise a few notches because Jeff jumped
about as nuttily as he had all night & Stoney shared a huge smile & laugh
with Dave. This was followed by a pulsing 'State of Love and Trust'. Ed
had been successfully ducking shirts & debris all night but was nailed
squarely in the face during this one. Stone laughed big, and afterwards
yelled excitedly, "Throw things at him! Throw things at him!".
Now the always lovely 'Black', featuring some extremely pretty strumming,
followed by 'Alive', for which the place went extra nuts & twice as much
debris subsequently went flying, then one of my two faves from Ten, the
perennial closer 'Porch'. How does the band continue to go so nuts for
this song, like it's being played for the 5th time, not the 305th??
Incredible. They were in a frenzy, the jam accompanied by a strobe light.
(I hate the damn things, but this wasn't too bad.) Ed worked that mic
stand, tossing it into the air, pounding it repeatedly into the stage &
"spearing" the pit with it. After several minutes, the insanity ended, &
they left the stage to screams & cheers.
After a short break the BEWILDERING encore began, starting with a furious
new song, 'Not for You'. Stone looked so serious, grimacing more than
usual & pounding that one leg to the beat & Eddie strummed & spat with
equal abandon. This is quality stuff, & if any indication of the caliber
of the upcoming album, then I can't wait!! Next, an intense 'Blood', which
caused some serious churning in the pit. I saw more people completely
upside down during this song than at any time that night. Afterwards, Ed
announced they would take requests. (I shouted, but he didn't hear my
request for the old New York Dolls song 'Frankenstein', which is right up
their alley, and I swear would make a KILLER cover!) "We have a winner".
Yellow Ledbetter. God, I almost died. Eddie's absolutely beautiful,
heart-rending vocal (especially the soft, piercing final "don't wanna
stay") combined with Mike's searing, delicately understated guitar nearly
had me in tears, I tell you. Ethereal. After the final note, Ed stood
back & applauded Mike's superior playing. I was ready to float away, but
they charged right into a cookin' 'Once'. Shit, it was perfect. Just
enormous. This song remains the definitive debut-album opener. Next was a
cover tune I didn't recognize, which began as a jam & then featured vocals
with the lyrics "outta my mind". This was followed by 'My Generation',
which was a blast. "Hope I die before I get mold". I couldn't decipher if
they sang "Talkin' 'bout my castration" this time or not, but Ed did forget
the words at one point. Dave was so worked up by the end that his drum
sticks went flying, about 3 pairs of them. Next, the marvelously
bittersweet 'Elderly Woman', which I love to death, but I think needs the
delicacy of an acoustic guitar. Then a short pause, and right into fucking
'Rockin' in the Free World'. Dave was killing himself. Ed spat mightily &
pogoed like a madman. Jeff, Mike, and Stoney were on fire, working as hard
as they had all night and we were into the 24th song! I half expected Neil
himself to walk out & plug in, they were so charged up. The song ended,
they waved bye, and people were not moving, somehow expecting more. After
a moment they returned. Ed, unable to crowd surf these days, managed to
stage-surf; he lay flat on his stomach on a little stool-on-wheels,
stretched his arms out front & legs straight back & glided across the stage
at a high rate of speed. They then cranked into a new, extremely fast tune
called 'Spin the Black Circle', which was manic & punky & great & gave me
more reason to salivate for that new album.
Sadly, the evening ended there. I learned from Scott that a kid had
actually vomited in the pit, wiped it up with his own shirt, threw it way
high in the air towards the rear of the floor, THEN CONTINUED MOSHING. My
fond memories fo this great show have thus far made it impossible for me,
corny as it is, to remove my little pink plastic General Admission-er
wristband. I don't know when I'll be able to.
