Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder Thread

[Tequila Cowboy]

Ok so how is it possible that the only PJ thread we have is for the Anniversary shows last year? Had to rectify that when I saw this:

It looks like life-long Cubs fan Eddie Vedder didn’t take his team’s loss to the White Sox in the Crosstown Classic too hard.

The Pearl Jam rocker partied with former Blackhawk Chris Chelios at Stanley’s Kitchen & Tap in Lincoln Park Sunday after attending the game at Wrigley Field and turned the bar’s famous live band karaoke into an impromptu performance.

It all began when one bar patron opted to sing Pearl Jam’s “Alive.” Vedder joined him on stage and turned the song into the duet, much to the delight of half the bar. I hear the other half of the bar was too in the bag to realize what was happening.

The Evanston native sang around five songs, including The Band's "The Weight" and The Who’s "Baba O'Riley" (aka “Teenage Wasteland”). He took a break afterward but would return to join another patron who was struggling through his respective song.

This wasn’t Vedder’s first time giving an impromptu performance after a Cubs game. Vedder unexpectedly performed at Murphy’s Bleachers in Wrigleyville last July following a game between the Cubs and San Francisco Giants.

I guess hanging out in bars occasionally pays off. Of course I never do but damn I would have liked to have been there for this one.

[beantownbubba]

Are u kidding me??? Can u imagine being that guy singing "Alive"?? He'll be dining out (and drinking, I imagine) on that one for the next 20 years, at least.

[Duke Silver]

Are u kidding me??? Can u imagine being that guy singing "Alive"?? He'll be dining out (and drinking, I imagine) on that one for the next 20 years, at least.

The identity of that guy? Scott Stapp from Creed.

[Penny Lane]

Are u kidding me??? Can u imagine being that guy singing "Alive"?? He'll be dining out (and drinking, I imagine) on that one for the next 20 years, at least.

The identity of that guy? Scott Stapp from Creed.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

A friend of mine that lives in Portland had the good fortune of being at this show.

R.E.M., Vedder surprise crowd at Croc
By Tom Scanlon
Seattle Times staff reporter

You just never know what's going to happen in this crazy world. ...

With rumors of surprise guests Tuesday night at a Crocodile Cafe benefit, the astute and/or well-connected might have guessed who they would be. But no one — not even Miss Cleo — could have predicted how the night would end: with Eddie Vedder and Michael Stipe swing dancing.

Only about 300 people made it into the Belltown club to see this odd, gleeful sight; they also had the rare enjoyment of hearing a couple of arena-rock superstars in a modest setting.

Seattle's the Minus 5, the announced headliners, began the night with a garage-pop set.

Then, Stipe and the rest of R.E.M. took the stage. This was not an enormous surprise, as the Athens, Ga.-based band was in town for the Groundwork 2001 world-hunger benefit the night before. And then there's the fact that R.E.M. guitarist and Seattle resident Peter Buck is married to the Crocodile owner.

A bigger surprise was that R.E.M. would play for nearly two hours, and that Stipe would be in such a playful mood. The bald, frail singer started the night wearing sunglasses and a low-brimmed hat, but soon removed both — symbolically removing any barriers from the crowd, with whom he quickly bonded.

Early on, when someone near the stage kept calling out song titles, Stipe drew laughs by retorting, "We're not a jukebox, OK, buddy?" After a pause, he added, "A few more tequilas, and we might be. ... "

The chatty Stipe later entertained with a story about the last time he was at the Crocodile, a night of drinking after which he woke up wearing a banana suit.

Mostly, though, he sang — and sang and sang. Flanked by Buck and bass player Mike Mills, Stipe led dozens of the band's songs, mostly more obscure, midtempo selections, such as "Cuyahoga." Stipe and company did include a few of the band's radio hits such as "Losing My Religion" and "Man on the Moon," and added a cover of Pearl Jam's "Betterman."

Speaking of Pearl Jam, Vedder occasionally joined R.E.M., first making a spotlight-shunning appearance on the edge of the stage to sing his band's "The Long Road" with Stipe's crew.

Vedder again joined Stipe late in the show, trading vocals on Patti Smith's "People Have the Power." (Many of the songs performed at the Crocodile were a repeat of those performed the previous night at the KeyArena benefit.)

The night's last song was, predictably, R.E.M.'s 1987 hit "It's the End of the World (As We Know It)," with Stipe sounding defiant on each "and I feel fine." Toward the end of this rousing song about hope in the face of chaos, Vedder joined in; Stipe, who by then had put a few cocktails into his thin frame, threw his arm around Vedder as they sang together.

And then, perhaps thinking "Eddie looks so cute with his new haircut," Stipe planted a kiss on Vedder's lips.

