Pearl Jam Return to Rock Wrigley

For the fifth time in five years, grunge legends, Pearl Jam, brought their signature style and show to Chicago’s Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs, and thoroughly rocked a capacity crowd of fans from near and far last Monday night. Pearl Jam scheduled only 7 performances this summer in the U.S., and possibly for the entire year, so those who were able to do so certainly scored a hot ticket. After great weather in Seattle, Missoula, and Wrigley itself last weekend, concert-goers had to deal with a few thunderstorms before the show could begin on Monday night. Of course, anyone who knows Pearl Jam’s fans also knows a little rain could never dampen the excitement of seeing the band live.

It was not the first time lightning interfered with a PJ show at Wrigley; their first ever performance in the historic ballpark in 2013 was delayed nearly three hours when storm clouds rolled in 45 minutes after the concert began. Monday’s delay was only about two hours long, and it went into effect just before the band was scheduled to take the stage, both of which made it a bit easier to handle for those who had to wait it out. In both cases, the band was put in the tough spot of having to cut songs from the set list to accommodate the delay (only 4 songs last Monday, but 8 songs in 2013), in spite of being offered an extended curfew due to Chicago’s strict noise ordinances. These days, an average Pearl Jam concert lasts about three hours, but Monday night’s performance was just under 2.5.  Knowing they were working against the clock, the band delivered a very high energy show full of mainly fast and up-tempo songs that included hits, fan favorites, deep cuts, and covers. Their five opening songs, including “Given to Fly,” “Why Go?”, “Go”, “Last Exit”, and “Mind Your Manners”,  blazed right by and set the tone for the rest of the night amid smiles and spirited sing-alongs from the crowd. As the band often begins shows with a few quieter, slower songs, this was a welcome surprise to all who had been waiting for the concert to start.

The rain continued to fall at times during the first quarter of the show, soaking those in the GA section in front of the stage and in the seated areas on the field, and the band cleverly included their cover of The Beatles’ “Rain”, originally the B-side to 1966’s “Paperback Writer”, which was more than appropriate. Singer, Eddie Vedder, even took a stab at the famous backward vocals from the end of the original recording as the song came to a close. In addition, PJ also included a number of other covers, such as Neil Young’s, “Throw Your Hatred Down”, a new hybrid, quiet/loud/quiet arrangement of Little Steven’s, “I Am a Patriot”, and they closed the show with a traditional but festive rendition of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”, with the crowd singing along loudly and proudly. As per the rain delay, there was technically only one encore (rather than two or three as at most PJ shows), and Vedder treated the audience to a solo performance of The White Stripes’ “We Are Going to Be Friends”, having made it a staple in their recent concerts. Jack White caught wind of this and covered Pearl Jam’s “Daughter” a few weeks ago at a show on his current tour as well.

While Pearl Jam are well known for their outspoken political views, such commentary surfaced only once during Monday’s concert, when Vedder mentioned the importance of voting in November to protect reproductive rights, with an emphasis on women voting on this issue, during the closing moments of “Daughter”. In spite of recent online trolling related to a controversial event poster, the crowd at Wrigley seemed to be on the same page as the band and applauded the plea to get out the vote.

The band’s strong connection to Chicago and to the Cubs organization was a major theme throughout the show, with Vedder joking that he had accepted a job to run the venue’s score board beginning next season, on-stage appearances from NHL star, Chris Chelios, and from the Commissioner’s Trophy, won by the Cubs during their championship season in 2016, which Vedder said he wanted to find a way to drink from in the style of the Stanley Cup. Early in the encore, the band dedicated a performance of “Come Back” to the widow and family of Blackhawks hockey great, Stan Mikita,  amid a sea of cell phone screens (and a few old school fans who still preferred to hold up a lighter). This was notably one of the few slower, sentimental songs performed at any point in the night, as the band kept a focus on keeping things moving to make up for lost time following the rain delay.  Vedder bantered with the crowd less than usual as well.

