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 3rd show from the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre Arena in Glasgow finds the band playing in the town for the first time in eight years, and from the reaction of the crowd, the wait was worth it. The cosmic "Nothing As it Seems" teams nicely with the soaring "Given to Fly," and the paired "Untitled" and "MFC" work even better. In hindsight, a moment in "Given to Fly" when lead singer Eddie Vedder stops the song to see if a group of people crushed in the front of the stage is coldly eerie. The fans in Glasgow were unhurt, but in less than a month nine concertgoers at Copenhagen's Roskilde Festival would lose their lives in a similar situation. On this night, all is celebratory as the crowd rips through "Even Flow" (a great version) and "State of Love and Trust," rounding out the first disc. The crowd lovingly sings along with "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" and their version of J. Frank Wilson & the Cavaliers' "Last Kiss." After a loose version of "Once," Vedder acknowledges a debt to Mike Scott of the Waterboys (and does a humorous impression of the Edinburgh-born singer) before running through his precious ukulele-only "Soon Forget." The final encore of "Yellow Ledbetter" includes guitarist Mike McCready's tribute to Eddie Van Halen with a "Cathedral"-styled riff thrown in for good measure. All in all, a good show and a fine recording. ~ Zac Johnson, AMG

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