Live On 4 Legs: Pearl Jam Podcast

Eddie Vedder once called Chicago's Wrigley Field the "crown jewel of planet Earth" during their first performance there in 2013. 13 years and seven shows later, Wrigley has been a staple of the touring circuit, and a pilgrimage for many fans to experience the band in the ballpark of Ed's favorite baseball team. At one point, it felt like a once in a lifetime experience, but as the years went on and the demand grew, the friendly confines and Pearl Jam would be connected in a plethora of ways including the Let's Play Two documentary chronicling the band's shows and Cubs long awaited World Series victory in 2016.

This episode was recorded on the Live On 4 Legs summer baseball trip where Wrigley Field was of course one of the main destinations. This was also recorded in a hotel room with horrible service, so please mind all of the technical difficulties entrenched in the episode. The five of us spend time breaking down the setlist as well as the history of Wrigley Field shows, which will lead to a difficult, yet interesting conversation - has the aura of the ballpark shows been lost? This was the first instance where Wrigley shows were smack dab in the middle of a tour, which meant they didn't have the same spectacle type atmosphere as they had in the past. Add to the fact that the setlists may not be considered to have that same special identity that ones in the past have had, but it does feature memorable moments such as an early set Porch, Better Man with a Save It For Later tag reminiscent of Ed's solo version, Dark Matter with the Scared Of Fear intro and a dedication to Wrigleyville legend, Beth Murphy.

This episode was also recorded 3 days before the untimely death of Glen Hansard. What you'll hear in this episode is a pure honor of the man while he was still with us on this planet, as his moments with Falling Slowly and Smile feel more surreal with recent hindsight.

Visit the Concertpedia - http://liveon4legs.com

Contact the Show - liveon4legspodcast@gmail.com

Donate to the Show - http://patreon.com/liveon4legs

Pearl Jam kicked off their 2023 tour in St. Paul, Minnesota, a place that they hadn't played in nine years. Many people will remember the 2014 show for having unfortunate timing being sandwiched in between legendary full album shows that took place in Moline and Milwaukee, but Minnesota has had a great history with this band and these first two shows are proof that there's no lack of big moments taking place in the Twin Cities. After a few very welcome surprises on night one, night two was set up to have big shoes to fill, and we'll break it all down here in this episode.

This show is filled with great moments, and as Ed would state, the theme of the night would revolve around friends. They had plenty of friends in the crowd as the Minnesotans brought their A-game singing loudly on songs like Pendulum, Daughter, Corduroy and a very heartfelt tribute for I Won't Back Down. This show is also a rare "touch 'em all" show where all eleven studio albums out at that time were represented on the setlist, including some that rarely get busted out like Nothing As It Seems, Severed Hand and what will likely be the final appearance of Take The Long Way. But when in Minnesota, there's no better way to play up to the local crowd than to pay tribute to their most prized hometown artist - Prince.

Along with the full rundown of the show, we will spend time eulogizing the late Glen Hansard and discuss his impact on the Pearl Jam community as well as the entire music community as a whole.

Visit The Concertpedia - http://liveon4legs.com

Contact The Show - liveon4legspodcast@gmail.com

Donate to the Show - http://patreon.com/liveon4legs

After their entire Gigaton tour was postponed in 2020, 2022 was finally time where the band felt like it was safe to travel with precautions as we slowly found our way out of the Covid global pandemic. In taking this chance proved risks with a major downside - key players in the band and crew could be exposed to the illness. Unfortunately, that's what happened on the west coast as Matt Cameron had to miss three shows, and once Jeff Ament went down, the band had to pull the plug on two shows in Sacramento and Las Vegas. Then on the European tour, nearby wildfires in France effected Ed's ability to sing which meant three of those shows were also canceled. But the final leg in September thankfully went to plan, and this show in Denver was the final night of a tumultuous, yet rewarding year.

In this episode, we'll discuss some of the on the fly changes that the band dealt with at the time regarding setlist structure, staying within a bubble and utilizing more breaks for Ed to take time to rest. This show has a lot of great key elements that you love from tour closers, big singalongs, strong explosive performances from the best songs in your catalog, and a little bit of reflection on what this year has meant to the band. This one is especially more celebrated because of the trials and tribulations that took them through the bumpy ride of the year. But a chapter was closed in the best way possible - giving the fans a show to never forget.

Also, we'll chat about social distancing concerts in 2020, a killer Interstellar Overdrive intro and an impressive 20-song main set in the rocky mountain altitude.

Visit the Concertpedia - http://liveon4legs.com

Contact the Show - liveon4legspodcast@gmail.com

Donate to the Show - http://patreon.com/liveon4legs

2020 was supposed to be a massive year for Pearl Jam. With the release of their first record in seven years, they were set to do a massive world tour to promote the album, however, a global pandemic threw a wrench in their plans and everything was pushed back. While Covid-19 was still prominent in 2021, Pearl Jam decided to go forth with four outdoor festival shows to ease back into the concert experience. Eddie Vedder's Ohana Festival added an additional weekend dubbed Ohana Encore where Pearl Jam headlined both nights.

It was a return to normalcy at a time where everyone was looking for concerts to ease some of the struggle of feeling isolated during the pandemic. And it was the first time where Pearl Jam was able to showcase the songs from Gigaton that helped the fans get through the Covid years. With the beautiful beach atmosphere and the music traveling through the air, for two nights in Dana Point, California, fans could forget about the stress of quarantines and pandemics and just enjoy the pure sensation of live music. New songs, old songs, borrowed songs and heck even some forgotten songs were played as the many in attendance basked in something that was dearly missed.

We'll have a lot to talk about in this show including how Gigaton was viewed a year and a half after the record, discussions of doing a podcast during Covid and what moments earn the "holy shit" moniker, and is Sweet Lew one of them?

Visit the Concertpedia - http://liveon4legs.com

Contact the Show - liveon4legspodcast@gmail.com

Donate to the Show - http://patreon.com/liveon4legs

The Chronology Series this week takes us to 2018, a year with big shows and even bigger storylines. On Pearl Jam's European run in London, Ed played the show with his vocal chords being not even close to his usual standards. He was placed on vocal rest for a few days causing the following show in London to be canceled. While he would come back strong on the rest of the tour, this would be the first of multiple times in the last handful of years where Ed has his share of vocal trouble, leading to song and setlist structure changes that would impact future shows.

The Amsterdam show that we're covering in this episode took place two shows before London, and there are many moments in this show where it was clear that Eddie was not at his best. His range will peak at times, the vocal power would run out of gas and it was not the performance that he is clearly known to bring to the table. There is also the factor that this set had only 27 songs with one encore and lasted about two hours and fifteen minutes. At the time in 2018, that was unfathomable for an arena show to have this outcome, but it would later become the norm in the post-Covid era.

We'll look at those storylines objectively and try to find moments that make this show feel memorable. Songs like Untitled/MFC, 1/2 Full, Inside Job and Rearviewmirror were all hits, so we'll give them their due, and perhaps do the opposite for Can't Deny Me. All of that, and find out what snack Javi irrationally has a hatred for.

Visit the Concertpedia - http://liveon4legs.com

Contact the Show - liveon4legspodcast@gmail.com

Donate to the Show - http://patreon.com/liveon4legs