Loosegroover
01-31-2001, 01:46 PM
From the Loosegruber Records newsletter February '01:
By the end of the month, over 72 bootlegs documenting Pearl Jam's Binaural Tour will be in the hands of devoted Jammers around the world. (Take that, you skanky bootleggers asking $50 for a two-CD set of non-silver CDs!) We here at Loosegruber Records got a preview of them and we just can't stop listening. I mean, physically our boss, won't let us. It's piped into the offices, into the elevator, even the goddamn can! (Sorry, I digress.)
Anyway, it's a fabulous collection documenting a band that really changes colors every night. It's not just the setlist varies from night to night (although you'll usually hear Given to Fly and Wishlist or a couple of the Man trilogy songs as part of the set). It's that the mood of the band changes depending on (yes, you!) the fans, the weather, the equipment, the color of Mike McCready's undershorts, and whether frontman Eddie Vedder got in any surfing. Not too build the case in negative terms, it adds a distinctive charm to the band that we've yet to find in their peers that get more airtime because they do more press (Yes this means YOU, Anthony and Bono!)
It's fun to hear what Eddie calls Even Flow on any given night, and how badly he'll screw up the second verse. He still has difficult with the first line in Immortality, but continues to get help from the audience on that front.
And despite the fact that Eddie talks about off-nights (particularly singling out Seattle 1 for extreme suckage), it's difficult to call any one of these shows particularly bad. For the non-insider, it's as difficult to discern a bad show as to hear the bomb sound allegedly accidentally made by Stone Gossard's guitar during Wishlist in Single Video Theory.
There are many emotional moments on the discs, including several related to the fatal Roskilde show from the playing of Off He Goes for the family of one of the late fans at Seattle 2 to the searing It's OK tag at Virginia Beach - the first show of the second leg. There was an unexpected and poignant Crown of Thorns during the boys' 10th anniversary show in Las Vegas.
And then the classic moments now preserved forever: When Jeff Ament clocked Eddie and a renegade guitar tech with his bass during an Even Flow jump in Toronto, leading Mike to sing out that song and half of Black (which apparently revived Ed); when one of Matt Cameron's drums toppled over during Rearview Mirror bringing the jam to a literally crashing halt in Phoenix; when Stone and Jeff sang "Fuck-you-Ed-die" instead of "Hall-e-lu-jah" during Do the Evolution at West Palm 1; and Eddie's tag of Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" during Daughter at Mansfield 2.
The only low points are the hit parade crowds chanting out the lyrics to Better Man and Last Kiss at every show they were played at - the satisfaction there being that you KNOW they went home disappointed if the band didn't play Jeremy that night.
Among the unexpected revelations: Of the Girl joins the pantheon of classic openers, sounding impossibly better in person than on record. Also, MFC apparently sounds better in open arenas than indoors. Mike did a great job of reworking Yellow Ledbetter with great end-of-song tags that run the gamut from Kiss to Hendrix. It's an emotionally confusing moment when you thrill to hearing the song, but realize it marks the end of another show.
And for the longtime fans who didn't understand why smiling Dave was replaced when he was, we've certainly found out why since. Matt proves himself as the best possible replacement for the Mighty Jack Irons (save a couple songs still missing the essential Ironman touch).
On many of the boots, Eddie shows off his stature as a dedicated music fan by introducing the crowd to his hero, the former Soundgarden drummer, who also is credited for bringing the band's latest great cover Timeless Melody on the scene. The La's cover fits into the PJ classic covers collection perfectly, just like Matt.
So just one question remains: Why don't they play Corduroy more?
--
Loosegruber's Highest Recommendations if you're gonna be a flake and only go for three shows: West Palm 1, Phoenix, Las Vegas.
-----
"Once upon a time, I could control myself..."
By the end of the month, over 72 bootlegs documenting Pearl Jam's Binaural Tour will be in the hands of devoted Jammers around the world. (Take that, you skanky bootleggers asking $50 for a two-CD set of non-silver CDs!) We here at Loosegruber Records got a preview of them and we just can't stop listening. I mean, physically our boss, won't let us. It's piped into the offices, into the elevator, even the goddamn can! (Sorry, I digress.)
Anyway, it's a fabulous collection documenting a band that really changes colors every night. It's not just the setlist varies from night to night (although you'll usually hear Given to Fly and Wishlist or a couple of the Man trilogy songs as part of the set). It's that the mood of the band changes depending on (yes, you!) the fans, the weather, the equipment, the color of Mike McCready's undershorts, and whether frontman Eddie Vedder got in any surfing. Not too build the case in negative terms, it adds a distinctive charm to the band that we've yet to find in their peers that get more airtime because they do more press (Yes this means YOU, Anthony and Bono!)
It's fun to hear what Eddie calls Even Flow on any given night, and how badly he'll screw up the second verse. He still has difficult with the first line in Immortality, but continues to get help from the audience on that front.
And despite the fact that Eddie talks about off-nights (particularly singling out Seattle 1 for extreme suckage), it's difficult to call any one of these shows particularly bad. For the non-insider, it's as difficult to discern a bad show as to hear the bomb sound allegedly accidentally made by Stone Gossard's guitar during Wishlist in Single Video Theory.
There are many emotional moments on the discs, including several related to the fatal Roskilde show from the playing of Off He Goes for the family of one of the late fans at Seattle 2 to the searing It's OK tag at Virginia Beach - the first show of the second leg. There was an unexpected and poignant Crown of Thorns during the boys' 10th anniversary show in Las Vegas.
And then the classic moments now preserved forever: When Jeff Ament clocked Eddie and a renegade guitar tech with his bass during an Even Flow jump in Toronto, leading Mike to sing out that song and half of Black (which apparently revived Ed); when one of Matt Cameron's drums toppled over during Rearview Mirror bringing the jam to a literally crashing halt in Phoenix; when Stone and Jeff sang "Fuck-you-Ed-die" instead of "Hall-e-lu-jah" during Do the Evolution at West Palm 1; and Eddie's tag of Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" during Daughter at Mansfield 2.
The only low points are the hit parade crowds chanting out the lyrics to Better Man and Last Kiss at every show they were played at - the satisfaction there being that you KNOW they went home disappointed if the band didn't play Jeremy that night.
Among the unexpected revelations: Of the Girl joins the pantheon of classic openers, sounding impossibly better in person than on record. Also, MFC apparently sounds better in open arenas than indoors. Mike did a great job of reworking Yellow Ledbetter with great end-of-song tags that run the gamut from Kiss to Hendrix. It's an emotionally confusing moment when you thrill to hearing the song, but realize it marks the end of another show.
And for the longtime fans who didn't understand why smiling Dave was replaced when he was, we've certainly found out why since. Matt proves himself as the best possible replacement for the Mighty Jack Irons (save a couple songs still missing the essential Ironman touch).
On many of the boots, Eddie shows off his stature as a dedicated music fan by introducing the crowd to his hero, the former Soundgarden drummer, who also is credited for bringing the band's latest great cover Timeless Melody on the scene. The La's cover fits into the PJ classic covers collection perfectly, just like Matt.
So just one question remains: Why don't they play Corduroy more?
--
Loosegruber's Highest Recommendations if you're gonna be a flake and only go for three shows: West Palm 1, Phoenix, Las Vegas.
-----
"Once upon a time, I could control myself..."