- Maggie
-FOOTSTEPS
04/07/94 - The War Memorial, Rochester, NY [120m]
support act : Mudhoney
set : Wash, Animal, Go, Dissident, Why Go?, Jeremy, Glorified G,
Daughter/(Across the Universe)/(Another Brick in the Wall), Breath,
State of Love and Trust, Rats, Once, Black, Alive, Rearviewmirror,
Corduroy, Elderly Woman, Jam (Bread?), Porch, Indifference
= 'Wash' appeared as a rare opener for tonight's show. It was the first time
Pearl Jam played this song live during this tour. They also introduced a
new song tonight, 'Corduroy'. "It's nice to be here. What are you doing
for a living? You sleep? Do you eat? Do you fuck?", said Vedder before
'Glorified G'. "You say fuck this, fuck that, fuck life. Living is the
best revenge!", introduced 'Daughter'. A piece of 'Another Brick in the
Wall' was linked to the song. After 'Alive', Eddie took his guitar for
playing three songs in a row, 'Rearviewmirror', 'Corduroy', and
'Elderly Woman'. "That's a song off our new album", Ed said after
'Corduroy'. "We can play another one if you want to?" A big yeah
followed. "In fact, we could play the whole fucking album!" Fortunately,
the crowd knew that Pearl Jam would never do that, so instead of cheering
- they laughed! "I want to play 'Smalltown', but Mike wants to play
something else". Mike played a piece of 'Release' and 'Whipping'. One
hell of a jam/song/demo followed 'Elderly Woman', I don't know what it is,
but guys, if this doesn't exist, please work it out. It sounds great,
guys! A very good and different middle section was played by Pearl Jam
during 'Porch'. Jeff, who exploded with energy after the 'Porch' jam, was
jumping all over the stage, off the drum riser and finally leaping across
the stage like a gazelle. The landing was less graceful, landing on his
butt and careening into Mike's speaker stack. He lay there laughing and
played horizontally for a minute or two. 'Indifference' concluded this
show. A loud applause followed when Pearl Jam left the stage. "We want
more" didn't help.
-RELEASE
04/08/94 - Patriot Center, Fairfax, VA [110m]
support act : Mudhoney
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Release, Go, Animal, Diddident, Why Go, Deep, Jeremy,
Daughter/(Hey Hey, My My)/(American Pie), Even Flow, Breath,
State of Love and Trust, Footsteps, Black, Alive,
Porch/(Tearing Each Other Apart), Rearviewmirror, Corduroy,
Not for You, Elderly Woman, Blood, Indifference,
Rockin' in the Free World
= Before the show even started there was something in the air. Everyone
waiting around to get inside had this lost feeling; they felt empty inside.
I had been waiting for what seemed to be forever to see Pearl Jam play, but
nothing, and I mean nothing, could stop the feelings that were caused by
the death of Kurt Cobain.
The roadies set up candles and the usual assortment of animals on the amps.
There was a massive canvas backdrop behind the band, and for 'Release' it
was a deep purple. This set the mood for the show : intense. 'Release was
played slow and driving, with Vedder pouring every amount of emotion he
could into his voice. After 'Release', he said, "I think you know what's
on my mind, so let's do this..." An incredibly powerful version of 'Go'
followed. "Let's get loose up here in the front" preceded 'Animal'. "This
is kinda tough tonight... Thanks for making it. We appreciate you coming..
and I know that if we can't play...even if we decide...like...after this
next song...even if we can't play...you'll forgive us...thanks...we
appreciate it!", was murmured before 'Daughter'. At the end of 'Daughter',
some lyrics from the Neil Young song 'Hey Hey, My My' and 'American Pie'
were added. Just before 'Breath', Eddie once again mumbles something
incomprehensible. During the song, the words "Gimmie gimmie gimmie" were
added during the line "all these reaching hands out.. grabbing things..
gimmie gimmie gimmie". The end of 'Breath' was incredible, Mike was
soloing like there was no tomorrow; it was a frenzy of notes that were
piercing the heart. 'Footsteps' was played (great song, wish they'd play
it more). At the end of 'Black', the usual lyrics were added, but this time
two sets of them were added, "We belong together" and "I don't think these
people are listening". In the middle of 'Alive', Vedder starts twisting
himself up in the mic cord, Jeff was playing with a drumstick, and Mike and
Stone were off in the corner of the stage while Dave was banging the hell
out of the drums. Mike was going crazy on the guitar, you just wanted to
hear him solo all night long. "Oh man.. a lot of space between us tonight.
and umm..you know we always complained about..you know..the good old days
and playing in clubs..but actually clubs you know..you couldn't get in
unless you're 21, and that kinda sucked..but I got in to a Fugazi show
once. We are not only kind of far..but we are elevated a little more than
usual, either that or I've gotten taller..I don't think it's a very good
thing to elevate yourself. I think it would be a very dangerous thing...
