PEARL JAM

In a move to beat bootleggers to the punch, Pearl Jam decided to release their 2000 European concert performances in a series of inexpensive double-CD sets. The June 6th show from the Point Theater in Dublin, Ireland, is a fine balance of older and more recent material. The set is full of brash energy, with tour drummer Matt Cameron still feeling his way around the songs. Guitarist Mike McCready's soaring solo in "Nothing As it Seems" fills the venue while the simple "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" seems intimate and warm. During "Daughter" the band drifts in and out of their own "WMA," and the first disc ends with a fiery rendition of "Alive" to the delight of the crowd. The second set begins with a rambling joke from lead singer Eddie Vedder and continues through a flurry of rough and intense songs, finally settling down with the optimistic "Wishlist." The culmination of the evening is the epic "Black," during which Vedder resumes his old habit of scaling the stacks of speakers and stage dives into the willing audience. The set is a little raw, but that is not necessarily a detraction for fans of the band's harsher sounding material. Better shows would follow, but this one is certainly enjoyable. ~ Zac Johnson, AMG

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