Review: Pearl Jam, Pepsi Center, Denver, April 1, 2003

I overheard this statement sitting at the bar: "I went to a political rally last night and a Pearl Jam concert broke out!" Ed Vedder, lead singer, and crew always live up to their name of rocking hard and taking advantage of stardom to express political opinion. This past Tuesday was no exception. The Pepsi Center was the stage for the opening act of the North American leg of Pearl Jams 2003 concert tour.
The slow opening of “Love Boat Captain” paved the way with anticipation into the ever so hard-hitting “Hail, Hail”. The sound was fantastic throughout the arena and the bands performance was flawless. Perhaps the fact that it was the opening show, they felt as though a bit of extra effort was required. They played a mix of songs from Yield, Ten, Binaural and many from the new album Riot Act. Oddly enough Ticket master was not a target this evening, it was the War in Iraq. Half way through the 1st encore Vedder put on a rubber George Bush mask and started in “Bu$hleaguer”. The crowd was divided on his stance, half going crazy, the other half standing there. Pearl Jam is setting a new standard for recording live venues; they have pioneered a new style that provides for near studio quality. They began recording all of theirs shows in the spring of 2003. If you access their website you can search by date, city, browse set lists and order what you like. Within one week I had a copy of this Denver show. I think it is great because not only do you get the music but also the commentary by the band and the crowd reaction throughout the concert.
These guys have a tremendous ability to play acoustic and slow the tempo down. Ed Vedder’s voice is unmistakable whether he’s screaming “Evolution” or crooning to the ever-popular “Wishlist”. "Black" has always been known as a song with deep rooted personal and emotional trauma and Vedder rarely sang it in concert, I was very surprised to hear “Black” in their encore. Pearl Jam ended the show appropriately; bringing the politically divided crowd back together with Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in a Free World”. It was a fantastic performance, look for this or any of their recent shows on CD at their website.