sometimes, whether you like it or not people elevate you...whether you like
it or not..and it's very easy to fall. So..uh..I don't want to be the
messenger, somebody who delivers bad news, you know. Kill the messenger,
but I don't think any of us would be in this room if it weren't for Kurt
Cobain.. 1,2,3,4.." I think you know what followed. Eddie was jumping
around so much he fell. The song lasted forever, and it was great to see
'Porch' played for more than 7 minutes! There were new guitar riffs in the
middle and it jammed all the way through. Two new songs were played,
'Corduroy' and 'Not for You'. A hole was put in the stage during 'Blood',
and 'Rockin' in the Free World' was awesome. There was an intensity at
this show that I have never seen at any other Pearl Jam show. There seemed
to be this incredible connection between the band and the crowd (at least
for me). It was almost as though we (the crowd and the band) were helping
each other deal with the death of a great musician. It was such a strong
feeling and hit so deep in my heart that I don't think I will ever forget
it. This is why I love this band, they are intense, truthful, and have
great character.
-Patrick Broom, USA
-RELEASE
04/10/94 - Boston Garden, Boston, MA [120m]
attendance : 12,000
support act : Mudhoney
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Release, Go, Animal, Dissident, Why Go?, Deep, Jeremy, Glorified G,
(Sweet Emotion), Daughter/(Hey Hey, My My)/(W.M.A.),
State of Love and Trust, Garden, Blood, Black, Alive, Porch, Once,
Rearviewmirror, Not for You, Elderly Woman, Leash, Yellow Ledbetter
= Starting with 'Release' was probably the best thing Pearl Jam could do.
During 'Go', Dave beat the hell out of his drums like nobody else can.
"Young virgin from Boston", Vedder sang during 'Deep'. This was actually
the first interaction of Ed with the audience. OK, besides the thank you's
after 'Animal'. 'Jeremy' was linked to 'Deep', nothing new about that, but
it still sounded great. The short version of 'Jeremy' was played.
"Hey,... I gotta admit, we got a lot on our minds. It is tough to play. I
personally felt we shouldn't play at all. It is really very odd, it's just
like that empty feeling. It is alright to fade away and not to burn out."
Every word of 'Glorified G' was sung very loudly by the crowd and of course
Stone. At the end of the song, Eddie sang a sliver of Aerosmith's
'Sweet Emotions'. Boston's own rock 'n roll legends were in attendance
this night. Dave picked the improvisation up and joined Ed with a cool
drum rhythm. A long improvisation at the end of 'Daughter'. Before PJ
linked 'W.M.A.' to 'Daughter', Eddie sang some lines of 'Hey Hey, My My'.
One hell of a guitar solo by Mike during 'Garden'. 'Blood' was dedicated
to Kurt. Before 'Black', Vedder sang a few lines of 'Sweet Emotions'. "The
next song is for Keith. I hope you hear a love song before you die! This
is called 'Alive'"... "Thanx for having us, thanks for coming, one, two,
three, four..." "We will continue, if you turn up the lights a bit. Turn
up the light! No, not all of these. There are a few people up front I
want to thank! That girl, and this girl with the black hat..." "Took a
drive today, time to emancipate". 'Elderly Woman' was sung by the whole
crowd. The same goes for 'Leash'. Only one song in the last encore, but
it was well worthwhile, a very strong version of 'Yellow Ledbetter'. "It's
been a big night for us, it's been a big night for you!", Eddie said during
the last notes of 'Yellow Ledbetter'. Good work, Mike!
-RELEASE
04/11/94 - Boston Garden, Boston, MA [120m]
attendance : 12,000
support act : Mudhoney
boot : And the Pearls Sweep CD
contact : Caleb LaVergne
set : Release, Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Go, Animal, Dissident,
State of Love and Trust, Breath, Blood, Daughter/(Hey Hey, My My),
Why Go?, Improv(Hold On), Jeremy, Even Flow, Black, Alive,
Porch/(Tearing Each Other Apart)/Improv(You Fuck With Me), Rats,
Immortality, Corduroy, Garden, Leash, Rockin' in the Free World,
Happy Trails, Indifference
= A 2 1/2 hour gig. MTV shot some live footage here and a pre-gig interview
with Eddie where Eddie gives his emotional comment on Kurt's suicide. About
Kurt, he sang - during 'Daughter' - a snippet from the Neil Young song with
the line Kurt quoted in his suicide note, "better to burn out than to fade
away, but Eddie sang, "better not to burn out than to fade away".
