Groundwork 2001 Video Archive Online
December 12, 2001: If you donated and signed up to gain access to the Groundword 2001 benefit shows in Seattle, you probably received an update from the Groundwork organization today indicating that the footage is finally online. All of the performances are linked up now, except for Pearl Jam's. The organization is unoficially saying that they are still trying to get clearance, according to what they are telling some fans. Visit groundwork2001.org for more info.
Additionally, a Groundwork 2001 special will be aired on VH1 12/14/01 at 10pm EST. The special is slated to run only one hour and featured artists include PJ, DMB and Alanis. Obviously (and unfortunately), there will be a very limited amount of Pearl Jam footage.
All Tomorrows Parties Rescheduled
December 1, 2001: See Side Project News for more information.
September 29, 2001: According to sonicyouth.com [Sonic Youth's official site], All Tomorrows Parties, the festival at which Ed was scheduled to appear solo on October 19, has been postponed until "early 2002":All Tomorrows Parties Postponed
ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIESThe official ATP site has updated info indicating that the show has been rescheduled with "most" of the performers for March 2002. However, current artist listings (two have been published so far) do not include Ed. Refunds are available at point of purchase.
POSTPONED TIL 2002In lieu of the events of the 11th and the present volatile world climate, we have postponed ATP until early 2002. Stay tuned for more details.
August 7, 2001: PJ is scheduled to appear at Key Arena in Seattle on October 22, 2001, as part of a week-long series of benefit concerts. Also appearing on the same day will be R.E.M. (who are the headlining act), as well as Mana and Femi Kuti and the Positive Force. Tickets will go on sale via Ticketmaster at 10am Pacific Time on Saturday, August 25 and will cost $50. [See On The Road for more information regarding ticket sales.]PJ To Perform at Groundwork 2001 Benefit
Groundwork 2001 is the first North American event in the ongiong TeleFood campaign, an initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FA0) of the United Nations, the world's largest hunger fighting agency.
PJ are only appearing at this one show in the week of benefit shows. There are plans for the performances to be webcast, but we do not have 100% confirmation of this right now. Visit groundwork2001.org for more info.
August 6, 2001: Both the Bridge School site and Synergy have confirmed these dates, which are now set for October 20 & 21. See On The Road for more information.Bridge School Benefit Dates Set
June 25, 2001: In honor of the 10th anniversary of the release of Ten, the August, 2001 issue [with D-12 on the cover] of Spin Magazine has a 10-page retrospective about PJ that many fans are calling one of the best articles ever written about the band. It's an extensive history of the band with quotes from many other artists as well as the band themselves, along with rare pictures. It is available now in limited cities, but should be on newsstands everywhere by July 3. And, for a very special treat, an expanded version of the article (which is already quite lengthy!) will be available at Spin's web site (spin.com) on July 13.Editor's note: You have GOT to read this article. We concur in the assessment that it is one of the best articles ever written about the band. It's well-researched, it's honest, it's respectful, it's got great quotes and great photos. If you read the article and enjoyed it, you might consider dropping a line to Spin at goingpostal@spinmag.com in order to encourage them to cover Pearl Jam more in the future.
Update, 7/14/01: The expanded version of the article is now online at Spin. Even if you did purchase the print magazine, you'll still want to check this out due to the additional material.
April 15, 2001: Remember last summer and the "Baba O'Riley" competition between Toronto and Chicago, and Ed's assertion that the better audience would end up on a Who tribute record? Well, it's coming out, but despite Ed's assertion that tribute records don't usually suck, this one does in our opinion, based on the very weak tracklisting. PJ's contribution will be "The Kids Are Alright" from one of the shows last year (no, we don't know which show). Others on the album worth mentioning are David Bowie and Paul Weller, as well as Phish and Sheryl Crow. You can read the press release here. The album will be out June 12th.PJ On Who Tribute Album
Updated Update, 5/13/01: As reported by someone with an advance release, it appears that PJ's version of "TKAA" will be a live version. And although the official web site for the album doesn't list Matt in the credits, he did appear on it.
