11/6/00: Seattle, Washington - Pearl Jam (CD 2001)

After touring the planet, specifically Europe and the United States, Pearl Jam decided to give fans something they have always wanted: full, complete CD s from EVERY European and US tour dates. For fans who love bootlegs, this is a Godsend, as many of these recordings can be quite costly (up to $50.00 or more), if bought on the black market , which would basically be Ebay. So, after all the touring was complete, the band wound up releasing a whopping 72 double CD s, recorded directly from the soundboard, and then mixed by Brett Eliason.

Unlike many commercial releases, the Pearl Jam Official Bootlegs, as they are known, don t feature many touchups or production fixes. Basically, the mixes are cleaned up and fixes are kept at a bare minimum to preserve the vibe of the live shows. As for the CD packaging, all 72 of the discs are packaged in a simple, cardboard sleave, with no linear notes of any kind, which keeps the cost of these Bootlegs affordable, as the average price is about $12.99. Considering that you are getting well over two hours (and in some cases, three) of music, this is a bargain for any music fan.

As I plan to review many of these CD s, I ve devised a bit of a rating system, (with the title of the rating coming from a Pearl Jam song), and while I won t cover each track, this will give readers plenty of information about the CD, so they can decide which one (or ones, if you are me), of the 72 discs that are worth purchasing:

Pearl Gems - Unique and high points of the shows. This would also include the many extended jams that the band plays, as many of the songs reach up to eight minutes.
Off He Goes - Rants or rambles by frontman Eddie Vedder.
Wishlist - Sure, everyone wants to know if the hits are played or left out for rarities, and this will let you know.
Parting Ways - The crowd and how well they reacted to the songs and shows.
Soon Forget - Low points of the show, band, or music.


Okay, so onto the review.

Show: - Seattle, WA (Mercer Arena)
Date: - 11/6/2000
Disc Number: 72

The 11/6/200 Seattle show is particularly significant, is it was the LAST show of the 2000 tour. Appropriately enough, it was in Pearl Jam s hometown of Seattle, Washington at the Mercer Arena. While nearly all (correct me if I am wrong), of the Bootleg CD s were two discs, the Seattle show is a three disc set, containing 168 minutes of music, which is a real gift to the fans of not only the band, but Seattle especially.

As for the show, it is one of, if not the best of the 72 bootlegs, as it is such an emotional show, for both the band and the audience. After 72 shows, the band is a well-oiled machine, running on all eight cylinders and the vibe during this show is really good, and it is obvious that both the band and the audience is enjoying themselves immensely.


-DISK 1-

RELEASE
CORDUROY
GRIEVANCE
RVM
HAIL, HAIL
EVACUATION
DISSIDENT
NOTHING AS IT SEEMS
IN HIDING
LEATHERMAN
BETTER MAN
NOTHINGMAN


-DISK 2-
------------
EVEN FLOW
JEREMY
LUKIN
NOT FOR YOU
DAUGHTER
ENCORE BREAK
OFF HE GOES
THIN AIR
PARTING WAYS
GO
ONCE
PORCH
PARTING WAYS
YELLOW LEDBETTER


-DISC 3-
------------
CRAZY MARY
IMMORTALITY
ALIVE
SOON FORGET
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
BABA O'RILEY
YELLOW LEDBETTER

Pearl Gems - The band goes into an extended version of Daughter as well as Alive , which both sound great, and this marked the first time that "Alive" was played for the first time since the tragedy in Denmark, when nine fans where crushed to death while the band played.

Off He Goes - It isn t until the end of seventh track, Dissident , that Eddie even speaks to the crowd, as the band continually fires song after song at them. During the show, Eddie tells the crowd that they are they are the better of the two Seattle shows (as there had been one the previous night), while not meaning to insult Stone Gossard s parents, who were there the previous night. He also speaks to security, saying: hey, could you yellow coats just let everyone enjoy the show, we re all here to enjoy things . Finally, he thanks the Red Hot Chilli Peppers for opening the show and drummer Matt Cameron, for helping the band out after previous drummer Jack Irons quit.

Alive - Well, this could easily be all three CD s as they are all equally good. The Man Trio (Leatherman, Better Man, Nothingman) are included here, along with a great version of Daughter which stretches into nearly nine minutes and includes a the audience singing with much of the song (as they do with nearly every song). During this song, Eddie sings over and over: Sometimes you just need someone, to say it s okay, which brings the song to an even higher level with these added words.

Even Flow , Jeremy , and Go are also there. There is also The Who s Baba O Riley along with a haunting cover of Crazy Mary . It would have been really nice if they would have played Crown of Thorns or State of Love and Trust , but given the fact that there were well over 30 song played, they had to stop somewhere.

Parting Ways - The crowd, as you can guess, was like no other given that Eddie Vedder tells them: Hello Seattle, this is it. One last show and we will never play again , and then adds, at least for a while . Throughout the entire show, Eddie gets the crowd to sing with him on many of the tracks. Better Man , Nothingman , Daughter , and Baba O Riley almost sound like Eddie is leading a religious movement. The crowd is full of energy and the band responds by putting on a great show musically, by playing extended versions or added bars of just about every song.

Soon Forget - Yeah right. This final show in Seattle could have easily been a four CD set. With the vibe, songs, vocals, and music that this show contains, there is absolutely nothing bad about it.


Overall Thoughts - As I previously stated, if you are going to get just one of the Pearl Jam Bootleg CD s, this one would probably be the ideal one, as there is such a huge set list. Each of the songs, whether it was a hit or a B-side has it s own magic, and is sure to move you in some way, and despite the fact that it is higher priced than the other Bootlegs, it is a $16.99 that will be well spent. Finally, I highly advise the listening of this or any of the Bootleg CD's to be done using headphones, if you want to really experience the music to the fullest.

As always, thanks for reading!