Not hesitating, perhaps thinking something along the lines of "This is MY town, Athens boy — I'll lead!," Vedder whipped Stipe across the stage and twisted and twirled his new partner in some artful swing-dance moves.

It was the perfect ending to a delightful night.

[LuthierJustin]

I've ever really liked much Pearl Jam, I like Black, Yellow ledbetter is ok, but I totally respect them and what they do.

[Flying Rabbit]

Love PJ. Their live shows are amazing. I've been a fan since the beginning when I first heard Temple of the Dog. When Ten came out, it was a watershed moment. It was a band that was mine since their inception. Its been interesting watching them over the past 20 years.

I was at the closing of the Spectrum shows and I dunno if I'll ever be to a concert or run of shows that will rival those. So much excitement, so much anticipation. Glad I was able to go and enjoy it with my best friend, who is an even bigger PJ fan.

Never seen EV live though. His ticket prices are absolutely ridiculous, and on the past few tours, you've had to buy a pair--which I would anyway, but it still sucks that he's mandating things like that. The uke record he put out last year was one of my favorites of the year.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I've heard people say they think the quality of their latter day work has really dropped off. We all know that in most cases, a band's earlier work usually stands as their best and is likely to remain unparalleled throughout the course of their career. While that may well be true, I still like much of Pearl Jam's newer stuff, especially the majority (if not all) of their self-titled release (aka Avocado) that came out in 2006. I also loved Immagine in Cornice, a live DVD that also came out in 2006. I just wish they would see fit to return to North Carolina to play some shows. I've only seen them twice. The first time was when they went up against Ticketmaster around the time of No Code. The closest they came to us on that tour was Charleston, SC. Tickets sold out in something like a minute and half so I felt lucky that I was even able to get through on the phone. The only other time I've seen them was on the tour for Yield when they played Walnut Creek in Raleigh with Mudhoney (who I missed) in '98. They haven't played NC since then, at least to my knowledge. Perhaps they didn't get the memo that Jesse Helms died in 2008 so it's cool to come back now.

[Flying Rabbit]

Yeah, I've thought their last few records were really good. I listened the heck out of their s/t and Backspacer. Speaking of, Backspacer songs are amazing live. So much excitement.

[Cubfan06]

Whether touring solo, with Pearl Jam, or whether he's throwing out the first pitch at Wrigley....one thing is always a 100%certainty...Eddie will be at Stanley's late that night...and Cheli will be with him. Eddie is good friends with the owner.

[Duke Silver]

While that may well be true, I still like much of Pearl Jam's newer stuff, especially the majority (if not all) of their self-titled release (aka Avocado) that came out in 2006. I also loved Immagine in Cornice, a live DVD that also came out in 2006.

I love that DVD, and I listen to the Live at the Gorge CD box set quite a bit, too. But I've liked each of their albums a little bit less than the last pretty much since Yield. Backspacer got a giant "MEH" from me. They've pretty much admitted that they have zero incentive to push themselves in the studio these days, and it shows. Eddie's solo stuff is really inspired, though.

[Flying Rabbit]

They've pretty much admitted that they have zero incentive to push themselves in the studio these days, and it shows.

They've ever been a band to go right into the studio and push out something. If you remember, there was a lot of hub bub when Ten was such a huge seller and then it took them 2 years to put out Vs.

Ten (1991)
2 years
Vs. (1993)
1 year
Vitalogy (1994)
2 years
No Code (1996)
2 years
Yield (1998)
2 years
Binaural (2000)
2 years
Riot Act (2002)
4 years
Pearl Jam (2006)
3 years
Backspacer (2009)
2.5 years (and counting)

[Duke Silver]

They've pretty much admitted that they have zero incentive to push themselves in the studio these days, and it shows.

They've ever been a band to go right into the studio and push out something. If you remember, there was a lot of hub bub when Ten was such a huge seller and then it took them 2 years to put out Vs.

Ten (1991)
2 years
Vs. (1993)
1 year
Vitalogy (1994)
2 years
No Code (1996)
2 years
Yield (1998)
2 years
Binaural (2000)
2 years
Riot Act (2002)
4 years
Pearl Jam (2006)
3 years
Backspacer (2009)
2.5 years (and counting)

I meant "push themselves" in terms of ambition. I remember reading a quote from Stone somewhere (might've been the PJ 20 book) where he said something to the effect of they stopped writing musically challenging stuff a while ago because Eddie doesn't see the point in recording songs they're only going to play 3-4 times per tour. That's why the last couple albums have been heavy on the 2-3 minute punk/generic rock songs.

Anyone else make their own re-sequenced (superior) version of Binaural with the songs from Lost Dogs? Oh, what might have been...

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Anyone else make their own re-sequenced (superior) version of Binaural with the songs from Lost Dogs? Oh, what might have been...