April 5, 2001: Tenclub.net has given the release dates as April 17 for the fan club, May 1 at retail. Thank you!Revised DVD Release Dates
March 31, 2001: On Thursday, the DVD release date started showing up as May 1 in some online retailers, spurring rumors that the release date had been changed. Today, the Rumor Pit confirms the delay but does not give us an updated release date yet. Unconfirmed reports allege that the delay is due to manufacturing issues.DVD Release Pushed Back
March 16, 2001: Since the DVD footage will start to be broadcast this weekend on MTV2 (at the top of every hour) as well as PBS and VH1 (watch Synergy for schedules), we thought we would post a listing of the cities each song on the DVD was taken from, as follows: "get comfortable, we're gonna be here for a while..."
Long Road - Phoenix
Corduroy - DC
Grievance - Houston 2
Animal - San Bernadino
Gods' Dice - San Francisco
Evacuation - Tampa
Given To Fly - St. Louis
Dissident - Alpine Valley
Nothing As It Seems - Seattle 2
Even Flow - Philly 1
Lukin/Not For You - Los Angeles
Daughter/It's OK - Jones Beach 2
Untitled/MFC - Las VegasThin Air - Phoenix
Leatherman/(Jeff chant) - Seattle 2
Better Man(+tag) - Seattle 2
Nothingman - Seattle 2
Insignificance - San Francisco
I Got Shit - Montreal
Rearviewmirror - Seattle 2
Wishlist - Memphis
Jeremy - San Diego
Do The Evolution - San Bernadino
Go - Boise
Parting Ways - Lubbock
Rocking In The Free World - AlbuquerqueAll of the tracks are identified by city at the start of each song on the DVD. And since inquiring minds will want to know, yes, the "Jeff chant" participants do get screen time. =)
March 8, 2001: Not much more we can say right now, is there :) April 3 can't come soon enough!! 
DVD Cover Artwork!
[All other information we know about the DVD is in our news story below. We don't have international release dates (although Amazon UK has it listed for a May 21 release date), nor any information about which shows the songs on the DVD were taken from, sorry. Everything we know is here.]
March 1, 2001: Just when we thought it was going to be a quiet year, a very interesting interview with PJ manager Kelly Curtis in Wall of Sound shares yet more great news with us. But Wait, There's More
Curtis says the next project will likely be a collection of songs that haven't appeared on any of the band's albums, culled from a list of more than 70 that includes B-sides, contributions to soundtracks and benefit albums, and special songs that the group sent to fan club members each Christmas. Among the treasures might be an alternate take of "Jeremy" and a "proper" studio recording of fan favorite "Yellow Ledbetter" to replace the lo-fi import version. "Eddie [Vedder] kind of mumbled through that one," Curtis notes. "I don't think he even had the lyrics together when they did that."Kelly also confirms that the band do not plan to reconvene to record until 2002, discusses the band's relationship with their record label, and other assorted tidbits.There have been one or two other interviews with Kelly but this one was the most informational -- the others were just recycles of the info above without the depth. If you find something that gives significant additional information, by all means let us know!
March 1, 2001: We don't usually report side project news, but we're getting so much mail on this one that we're making an exception. The rumors had been flying thick and fast, but finally Neil Finn let the cat out of the bag in an interview in Australian publication juice.net. Neil's current New Zealand tour is featuring a different band of pick-up musicians every night, with the final shows of the tour featuring an all-star lineup including Mr. Edward Vedder. As you probably remember, Ed is a huge Neil Finn fan, covering Split Enz and Crowded House songs in the past and appearing as a guest at a Neil Finn show in 1998. Neil Finn Confirms Rumor
The Answer Those Questions NOW Dept.: Yes, Neil is touring the UK in the spring; no, there is no info or indication whether those shows will include guests or not (and most are sold out by now). No, there is no indication of when or if Neil will tour the U.S. (and the same caveat about the backing band) - the new record isn't even scheduled for release here until the fall.