This night was again opened with 'Release'. 'Rearviewmirror', which wasn't
played last night, was introduced with "How does it sound? Is it alright?
Let's just play, that is all we can do. Let's do it together!"
After 'State of Love and Trust', Eddie continued his talking with the
crowd. "The next song is off the same record as the last, which we only did
because our favorite band. Mudhoney, was on it. And they were right, it is
all overblown. The song is called 'Breath'" The intro was fucking
brilliant. Some great guitar riffs of Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs'.
Again some lines of 'Hey Hey, My My' during 'Daughter'. After 'Why Go?', a
new song was played by Pearl Jam. It sounds great; it's a ballad called
'Hold On' (not to be confused with 'Hold Me').
"Eddie brought some Boston Celtic shoes a couple of days ago", Jeff said
before 'Rats'. "He was talking about wearing them, he was just chickening
out on me. He said he was going to wear them, what do you think?" Eddie
continued with "I warned you! If I would have been in Chicago... Believe
me, in Chicago they are selling them cheap... Oh, fuck, we ain't coming
back to this place, so we might as well play a little longer", EV said. A
little piece of blues as intro for 'Rats'.
Pearl Jam had a big surprise in stock for the audience. They played
'Immortality' and 'Corduroy' live for the first time. What a brilliant
song 'Immortality' is!
"Look, everybody, it's just about 11 o'clock. You know what that means! We
have to leave the stage at 11." A big "boo" from the crowd followed. "New
rules", Eddie continued, "Celtics are playing tomorrow. Oh wait, it's not
tomorrow, it's the next day. Well, we can play all night..." 'Leash'.
During 'Rockin' in the Free World' (w/ Matt from Mudhoney), an incredible
show of strength was displayed by Eddie pounding through the stage with his
mike stand, and exiting through this hole.
During the encore, Dan and Matt from Mudhoney came on stage competely
drunk. "This is a song for John Kennedy, 'cause we all know you are a big
fat bastard. This is a song about Bing Crosby", and they started singing,
"Boem ba dida, boem ba dida, happy trails to you, boem ba dida, boem ba
dida,..." After a while, Matt says, "I think they like this, Dave! Thank
you very much, God bless you, Merry Xmas, and it's my birthday".
'Indifference' ended this great show.
-RELEASE
04/12/94 - The Orpheum, Boston, MA [120m] (Ten Club show)
support act : Mudhoney
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Oceans, Even Flow, Sonic Reducer, State of Love and Trust,
Hard to Imagine, Immortality/(Hey Hey, My My), Go, Animal, Glorified G,
Daughter/(Suck You Dry), Alone, Not for You, Better Man, Rats, Blood,
Release, Tremor Christ, Once, Fuckin' Up, Dirty Frank, Yellow Ledbetter,
Jam, Rearviewmirror, Elderly Woman, I've Got a Feeling
= The setlist for this show was made up by the crew members - and it showed.
A lot of b-sides, new songs, and outtakes were placed on the setlist. The
crew chose 'Oceans' as the opening song. Good choice.
"Hey, this next song is called 'Sonic Reducer', and we'd like to involve
someone from Mudhoney, Mark Arm". Mark sang the first verse.
Before 'State of Love and Trust', Eddie confirmed that they were going to
play things they hadn't played for a long time and things one might have
never heard before.
A beautiful version of 'Hard to Imagine' followed 'State of Love and Trust'
which in turn was followed by another great ballad - 'Immortality'. Again,
Eddie sang a piece of 'Hey Hey, My My', but this time at the end of
'Immortality' instead of 'Daughter', as he usually does.
Pearl Jam played a piece of Mudhoney's 'Suck You Dry' at the end of
'Daughter'. "Ever heard of a band called Zeep? Ever heard of a band
called the Frogs?", Vedder said. A big "yeah" followed. "Ah, taste!
You've got taste. Never would have known that, meeting you at a Pearl Jam
concert. This song is about people who don't have taste and listen to us
anyway. This is called 'Not for You'!"