While many fans anticipated a new song or two from Pearl Jam’s forthcoming 11^th LP, no new songs were performed on Monday night.  Those who saw the band at Wrigley a few days prior got to hear “Can’t Deny Me”, the band’s latest single, but nothing quite like the live debuts of “Lightning Bolt” and “Future Days” at the 2013 Wrigley concert were part of their most recent show there.  Aside from the notable inclusion of the Yield-era B-side, “U”, which had not been performed in four years, the band did feature the first-ever live performance of “Evil Little Goat”, an obscure Ten B-side, possibly another connection to Cubs’ lore. Other notable tracks that were cut from the set due to time included Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”, Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”, and the PJ’s standard closer, “Yellow Ledbetter”.

Overall, the band played very well and received spirited and enthusiastic support from the audience throughout the concert. Guitarist, Mike McCready, especially stood out with lightning-fast, blistering solos during the fastest songs, and bassist, Jeff Ament, shined on “Jeremy” and the lengthy jams during “Porch” and “Rearviewmirror”.  While the show ended up being a bit shorter than expected and planned, it would be tough to say the band did anything but deliver a high quality, hard rocking performance which left ticket-holders smiling as the crowd emptied into the humid Chicago night.

Pearl Jam set list: Chicago 2 (8-20-18)

*(2 hr. rain delay before show began)*

Aye Davanita (intro tape)

Given to Fly

Why Go?

Go

Last Exit

Mind Your Manners

Do the Evolution

Rain (The Beatles)

Throw Your Hatred Down (Neil Young)

Even Flow

U

In My Tree

Immortality

Daughter/It’s OK (Dead Moon)

Unthought Known

Jeremy

I Am a Patriot (Little Steven)

Lukin

Porch

-------------------(encore break)----------

We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes)