I've never done that and only recently read more about the Binaural sessions which revealed lots of stuff I didn't know before but I did think it was incredibly fucking cool that they covered the Silly Surfers' "Gremmie Out of Control" (which appears on Lost Dogs). I figured hardly anyone outside of my family had ever even heard of that band. One of my older brothers had one of their albums, which I'm thinking is the only one they ever released.

[Flying Rabbit]

They've pretty much admitted that they have zero incentive to push themselves in the studio these days, and it shows.

They've ever been a band to go right into the studio and push out something. If you remember, there was a lot of hub bub when Ten was such a huge seller and then it took them 2 years to put out Vs.

*snip*

I meant "push themselves" in terms of ambition. I remember reading a quote from Stone somewhere (might've been the PJ 20 book) where he said something to the effect of they stopped writing musically challenging stuff a while ago because Eddie doesn't see the point in recording songs they're only going to play 3-4 times per tour. That's why the last couple albums have been heavy on the 2-3 minute punk/generic rock songs.

Gotcha. Yeah, I think the band is just really into exploring other avenues right now. As a fan (and maybe I was in the minority), but I'm glad I didn't spend a ton of $ to go to PJ20. It seemed so slapdash and seemed not to be that exciting--especially for a band celebrating 20 years of existence. Meaning, I don't think PJ (the band, business, the machine) is too high on their priority list. They've proven themselves, so its no longer a matter of making in-roads.

[Iowan]

I think that the Self Titled album was great. Very refreshing. It sounded like a band that had a sense of energy that they had lacked for awhile.

Backspacer was a fun album, but just a little too safe. I listened to it a lot when it was released, but rarely do any more. Can't say the same for Self Titled. Love that one. It was the album that made me "get" PJ.

[Duke Silver]

I don't think PJ (the band, business, the machine) is too high on their priority list. They've proven themselves, so its no longer a matter of making in-roads.

Sad but true. I really wish they'd do something drastic like lock themselves in a studio for two months straight (all of them, not just the band minus Eddie) and crank out one more really great, weird album; but that's probably not gonna happen.

[Flying Rabbit]

I don't think PJ (the band, business, the machine) is too high on their priority list. They've proven themselves, so its no longer a matter of making in-roads.

Sad but true. I really wish they'd do something drastic like lock themselves in a studio for two months straight (all of them, not just the band minus Eddie) and crank out one more really great, weird album; but that's probably not gonna happen.

Probably not. They are notorious stingy with their albums too. I have no doubt that they've recorded their next album. Backspacer was supposed to be just the beginning of a wave of things. Nothing has really surfaced since then.

The biggest mess-up as a fan so far has been not buying a bunch of copies of the 10C issued Blu-Ray of PJ20. I scoffed at the $60 or $80 price tag. Yeah, they're routinely going for $500 on ebay now. Sheesh.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

On the Twenty tip, for anyone that missed it, you can watch it on PBS' American Masters website for a limited time.

[Flying Rabbit]

Also, its streaming on Netflix.

[Flood18]

Ok so how is it possible that the only PJ thread we have is for the Anniversary shows last year? Had to rectify that when I saw this:

It looks like life-long Cubs fan Eddie Vedder didn’t take his team’s loss to the White Sox in the Crosstown Classic too hard.

The Pearl Jam rocker partied with former Blackhawk Chris Chelios at Stanley’s Kitchen & Tap in Lincoln Park Sunday after attending the game at Wrigley Field and turned the bar’s famous live band karaoke into an impromptu performance.

It all began when one bar patron opted to sing Pearl Jam’s “Alive.” Vedder joined him on stage and turned the song into the duet, much to the delight of half the bar. I hear the other half of the bar was too in the bag to realize what was happening.

The Evanston native sang around five songs, including The Band's "The Weight" and The Who’s "Baba O'Riley" (aka “Teenage Wasteland”). He took a break afterward but would return to join another patron who was struggling through his respective song.

This wasn’t Vedder’s first time giving an impromptu performance after a Cubs game. Vedder unexpectedly performed at Murphy’s Bleachers in Wrigleyville last July following a game between the Cubs and San Francisco Giants.

I guess hanging out in bars occasionally pays off. Of course I never do but damn I would have liked to have been there for this one.[/quote

http://deadspin.com/5912116/eddie-vedde ... -on-sunday

With video

[Duke Silver]

Anyone else still have about 20-30 of those "official bootlegs" from the Binaural tour? I bought waaay too many of those back in the day.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I love me some Pearl Jam but have never purchased any of the bootleg releases. I have a few of their other live albums though, including that excellent Gorge box set.

[Duke Silver]

Collecting them seemed like a novel idea at the time, but in hindsight maybe 1 or 2 per leg would have sufficed.