Ed had a lot to say before 'Blood'. "This is the second to the last night
of this fucking tour. Play New York and we are going home. It's been
really nice these last few days in Boston. We would like to thank our
crew, speaking of 'Rats'. You should also thank the one who made the setlist
tonight, cause somebody else made it. Let's see, 'Better Man', we played
that. 'Hard to Imagine', we played that. 'Crazy Mary', we can't play
that. We only play that when Victoria is here. I think there is one more
song. This is a fucking awesome place you live in. Lots of history. It is
definitely one of the places I want to live. I was talking to someone last
night. He said, 'fucking Boston, just a bunch of rich college
motherfuckers, spoiled, rude, negative attitudes towards women'. I wanted
to argue with him, but I just don't know, I only come for a few days. I
don't know..."
The break during 'Blood' took longer than usual. Vedder made a lot of
weird noises and panted in the microphone.
Pearl Jam began the first encore with 'Release'. 'Tremor Christ' fits
perfectly with the end of 'Release'. Great performance guys, do it more
often.
During the intro of 'Fuckin' Up', Vedder screamed to the crowd to get up,
he couldn't see them. A great version of 'Dirty Frank' followed. It is
actually the best live version they have played.
Mike played another great version of 'Yellow Ledbetter'. I'm sorry, guys,
but his solos in this song can make or break the song.
"This is a song we haven't played for a long time. That's because we only
play it when we do have a feeling!", Eddie said as an introduction to a
15 minute version of 'I've Got a Feeling'. Indeed it was a long time since
they had played it. First time during this tour, as a matter of fact.
Anyway, it is good to see that Pearl Jam still plays their old anthems
pretty well with the good old jam sessions and messy solos.
-RELEASE
04/14/94 - New York, NY (rehearsal)
set : Not for You, Rearviewmirror, Daughter/(American Pie)
04/16/94 - Saturday Night Live
boot : More Pearls of Wisdom CD
contact : Caleb LaVergne
set : Not for You, Rearviewmirror, Daughter/(Hey Hey, My My)
= Pearl Jam played three songs, the new and unrecorded 'Not for You',
'Rearviewmirror', and 'Daughter', which ended with Eddie fading out with a
quote from Neil Young's 'Hey Hey, My My', the song that inspired the "it's
better to burn than fade away" reference in Kurt's suicide note. "Rock 'n
roll will never die" he sang in a voice trembling with exhaustion and
beleaguered emotion.
Before the show's final credits rolled, Eddie turned full onto the camera
and peeled open his jeans jacket. There was a large 'K' scrawled on his
T-shirt, just above his heart. Eddie, you know, had not taken Kurt's death
lightly. He had, literally, taken it to heart, to an extent that you
worried immediately about the effect it might have had on his own troubled
soul.
-Allan Jones, Melody Maker
04/17/94 - Paramount, New York, NY [100m]
attendance : 3,000
support act : Mudhoney
boot : Last American Heroes CD
contact : Melinda Thompson
set : Rearviewmirror, Whipping, Go, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Glorified G,
Daughter/(Tonight's the Night), Why Go?, Jeremy, Alone, Garden,
Footsteps, State of Love and Trust, Satan's Bed, Blood, Not for You,
Elderly Woman, Sonic Reducer (w/Mark Arm of Mudhoney)
= "I don't know where we go from here, maybe nowhere. I think this is going
to be the last thing for a long time. I'm just gonna live in a fuckin'
cave with my girlfriend. I don't think I'll be showing my face for a
while. I don't think I'll be making any fuckin' videos. Maybe we'll
eventually do some show or something, I just don't know. I'm having a real
rough time right now. This is the last night of the tour, and I don't know
how we got through the last week. It's been so fuckin' hard, man. So
hard. And tonight, you know, it's just going to be so.. so weird." (Eddie
Vedder backstage at the Paramount talking to Allan Jones from Melody Maker
before the show.)
Pearl Jam used Soundgarden's 'Black Hole Sun' as the intro tape to this
final night of their American spring tour, organized especially for the Ten
Club memebers. This extra gig was held at the Paramount Theater, which is
located inside Madison Square Garden, and can hold between 2500 and 3000
people. Outside the venue, scalpers offered tickets up to $700 a piece.
Kurt is a presence here tonight, especially for Eddie, whose performance
and spontaneous, emotional outbursts take on the passionate intensity of a
personal exorcism. So it comes as no surprise tonight when, at the end of
a fiercely wrought version of 'Daughter', he breaks off into an improvised
version of another Neil Young song, 'Tonight's the Night', the title track
of an album Young recorded as a tribute to two of his own close friends -
Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry - both of whom
died of heroin ODs at the height of Neil's popularity in the 70s.