Come Back

Corduroy

Black

Lightning Bolt

Rearviewmirror

~~~~~(“rushed” encore break/band stayed on stage)~~~~

Smile

Evil Little Goat

Leash

Alive

Baba O’ Riley (The Who)

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Exploring The Nine Inch Nails EP Trilogy

Not the Actual Events (2016)
Add Violence (2017)

Bad Witch (2018)

After officially ending the project in 2009 and then resurrecting it in 2013, Nine Inch Nails mastermind, Trent Reznor, has thus far only released one full-length LP (2013’s Hesitation Marks).  A few years ago, however, Reznor and his musical partner, Atticus Ross, conceived a strange, creative, and interesting idea for releasing new songs.  Rather than a bloated 80 minute album, Nine Inch Nails would release new batches of songs in 30 minute increments over the span of about a year-and-a-half or so. Without specifically explaining the details, it was unclear whether or not the three releases would connect to form a new album or if the pieces would exist separately on their own. While NIN has done some light touring in support of the first two EPs, with more American shows coming this fall, some of the new songs have been featured during the live shows while others have not, similar to set lists for tours by most major label artists. Reznor has mentioned in recent interviews that the upcoming shows will include more of the newer material, especially tracks from this summer’s most-recent release, Bad Witch.  So, everything else aside, how does this new material stack up, and what makes it interesting or significant?

Whether you choose to look at the three EPs as individual statements or as three movements within a suite or song cycle, Nine Inch Nails’ newest music continues in the rich tradition of their large catalog while also exploring new sounds and tones as well as showing respect to some of their inspirations. Aside from the music itself, the material was presented in a unique and interesting way, with 6-12 months between each release, that both helped generate attention for each EP and engaged fans who wondered what the next set of songs might sound like and if or how they may connect to each other.  Originally, Reznor wanted to issue each batch of songs on vinyl and as an official download only, but after numerous fan requests to issue official CDs as well, that “dead format” was also included. (More to come on formats in future editorials)

The digital downloads of Not the Actual Events and Add Violence also included a mysterious “physical component”, where the official download of Bad Witch does not. The vinyl and CD editions of each release are similar in design and content, but the physical components included additional art and somewhat interactive materials to accompany one set of the songs or the other.  For instance, those who downloaded the first EP later received a letter in the mail in a black envelope with a cryptic warning sticker sealing the back alerting recipients that “opening… (waves) any claim against any damages or harm you may incur” and that there would be messy contents without anything more specific. Once opened, there were several postcard-sized pieces of artwork, a “sloppy” band photo, and bits of lyrics, some of them printed on transparent plastic. These items, however, were bedded in a layer of black soot, possibly charcoal or some sort of chalk, and the danger of creating a ridiculous mess runs high for those who did not open with care.

Another interesting element about these releases is how they are categorized.  Are they EPs, LPs, or a mixture? While there is no specific industry standard to answer this question, technically, the general feeling is that a release of this nature that is shorter than 30 minutes is only an EP (“extended play”) vs. a release longer than 30 minutes, which qualifies it as an LP (“long play”). NIN has blurred this line before, most notably with 1992’s Broken, which is normally listed as an EP due to its length even though it contained entirely new material and is essentially the second NIN “album”.  In the case of the latest releases, Not The Actual Events runs just over 20 minutes, and Add Violence is about 27 minutes, 2018’s Bad Witch runs for 30:15, just barely over that half-hour boundary line between EPs and LPs, so many places are listing and referring to Bad Witch as NIN’s latest and shortest album.  Prior to its release, Reznor received some press coverage after engaging with a critical fan online about the technical specifics of it being and EP or album, and some speculate a few extra seconds may have been added just to get it over the half hour mark. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Reznor explained that once he saw how singles, EPs, and other miscellaneous works were placed below an artist’s albums on Spotify and other streaming services, he thought it was important for the new material to get the proper interest and attention from potential listeners rather than having streaming subscribers not realize the new release was available or that it even exists.

All this aside, do these new songs connect to form one large piece, or should they be viewed individually and separate from one another? Running all three releases together, end-to-end, would take just under 79 minutes, which makes these songs together about the length of a “long CD”, near or shy of 80 minutes (the maximum amount of music that can fit on a single CD), and about the length of most Tool or Eminem albums by comparison.  This became a standard length for albums released in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, but over the last 12 years or so, as album sales have diminished, lengths of new albums have also dropped, many now clocking in at about 35 to 40 minutes.  Of course, with streaming revenues partly determined by the amount of individual songs a subscriber can stream from an artist or a specific album, that trend is changing again, especially in modern hip hop, but that’s a different discussion.

