Pearl Jam – Benaroya Hall October 22nd 2003

This is by far the best live album by Pearl Jam I’ve heard, and that says a lot considering how many of them they’ve released. This particular gig was a one-off charity event; hence, the special one-off performance of semi-acoustic, quiet, seated songs. Everything about this bootleg is special: can you name another show when the band played neither Even Flow nor Alive? Yes, this is one of the those ultra fan oriented shows, when the setlist is composed almost solely of gems, rarities, fan-favorites and deep cuts. And the way they are performed beats everything: the band plays superbly, supernaturally. Vedder’s voice and singing manner is flawless, intense and immaculate, like he really means it. He isn’t the kind of a singer who takes his job too seriously, which often results (or resulted back then) in mixed up lyrics, voice problems, etc. But here we have none of that. This is the performance they have been aspiring to when they started, exactly 13 years before in Off Ramp Seattle. This is their moment of truth as musicians, not just rock stars. And they ed it in flying colors! Each song here is a special moment, performed with quiet ion and an aura of friendship. Fatal, Sleight of Hand, All or None and a dream come true. But the most outstanding of them all is my very favorite Off He Goes. Oh lord, what they have done to this song! They made it better which I never thought was possible. And they did it with charm and modesty which was always one of their biggest strengths.

This bootleg is a Pearl Jam fan wildest dream come true. No other way of saying it.

On another note, the sound quality here is magnificent. It’s just better than others, simple stupid. Not sure if that’s the sound engineer job done perfectly or was it the famous acoustics of Benaroya Hall; whatever it was, it worked superbly and resulted in pure sonic pleasure. But whether the LP edition of this album is worth the asking price is another story...

Kudos Pearl Jam, always and forever yours!