The sight of Eddie caught in the glare of a single spotlight singing
fragments of Neil's own tortured response to untimely death left your eyes
stinging with tears of bewilderment and grief.
'Dissident' is a thing of raging bloody majesty. "Escape is never the
safest plan", Eddie recites, not sings, slowing the momentum, which up to
this point has been one of terrifying abandon. "Escape is never the safest
plan", he repeats, a piece of weary intelligence, his words hanging in the
air, a somber epitaph.
"I hope nobody gets offended or anything", Eddie growls, "but I'm gonna say
the word fuck like about 8 times in the next 30 seconds." There's a huge
cheer, which doesn't vastly amuse Vedder. "Okay,... okay", he says, with
an edge of inpatient disgust. "So it's now almost like we can stand up here
and just say the word fuck, and that's enough, eh? We don't even have to
play any songs anymore... Well, that's gonna be a lot easier on my throat.
But fuck my throat, you know... What I wanted to say about that last song
(Jeremy) we did... If you ever feel like saying, 'Fuck this, fuck it,
fuck you all, I'm getting the fuck outta here', just remember : Living is
the best revenge." Having made his point, Eddie leads the troops into the
show's second new song, 'Alone'.
In 'Garden', McCready takes the spotlight for a gut-wrenching solo. It's a
slow-burning thing, McCready's feature here, notes struck and held, each
one igniting the next until you begin to think he's going to go up in a
ball of fire. When Stone weighs in with a rare solo of his own, things
definitely seem on the point of maximum incineration. And when Eddie
finally rejoins the action, things have gone beyond the merely epic.
-Allan Jones, Melody Maker
" "I think we'll be okay, we'll be okay"
(Eddie Vedder backstage at the Paramount talking to Allan Jones after the
show)
-RELEASE
08/13-14/94 - Garlic Fest, Israel Farm, Arlington, WA (Eddie)
set : I Am the Walrus
= At the 5th annual weekend-long Garlic Festival at the Israel farm in
Arlington, WA (a rural community north of Seattle), Eddie joined Nirvana's
Krist Novoselic and his longtime Nirvana amigo Earnie Bailey on stage for
one song. Krist was trying out new material and ad-libbing some of the
titles, calling one 'Knights in White Satan', with a quickly put together
band called Ain't So Far. Near the end of their 45 minute set, Novoselic
began calling for Vedder, who had been seen hanging around the beer garden
earlier that evening. Before an overjoyed crowd of about 250 people,
Eddie, sporting a baseball cap, lent his talents to a cover of 'I Am the
Walrus'. The whole weekend was in benefit of the Israel family for the
problems they are having with their local county government.
-RELEASE
= There is also an EXTREMELY rare soundboard recording of this show,
which EV or Krist gave to a certain girl. If you find it, PLEASE let me
(or any trader) know, as this would be a GREAT gem to have.
10/01/94 - Shoreline Amphitheater : Bridge School Benefit, Mountainview, CA
attendance : 18,000
contact : Carl Sylvester
set : Walking the Cow, Elderly Woman, Corduroy, Daughter/American Pie, Black,
Footsteps, Yellow Ledbetter, Let Me Sleep, Piece of Crap (w/ Neil Young)
= This was the second time that Pearl Jam played the Bridge School Benefit.
Their first appearance was 11/01/92, when the band played an acoustic set
at the same location. This year's acts were : Pete Droge, Ministry,
Mazzy Star, Indigo Girls, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and Neil Young &
Crazy Horse. In both shows, the drummer for Pearl Jam was Jack Irons, a
long-time friend of Eddie's. He was a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
until 1988, when he began his own band, Eleven.
Mike came out for one song during Pete Droge's set. Pete's a friend of
Mike's from Seattle. Backstage, Eddie was far from the morose, wine-sodden
depressive we'd been led to believe he's become. Rarely did a huge grin
leave his face as he bounced around, super-8 camera in hand, documenting
what was obviously a special event for him. He took plenty of time to
speak with the Bridge School children, and cheerily signed autographs.
The audience were on their feet screaming at the first sign of Eddie & Co.