It’s fair to say that while each EP has its own tone, the songs do connect from one release to the next, sometimes via lyrical or musical references that call back to songs earlier in the cycle. While the lyrics are not specific enough to construct a clear narrative with a plot and characters, there is a loose concept contained in the songs and reflected in the order of presentation and release. Mainly, the songs seem to be a multi-stage reflection on feelings of frustration and alienation with both a current and future life and society, sometimes commenting on things from a personal, inward-looking perspective (Not the Actual Events), an outward-looking view of social structure and government within the context of modern life (Add Violence), and an expanded viewpoint that extends those outward-looking reflections into and beyond the unknown, including religion and time and space themselves (Bad Witch) though in an open-ended, existential way. Many of these themes have been part of Reznor’s many songs over the years, and some of the political commentary in these newest songs recalls similar moments on 2005’s With Teeth and 2007’s Year Zero, both of which commented negatively on the George W. Bush administration and its impact on the country and the world. While none of the new tracks seem to focus on the Donald Trump regime with the same kind of specificity, it’s clear that the rough concept contained within them exists in a dark, dystopian near-future that could certainly be the result of damage that has been done and is being done in the early 21^st century.

*All three EPs can be streamed on Spotify and many other services, or you can listen to each of them on YouTube by clicking the links below.

BREAKING IT DOWN:

Not the Actual Events (2016 – 21:11) *5 songs

Each of the three movements in the EP trilogy varies in tone, and this portion’s dark, gothy tunes most-closely recall the classic NIN sound and style fans have known and loved for nearly 30 years. The short but abrasive opener, “Branches/Bones” segues well into “Dear World,” and within 10 minutes, this EP is half over. The pacing can take some getting used to, especially if you are listening to the EPs one at a time. None of these 5 introspective songs is radio friendly, but Dave Grohl lends his superior drumming skills to “The Idea of You”, the most up-tempo song here, while Jane’s Addiction guitarist, Dave Navarro, lends guitar to the closer, “Burning Bright”, and Reznor’s wife, vocalist Mariqueen Maandig, sings backing vocals on the plodding “She’s Gone Away”. This EP is a solid set that fits well together but feels like it ends just as you are getting into it. It works well as a first act or first movement of the bigger piece which builds on these songs and changes in sound and style on the next release.

Add Violence (2017 – 27:15) *5 songs

This collection of 5 songs, the second movement of the trilogy, is very synth-heavy and even downright pop-ish in places (most namely on the opener and single, “Less Than”), while other songs step things down into quieter reflections based around hopeless meandering on the piano. While the signature NIN-crunch of guitars and industrial beats is still featured throughout, these songs see the narrator looking outward and questioning or blaming others for various frustrations and disappointments, perhaps within the context of romantic or family relationships, rather than the inward self-blame contained in the songs in the first movement. The mid-tempo, “The Lovers” moves by without making much of a lasting impression but blends well into “This Isn’t the Place”, which is even slower and has few lyrics. “Not Anymore” is the rocker here and is distorted throughout, though its verses are still mixed quietly compared to the overdrive of the chorus, which makes those some of the strongest moments of the EP. The closer, “The Background World”, would fit right onto side two of Year Zero or even The Slip, and it returns to the mid-tempo beats of the second and third tracks. The noteworthy thing about the last song in this movement is how it changes from a traditional song into an arty sound loop at about the 4 minute mark. The track, however, is nearly 12 minutes long, meaning the final 8 minutes of the EP is a loop of the same 10-second segment of music, but each time it repeats, it distorts a bit more. While this would normally not present much of an issue to the listener who could easily fade the song out early or turn it off once the loop begins, if you are listening to all three EPs as one piece, this section of music sort of takes you out of it due to its severe repetition. Then again, perhaps it serves as a built-in intermission or sort of a palate-cleanser before the conclusion found on the next release.

Bad Witch (2018 – 30:15) *6 songs

