“Scientists have studied the universe, and they discovered that it’s about 15 billion years old,” says Ed Vedder, lead vocalist for Pearl Jam. “So by comparison, this song ain’t so old.”

The band immediately launch into “Breath”, a song recorded in the earliest days of their career, and released only on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe’s film, Singles. They have only performed it live less than a dozen times in their twelve-year career. Yet the song tears the house down, with fans cheering and screaming. Two girls even hug each other in their ecstatic bliss. The fans in attendance at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, on 20th February, 2003, have experienced something truly rare and unique.

Moments later, guitarist Stone Gossard plays the acoustic tones that make the main riff for another rare gem, “Footsteps.” Also an uncommon live song, “Footsteps” only ever saw its original release as a b-side to their massively popular song, “Jeremy”. Not that the crowd minds; no, they cheer and sing along with aplomb, welcoming this uncommon treasure.

After two more songs, Vedder calls for the house-lights, and guitarist Mike McCready plays the Hendrix-inspired chords to “Yellow Ledbetter”. The crowd give rapturous applause and cheers. The concert ends with McCready’s improvised, unaccompanied solo, fading into deafening cheers of appreciation. The song – McCready’s tribute to Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” – is another b-side; in fact, it’s the other b-side to be found on the “Jeremy” single.

This coincidence is not on purpose, however. In fact, it stands as a testament to Pearl Jam’s resolve to provide a unique, singular experience with every show. Indeed, for all but the earliest days of their career, Pearl Jam have never played the same show twice.

“Thoughts arrive like butterflies”

Perhaps the most enduring thing about Pearl Jam is that they live up to their name. Whilst the ‘Pearl’ portion can only be fulfilled with conjecture, this is a band that certainly does jam. Old favourites “Even Flow”, “Porch” and “Rearviewmirror” have their middle sections extended considerably, to make way for improvised soloing or unmitigated jamming. Also, innumerable songs have their outros lengthened for the same reasons, including "Black", "Corduroy", "Wishlist" and "Immortality". The results are always different, with each band member playing to suit their current moods and feelings, but never demanding the spotlight.

Adding to the singular nature of their shows is Vedder’s constant improvisation. A well-known staple of the Pearl Jam concert is the Daughter Tag. At the end of the huge radio hit, “Daughter” (from 1993’s Vs album), the band jam out the final chords while Vedder plucks additional lyrics out of the air. These usually take the form of popular songs by other artists. Examples include Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (part II)”, Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike”,* Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind”, Split Enz’ “Stuff and Nonsense”, Madonna’s “Ray of Light”, John Lennon’s “Mother”, The Beatles’ “Come Together”, Edwin Starr’s “War”, and many more. As if that weren’t enough, often Ed will sing a line or two from other Pearl Jam songs (such as “WMA” or “Push Me, Pull Me”), or even just improvise on the spot.

To this end, Pearl Jam have carved a reputation for being a great live act. So much so that, in an interview in the December 2002 issue of Guitar World, McCready is quoted as saying, “I like our band better live than on record.”

Beating the Bootleggers

It appears that Pearl Jam really do like their live sound, too. In a bold move, the band recorded all of their shows from the European and American legs of their 2000 tour, and released them all as live double-CD ‘bootlegs’. The basic reason for this was that the band wanted to beat the bootleggers; to ensure that quality recordings of every show were available at a respectable price (generally US$10 per show).

For their 2003 tour, the band upped the ante quite considerably. While the deal is still more or less the same, this time around, fans were given the opportunity to pre-order the shows. Consequently, the buyer would be emailed a link that would allow them to download unmastered mp3 files of the show. These files would be made available to the buyers the day after the show. Then, the fully-mastered CD would be sent to the buyer’s house less than a week later.

“I’m going to say something that’s typically me...”

Any concertgoer at any given Pearl Jam show can also expect one or two speeches from the often-opinionated Vedder. In the US leg of their 2000 tour, Vedder would urge people to vote, and hint at his opinions on then-presidential candidate George W Bush. He was far more vocal in the Australian leg of the 2003 tour, donning a George W Bush mask and glittery jacket, dancing around the stage like some sort of televangelist. He encouraged the audiences to take part in the anti-war protests that took place on 16th February 2003 throughout the world, and after the protests, lauded everyone for their attendance.

Vedder also took the time to speak up on behalf of his hero and friend, Pete Townshend of The Who. Weeks earlier, Townshend had been arrested for having child pornography on his computer. Vedder pointed out the irony that Townshend had in fact been accused of the very thing he was seeking to expose, and the media blew the story out of all proportion.

To choose the best example of a typical Ed Vedder speech from a concert would be a ludicrous task, but perhaps it is possible to select one that encapsulates everything the band stands for, both musically and politically. The following is taken from the November 6, 2000 show in Seattle, Washington, which was the final show of their 2000 tour:

Staying on the subject of kids, the band follow up with The Who’s “The Kids Are Alright”. In a rare double, they then play The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”, a song that the Pearl Jam fan community has embraced, singing along as if it were a Pearl Jam hit. They close the show on “Yellow Ledbetter”, and during McCready’s unaccompanied outro, he plays an impromptu instrumental of “Little Wing”.

Maybe Forrest Gump’s mama had it slightly wrong…

Life is like a Pearl Jam concert: you never know what yo’ gonna git.

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Check out the Pearl Jam Concert Chronology at Five Horizons.