The opener of Pearl Jam's set was a cover of Richard Thompson's
'Walking the Cow'. Pearl Jam were seated in a semi-circle with, from the
left, Mike, Jeff (playing a Clevinger upright electric bass), Jack Irons,
Eddie, and Stone. Jack pounded a conga atop an overturned laundry basket.
He's a very animated drummer, overly gesticulate. Eddie enunciated all the
lyrics including 'Yellow Ledbetter'; his wholly naked, extremely strong
vocals accentuated the somber tone these two nights. 18,000 people sang
along with Pearl Jam, it seemed that everyone knew the lyrics to 'Black'
and even 'Yellow Ledbetter'. 'Daughter' had the chorus of 'American Pie'
thrown in at the end. Benmont Tench, of the Heartbreakers, played piano
on 'Footsteps'. Eddie and Mike played 'Let Me Sleep' live for the first
time. The song was especially for all the people in the back. They were
the only act to play an encore this night.
The entire band, except for Jack, came out to join Neil Young on stage for
a loud and rough version of his last song, a hilarious slap at cheap goods,
'Piece of Crap'.
-RELEASE
10/02/94 - Shoreline Amphitheater : Bridge School Benefit, Mountainview, CA
attendance : 18,000
set : Lay Lady Lay (EV w/Ministry), Wash, Not for You, Immortality,
Elderly Woman, Daughter/(Tonight's the Night), Black, Bee Girl,
Piece of Crap (w/ Neil Young)
= Mike hopped on stage with Pete Droge again for one song. Eddie joined
Ministry's Al Jourgenson, Paul Barker and their friends for their opening
number, a superbly dark and fuzzed-up version of Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay".
Vedder was spotted sitting on a chair, mumbling on the background.
Pearl Jam's setlist was full of surprises, though less than the night
before. "It has been a real nice day", Eddie said before the band opened
with a surprising version of 'Wash'. 'Wash' was followed by two new songs,
'Not for You', delayed a little because Eddie couldn't find a pick, and
'Immortality'. The band seemed a little annoyed by fans losing it for
them. Benmont Tench played piano on a great version of 'Black'.
'Tonight's the Night' at the end of 'Daughter' included a reference to Kurt
Cobain. The set ended with Jeff and Eddie performing 'Bee Girl'. "One
time, Jeff and I went into a radio station and we just made something up,
right on the spot. It was about this little girl that I'd seen on TV in
one of those... ehh, they call it music videos or something. This little
girl was everywhere and I think she was... ehh, I just saw really bad
things for her future, I was very worried about her, anyway it's called
'Bee Girl'." This song, about the girl in the Blind Melon clip, was
performed on the Rockline radio show in October of 1993, and had never
been played live since then.
Pearl Jam joined Neil Young for the second time for a final jamming version
of 'Piece of Crap'.
-RELEASE
10/16/94 - Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA (Mad Season show)
contact : Caleb LaVergne
11/06/94 - Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA (Mad Season show)
contact : Caleb LaVergne
set : Wake Up, I Don't Know Anything, Artificial Red, Down Again, Stand Up
= Just wanted to say that I received my tape of "The Gacy Bunch" aka Mike and
Layne, and it is EXCELLENT. The songs are very bluesy, and Layne's voice
just seems to wrap around the lyrics which are pretty bleek, but
interesting and seemingly inspired by his recent rehab experience. Mike's
playing is really amazing, and just what I've been waiting for since his
work on Temple of the Dog (esp. the first two songs). I hope this gives him
more of a chance to get the recognition he deserves. While I'm not saying
he's the BEST guitarist in the world, I do think he has a soulful grace to
his playing, and he seems pretty versatile, too. He's not a grandstander,
and tends to get overlooked a bit in the band. I was really excited to hear
about their recent shows in Seattle, and even more excited to hear about
the little blurb in the newest Rolling Stone that they might tour!
Anyone else get a recording of any of the other shows they've done? Please
let me know, or if you have any other info on this.
-Linda
11/20/94 - Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA (Mad Season show)
contact : Melinda Thompson
12/31/94 - RKCNDY, Seattle, WA (Mad Season show)
contact : Caleb LaVergne
set : Wake Up, Lifeless Dead, River of Deceit, I Don't Know Anything,
I'm Above, Artificial Red, I Don't Want to Be a Soldier, All Alone
Back to the Main Tourbook Page