The third and final movement in the series contains moody blends of different types of dark music, some traditional within the industrial/metal/alternative world, and others more atmospheric, experimental, and even jazz-based. Bad Witch has lots of space and breathing room compared to the first two movements. This sort of adventurous song-writing and studio experimentation leads to material that sounds the least-like what the NIN audience might expect, which is what makes it the most-interesting of the three EP releases. The opener, “Shit Mirror”, is the most traditionally NIN in style and rocks over distorted bass, guitar, and synth.  “Ahead of Ourselves” features a hypnotic beat loop under affected, multi-layered vocals and a dynamic loud/quiet/loud production on the choruses. “Play the Goddamned Part”, an instrumental that appears around the mid-way point of this movement, introduces the first elements of musical experimentation, including Reznor’s layered saxophone riffing, a talent just now appearing on an official NIN release for the first time (after nearly 30 years of recordings). This track unsurprisingly recalls the vibe of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and his many other haunted works, and Reznor appeared in performance on that show’s most recent season. The EP’s second half really takes off as the theme finally concludes by building on gazing outward but now beyond the literal reality or possibly into the future. The single, “God Break Down the Door” instantly recalls the legendary vocal delivery of David Bowie, one of Reznor’s biggest musical inspirations, and a close, personal friend, who almost seems to appear as a guest via some sort of vocal possession over Reznor. This track, or the final track on this EP, would not be out of place on Bowie’s final album, 2016’s Blackstar. As the song builds, it eventually develops into a more-traditional NIN song, but we take a hard left turn back into a spacey and progressively-noisy instrumental called, “I’m Not from This World”, possibly continuing references to the existence of and communication with alien life explored on parts of Year Zero and The Slip. Where the redundant looping at the end of “The Background World” takes away from the ending of Add Violence, listeners can easily get lost in the changes and textures of “I’m Not from This World” to the point where it’s change over into the final track of the whole trilogy, “Over and Out”, is a bit of an unexpected startle. Even then, shortly after it begins, the closing number grows, changes, and mutates over the course of the closing 8 minutes of the EP, this time recalling Bowie even more noticeably, or even Scott Weiland’s David Bowie-esque delivery, which sounds both surprising and impressive coming from Reznor, who has certainly developed his own signature vocal style and sound over many years. One of the concluding thoughts delivered in the lyrics says, “I’ve always been 10 years ahead of you”, seemingly breaking the concept wall to speak directly to fans or listeners in the first person, and allowing longtime NIN followers to consider their releases of 10 (or 20 or 30) years ago and to compare and contrast them with both this new material and with the events of recent history and of the listener’s own life experiences. It’s almost as though this dense, multi-layered EP trilogy looks backward while simultaneously looking forward, referencing and sometimes regretting events and experiences of the past while making dire predictions about a possible future. 

While these songs and EPs can certainly be enjoyed and appreciated individually, it’s clear that Reznor and Ross put a great deal of time and effort into constructing and presenting the material as they did, all of which is a big reward to listeners who have the attention span and the time to devote to getting lost in an arc or cycle of tones and songs.  If you don’t already know and like Nine Inch Nails, this EP series is probably not the best place to start, but for even the lightly-initiated or curious listener, there’s bound to be at least a few songs for almost anyone among these 16 tracks, and most NIN fans will feel comfortable at first and open-minded enough to hang on tight and enjoy the ride as the experimental elements are gradually worked into the progression. While it may not be NIN’s best work as a whole, it is probably the best NIN output within the last 10 years, and it’s interesting to hear what the project sounds like, and feels like, after 30 years; the current version is just about as bleak as ever.  Maybe modern life has finally caught up with NIN.

Jack White Rocks and Wraps Lollapalooza

The annual Lollapalooza music festival just wrapped up after four days of music, overpriced food, and a healthy dose of both legal and illegal inebriation, in Chicago’s Grant Park, where it has been held since 2005. For the past 5 years or so, the festival’s bookings have varied a bit and have begun to lean toward a “teens and twenties” crowd. The festival that began as the ultimate gathering in alternative music features fewer rock bands and classic groups from the ‘80s and ‘90s and instead continues to bring in vast amounts of EDM, pop-alternative, indie groups, and occasional legacy acts. Artists who ride the lines between those categories are often the biggest draws, and Bruno Mars, Vampire Weekend, Arctic Monkeys, and The Weeknd were some of the notable closers on the main stages throughout the festival.  Having said that, a Sunday night closing set from Jack White and his tight backing band really stood out in the best possible way compared to the other performances over the four days.

