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Pearl Jam - Live at Benaroya Hall
CD DetailsArtist: Pearl Jam Edition: Music CD Published: 2004 CD Release Date: 2004-07-27 Music Label: Ten Club Soundtracks: Music CD 1- Ofthegirl
- Low Light
- Thumbing My Way
- Thin Air
- Fatal
- Nothing As It Seems
- Man Of The Hour
- Immortality
- Off He Goes
- Around The Bend
- I Believe In Miracles
- Sleight Of Hand
- All Or None
- Lukin
Music CD 2- Parting Ways
- Down
- Can't Keep
- Dead Man
- Masters Of War
- Black
- Crazy Mary
- 25 Minutes To Go
- Daughter
- Yellow Ledbetter
Music reviews of Live at Benaroya HallMusic Review: Un-freaking-believable! Rating: 5 Stars
Every Pearl Jam show is special: with two hour sets being the minimum and flat out performances every time out, this is a band that has defined itself through live performances. Nonetheless, there are some shows that stand out; one might call them the platinum shows of a band that has made gold the standard. Benaroya Hall is undeniably one of those shows; a semi-acoustic set (one can't expect Mike to put away the electric for the whole night, can one?), it is like no other Pearl Jam show. An incredible collection of twenty-six songs, it is a far more sedate performance than one normally gets (with a few notable exceptions), but no less impassioned for it.
The show starts off with a great version of "Of the Girl"; incredibly tight, the guys easily could have turned this into a two hour jam and I don't think anyone would have minded much. Next is "Low Light"; this is such an incredible song that wasn't performed live for long, every performance is unique, but this is probably the best I've heard (and that includes the one I saw live). Ed's voice is simply magisterial and the backing is haunting. "Thumbing My Way" and "Thin Air" are naturals for an acoustic set, and both are beautifully performed, with one slight flub in the latter making the performance all the more intimate.
These standards are followed up by "Fatal" from the "Lost Dogs" compilation. If this performance is any indication, this is going to be an amazing live song, and will hopefully become a regular in the setlist rotation for future tours. Mike goes electric on "Nothing As it Seems", and the result is a great rendition. That's followed up by the first ever performance of "Man of the Hour" and it's superb, even better than the studio version, with Ed's voice again in amazing form.
"Immortality" is one of my personal favorites and this performance is probably the best I've heard, including an incredible solo from Stone (I think, it could be Mike) in the middle. "Off He Goes" is another acoustic standard (with a little electric thrown in), and is beautifully performed. "Around the Bend" is another song that is rarely played live, but the band is nonetheless incredibly tight on this lovely little lullaby. Unique to this version is a lilting little tune played on the piano; I would assume it was played by Boom, but the crowd reaction and the relatively clumsy fingering makes me think it was actually Ed. "I Believe in Miracles" has never been one of my favorite covers (The Ramones) but I have to say the acoustic version was pretty unique and well worth a listen.
I've really never been a fan of "Sleight of Hand" as it's pretty self indulgent and overwrought. Nothing about this performance changes that opinion, but to be fair, it is technically proficient and well performed; fans of the song will definitely appreciate this version. That's followed up by "All or None" which is one of the more overlooked songs from "Riot Act" and which is ideal for a small venue. The performance doesn't disappoint, with superb vocals from Ed, timely keyboards from Boom and an amazing electric solo from Mike. It's reminiscent of the version from Mansfield III, but even better in my opinion. The disc ends with a bit of a shocker, "Lukin", which in spite of a tongue in cheek intro from Stone indicating they would slow it down was torn through at the usual hypersonic speed. Nonetheless, the acoustic guitar backing did make for an interesting change of pace.
The second disc kicks off with "Parting Ways", which doesn't seem like a logical choice for an acoustic set. However, stripped down to its bare bones this song is even more powerful than usual and is one of the highlights of the show, and offers another amazing vocal performance from Ed. "Down" is actually even more fun acoustic, another reviewer likened it to a Tom Petty song and that's a spot on description.
After the encore break there are two solo offerings from Ed: "Can't Keep" and "Dead Man". "Can't Keep" is one of my favorites from "Riot Act" and this acoustic/solo version is incredible; in addition to solid singing it features some pretty nifty fingering on the guitar. There's no arguing that "Dead Man" is an incredible song, but this version is much better than the studio release because Ed is singing at a level that can actually be heard by humans and, again, his guitar playing is excellent.
Next the full band returns for an absolutely scorching version of Bon Dylan's "Masters of War". Spot on and incredibly intense, this is another highlight of the show. "Black" is likewise intense and Ed's voice really soars; he also has the crowd sing the last verse and they do an amazing job of belting it out - very reminiscent of State College. This is followed up by two covers The first, "Crazy Mary", is familiar to even the most passing Pearl Jam fan, and one which they have really made their own, although Boom's amazing solos at the end have definitely added some punch to it. The second is a Johnny Cash song, "25 Minutes to Go". I've never heard the original, so I can't comment on how it differs from Cash's version, but I can say Ed does a pretty good Cash, and the song is a pretty amazing up-tempo tune that captures all of Cash's subtle humor.
The show ends with an extended version of "Daughter" that includes snippets from "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by the Beatles and "It's OK" by Dead Moon. Things wrap up in fairly typical fashion with the always outstanding "Yellow Ledbetter".
Put simply, this is a must have for the serious fan, but also introduces a whole news aspect of Pearl Jam to the more casual fan. A simply amazing show!
Jake Mohlman
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