[Flying Rabbit]

Collecting them seemed like a novel idea at the time, but in hindsight maybe 1 or 2 per leg would have sufficed.

I've continued to buy 1 or 2 stand-out shows from each of the series. My aforementioned friend has bought pretty much every single one from over the years.

[Bill in CT]

They haven't played NC since then, at least to my knowledge. Perhaps they didn't get the memo that Jesse Helms died in 2008 so it's cool to come back now.

They played in Asheville in 2004. The info below is from the excellent Concert Chronology at http://www.twofeetthick.com

10/06/04 – Civic Arena: Asheville, NC (Vote for Change Tour)
attendance: approx 7,500
support act: Gob Roberts, Death Cab for Cutie
set: Sometimes, Grievance, Corduroy, Hail Hail, Once, Dissident, Even Flow, Daughter/(Blitzkrieg Bop), MFC, U, Not For You, Blood
enc 1 (acoustic): Long Road, Elderly Woman, Sleight Of Hand, Crazy Mary
enc 2: Brain Of J, Do The Evolution, Smile, The New World (w/Tim Robbins), Baba O’Riley
notes: Ed is really sick throughout the show, which explains the lack of a preset solo (along with late arrival to the venue). He’s constantly blowing his nose and sipping tea between songs. Very poor security at this venue (lots of drunk idiots down front that pushed their way to the front without having proper tickets) and crap being thrown on stage. ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ is tagged on ‘Daughter,’ with a “hey, ho, let’s vote” chant. A verse is omitted from ‘MFC.’ The uke was brought out for the acoustic set but not used. Boom doesn’t make his appearance until the acoustic set, inviting a warm welcome from the crowd. Mike goes up by Boom for an extended jam on ‘Crazy Mary.’ During ‘DTE,’ Ed completely skips over the ‘hallelujah’ part leaving Jeff going up to the mic then looking surprised. After the song, Mike just shrugs his shoulders and laughs, while Jeff goes back to the mic to do his part that was skipped over. During ‘Smile,’ Stone puts on a plastic nose that somebody threw on stage, getting some good laughs from the guys. Tim Robbins comes out for ‘The New World’ and throws a bouquet of flowers to the crowd. ‘Soon Forget,’ ‘Masters Of War,’ ‘Glorified G,’ and ‘Indifference’ were on the setlist but not played.

[Bill in CT]

Pearl Jam will play a festival in Philly over Labor Day weekend. I'm up in the air on this one as the only other artist that interests me is X and I was hoping to make it back to Dragon*Con this year.

http://www.madeinamericafest.com/

[Flying Rabbit]

Pearl Jam will play a festival in Philly over Labor Day weekend. I'm up in the air on this one as the only other artist that interests me is X and I was hoping to make it back to Dragon*Con this year.

http://www.madeinamericafest.com/

Saw this. The distinct lack of other bands that I wanna see make this a no go for me.

[Clams]

Pearl Jam will play a festival in Philly over Labor Day weekend. I'm up in the air on this one as the only other artist that interests me is X and I was hoping to make it back to Dragon*Con this year.

http://www.madeinamericafest.com/

Saw this. The distinct lack of other bands that I wanna see make this a no go for me.

This is a new festival being organized by Jay-Z and it's being touted for its diversity. Many of the acts fall into what I'd describe as the urban and electronica categories. Philly's own The Roots have yet to be added though it's rumored that they will be. Pearl Jam seems to be the only rock band as far as I can tell. I think that the diversity of the acts will work against the event. Even if I loved PJ, I'm not sure I'd pay the steep price (min ticket is $99 plus fees) and deal with all the BS that comes with a festival. Hell even if DBT was added, I doubt I'd go.

Here's the event's facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/MadeInAmericaFest

[Flying Rabbit]

Pearl Jam will play a festival in Philly over Labor Day weekend. I'm up in the air on this one as the only other artist that interests me is X and I was hoping to make it back to Dragon*Con this year.

http://www.madeinamericafest.com/

Saw this. The distinct lack of other bands that I wanna see make this a no go for me.

This is a new festival being organized by Jay-Z and it's being touted for its diversity. Many of the acts fall into what I'd describe as the urban and electronica categories. Philly's own The Roots have yet to be added though it's rumored that they will be. Pearl Jam seems to be the only rock band as far as I can tell. I think that the diversity of the acts will work against the event. Even if I loved PJ, I'm not sure I'd pay the steep price (min ticket is $99 plus fees) and deal with all the BS that comes with a festival. Hell even if DBT was added, I doubt I'd go.

Here's the event's facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/MadeInAmericaFest

That's kinda my thing. Also, on the main website I found it odd that PJ had a higher billing than Jay Z. Hmm.