Closing a major festival like Lollapalooza is a big slot for a band or artist to fill.  Thankfully, Detroit native, Jack White, was up to the task. White and his current touring band have been on the road since March, around the time his third and most recent solo LP, Boarding House Reach, was released, performing in both Detroit and Grand Rapids in April. White’s current shows have been running around or just under two hours, so with only 90 minutes blocked off on the festival schedule, it was clear the goal was to keep things at a high-energy, faced-paced tempo throughout the show. With no encore break, very little banter between songs, and perhaps skipping one or two of the newer songs he may have otherwise included, White was able to condense his show without losing any of the elements that have made his recent performances so noteworthy. Aside from working in a great deal more synthesizer and keyboard than on previous tours, White continues to mix up the songs performed each night, and he still avoids writing a set list rather preferring to rely on the feeling he gets from the crowd during the show to determine what song should be played next.

The set began with a short but rocking jam featuring all six members of the band before they launched into “Over and Over and Over”, which they had been opening most shows with on the current tour, but only recently has the opening jam been added, allowing the song itself to fit a bit better as an opening number rather than starting the song cold as it appears on the album. Once the band took off, the energy remained high and constant throughout the show. With the stage bathed in pale blue light, as it has been since White went solo about six years ago, the group tore through classics and fan favorites including songs from The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather, White’s other groups, but only songs he wrote himself were featured Sunday night. “Hotel Yorba”, “Sixteen Saltines”, “I Cut Like a Buffalo” and “Steady, as She Goes” each garnered a strong response from the crowd and were performed a bit faster than usual, possibly to allow for a few more songs to fit into the allotted time.   During two of the early songs in the night, White played his St. Vincent signature model HHH guitar, which was coincidentally appropriate as St. Vincent herself performed on the same stage the previous evening. During the funky psychedelia of “Corporation”, White improvised that he was, “Thinking about taking it right to the top/right to the motherfucking White House!!!”, which was notable as White seldom makes public political comments or includes profanity during his concerts.

Overall, White’s band was tighter and in better shape compared to the early shows on the tour, and it’s clear they’ve found a common groove with one another as players while they interpret White’s songs alongside him. Veteran bassist, Dominic Davis (also a Detroit native), and drummer, Carla Azar (also of the group, Autolux), were especially impressive for keeping up with White’s unexpected changes and various equipment issues that came and went throughout the concert. While the music itself was very crisp and often spot on across the stage, White’s lyrics can sometimes get buried in the mix, so if you aren’t already up on them, it’s hard to catch parts of some songs. White continued to make use of his three-pronged microphone stand and utilized various vocal effects during certain songs, bringing an additional far out element to the multilayered sounds of the selected tunes. As the night began to draw to a close, White focused exclusively on some of his most popular work with The White Stripes and ended the concert with “Fell in Love with a Girl”, “Ball and Biscuit”, and “Seven Nation Army”, each of which had memorable if not unexpected moments. “Fell in Love with a Girl”, White’s earliest real hit as a songwriter or performer in any band, changed speeds and styles throughout, catching the audience, and even the band, off guard a few times as they attempted to sing and play along with White, who broke a string during but soldiered on through “Ball and Biscuit” after switching guitars half-way through. Switching yet again to his trusty slide guitar for the closing number, which the audience began chanting before the concert began and again as soon as White played the first few notes, the energy from the crowd finally peaked. The comical frustration, however, continued when White broke another string on his guitar during “Seven Nation Army” as well, and he alternated between playing in a higher octave (to the delight of the band) and leading the audience to chant the main riff during the final verse rather than attempting to play it without the necessary string. Of course, this ended up being the highlight moment of the concert because the song still worked out and maybe sounded even better than it would have otherwise because of the unique elements and in-the-moment changes that needed to be made.  Then again, that’s the kind of thing that drives White and his live performances the most. A well-rocked crowd gave White and the band a lengthy ovation as they took their final bow and exited the stage, and another year of the legendary Lollapalooza came to a close.

Jack White set list (Chicago, IL 8-5-18)

(intro tape/jam)

Over and Over and Over

Corporation

Hotel Yorba

Cannon (portion)

Sixteen Saltines

I’m Slowly Turning into You

(short jam)

I Cut Like a Buffalo

We’re Going to Be Friends

Love Interruption

Respect Commander

Steady, as She Goes

Icky Thump

You’ve Got Her in Your Pocket

Connected by Love

Catch Hell Blues

Broken Boy Soldier (portion)

Freedom at 21

Fell in Love with a Girl

Ball and Biscuit

Seven Nation Army

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Pearl Jam’s “Secret” Unplugged Album

When Pearl Jam performed on MTV’s classic acoustic live music series, Unplugged, the grunge legends began to establish themselves as a rock band to be taken seriously and that they were more than a one or two-hit wonder. Many still claim this was one of the group’s best shows and that its versions of “Black”, “Alive”, and “Even Flow” are among the best ever performed.  While this is debatable, it’s clear that appearing on that particular TV show made a significant impression on the band’s fans and casual viewers alike. In spite of the strength of that short but powerfully-engaging concert from 1992, it’s easy to forget that Pearl Jam had only released one album at that point in time, 1991’s Ten, so all of the songs they played that night were from that album or a song related to it. Having now been actively releasing original material for over 25 years, one could suggest it may be interesting to hear acoustic arrangements of tracks from the band’s many other records, especially since so many of their songs lend themselves so well to being re-imagined in that style.

By 2003, Pearl Jam had released 7 albums and had built a varied and respectable catalog of radio hits, deep cuts, cover songs, and fan-favorite b-sides.  Following the U.S. tour for their most recent album at the time, 2002’s Riot Act, the group partnered with YouthCare, a Seattle-based charity that focuses on helping homeless youths in the area, to stage a fundraising performance in the band’s home town.  Rather than performing at a larger venue, like Key Arena, or even one of Seattle’s many famous rock clubs, the concert was given at Benaroya Hall, a venue known for its magnificent acoustics and one that does not often feature rock music. Considering these qualities, the band decided to perform a full-length acoustic show, in the style of that famous MTV performance, but now featuring songs from several albums, along with a few new cover songs worked up for the occasion. Each player’s talent and musical skills shine through, especially at a lower volume and without distortion and reverb to cover missed or bad notes. With the exception of guitarist Mike McCreedy, who still plays a few songs with an electric to cover leads and solos that would otherwise make parts of songs sound a bit hollow, the rest of the group plays acoustic instruments exclusively throughout the 2 hour, 10 minute concert.

While listeners and concert goers were treated to another intimate performance of “Black”, the band seemed to almost intentionally avoid featuring material from the first album era, as it had already been covered on the original MTV appearance. Instead, highlights of mid-tempo songs and ballads from the group’s other albums received a focused and careful presentation. Songs that were newer at the time, such as “Thumbing My Way”, “Man of the Hour”, “All or None”, “Down”, and “Can’t Keep” , fit right in next to radio singles and fan favorites like “Thin Air”, “Immortality”, “Off He Goes”, and “Daughter”.  While the song selection doesn’t take too many risks, such as slowing down or re-writing faster or heavier numbers, the inclusion of some of Pearl Jam’s most beloved cover songs, including tunes by The Ramones, Bob Dylan, Victoria Williams, and Johnny Cash, make this concert a treat for fans and for casual listeners alike. Singer/guitarist, Eddie Vedder, commands the stage and engages the audience throughout with a consistent performance and with comical anecdotes between some of the songs, and drummer, Matt Cameron, plays with restraint to lower the volume without sacrificing technical elements of his execution. Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, on guitar and bass respectively, are no strangers to working in acoustic instruments during any Pearl Jam concert or album recording, but to hear them work exclusively with the acoustic sound and style for the duration of an entire concert is rare in the band’s history, even for the hardcore bootleg collectors. The addition of organist, Boom Gaspar, about a year before this concert occurred, added yet another element to these songs and arrangements throughout.

As the members of the group were happy with the sound on the recording of the concert, and since the style of the show was so unique compared to most of the band’s other concert recordings, the decision was made to release the concert for purchase on a wide scale rather than just through Pearl Jam’s official bootleg series.  The show was made available as a CD, sold online and in stores, and as a limited edition vinyl box set which sold out almost immediately via the band’s official website. Sales of these releases continued to benefit YouthCare, with part of the proceeds of sales going directly to the charity. In that sense, those who actually attended the concert contributed by purchasing tickets, and those who buy a copy of the album keep the contributions coming in to help the kids with whom the organization works.

While Live at Benaroya Hall is not a well-known Pearl Jam album, when paired with their original MTV Unplugged appearance, fans can enjoy an extended, well-rounded trip through the band’s first 13 years in the form of these special, acoustic arrangements. If you consider yourself a fan but have not heard these concerts, it is safe to say you will love them, and even if you aren’t the biggest Pearl Jam fan, or know very little about their work, you may become a fan after hearing these excellent performances.

Stream the original MTV Unplugged concert (3-16-92, New York City) here.

Stream Live at Benaroya Hall (10-22-03, Seattle) here. 

(or watch a nice fan-made composite of official audio + bootleg video of the concert here.)