February 13, 2001: Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, today the news hit the wire services that the oft-rumored DVD is a reality and will be available to us in April! The press release in its entirety is below: Pearl Jam: Touring Band 2000
Epic Records to Release Pearl Jam DVD on April 10
"Pearl Jam: Touring Band 2000" Includes Two Hours of Live Concert Footage From 2000 US TourNEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Feb. 13, 2001-- DVD to contain 50 minutes of special band and crowd bonus features Epic Records will release the first Pearl Jam full length DVD featuring three hours of live and montage footage from the band's 2000 US and European tours. The DVD will be available beginning April 10 at retail outlets. It will be available via the band's website at pearljam.com beginning April 3 for Ten Club members. VHS format will also be available.
The main body of the DVD program is comprised of 28 full song performances filmed in various cities on the band's 2000 48-city US tour, reflecting the time and composition of an actual concert set list. The DVD was filmed by Pearl Jam crew members without directors or producers. An additional fifty minutes of special bonus features includes footage from the band's 2000 European tour, backstage footage, previously unreleased music, special consumer chosen camera angles, the previously unreleased video for "Oceans," and more.
Special bonus features:
Pearl Jam has always filmed its live shows for archival purposes, but the idea to compile a selection of songs from the US shows and release them on a DVD evolved over the course of last year's tour. The band began by posting stills from each of the European shows on its website as they had done on their 1998 tour, then started posting 30-second live clips. The feedback was very positive and fans were asking for more. As a result, the band expanded the roles of three of its touring crew members to include videoing each of the shows from different positions in the house to see what they could come up with.
- Stationary "Matt-cam" footage is available with a heavier percussion mix for two of the songs featured on the main body of the DVD: "Evacuation" and "Even Flow" and also for "In My Tree." (The "Matt-cam" is a special camera positioned behind drummer Matt Cameron that the consumer can switch to while viewing the DVD.)
- European montages: City, band, and fan montages from the European tour with "Yellow Ledbetter" live and previously unreleased instrumentals recorded by Pearl Jam during early Binaural sessions. Instrumentals titled: "Thunderclap," "Foldback," and "Harmony."
- Outtakes of band on US tour, set to the song "Smile"
- "Do The Evolution" video - animated by Todd McFarlane
- "Oceans" video - never before released in the US, directed by Josh Taft
The newly formed film crew began playing around with some of the footage on an AV production bus out on the road. About midway through leg one of the US tour, they presented some of the footage to the band. At that point, they were contemplating creating a web video using one or more songs.
Kelly Curtis, the band's manager, explains how the project progressed: "The band liked what they saw, and the idea of creating a mock set list of songs from different cities on the tour and releasing them via DVD came up."
Crew members went to work, juggling their regular tour jobs with filming, producing and editing footage out on the road and after the tour ended. "About three months later, the band had a full length DVD that everyone was excited about--it's very raw and realistic footage done without directors or producers, and it gives fans a chance to see a little more behind the scenes stuff than has previously been available," says Curtis.
DVD footage filmed by Pearl Jam crew members: Liz Burns, Steve Gordon and Kevin Shuss.
Edited by Steve Gordon. Recorded and mixed by Brett Eliason and engineered by John Burton.
Set List for Main Body of the DVD Program Long Road, Corduroy, Grievance, Animal, Gods' Dice, Evacuation*, Given To Fly, Dissident, Nothing As It Seems, Evenflow*, Lukin, Not For You, Daughter (into "It's OK" by Dead Moon), Untitled, MFC, Thin Air, Leatherman, Betterman, Nothingman, Insignificance, I Got Shit, RVM, Wishlist, Jeremy, Evolution, Don't Go, Parting Ways, Rocking In The Free World
DVD end credits set to "Leavin' Here"
*Available as a special bonus feature with "Matt-cam" footage.
February 12, 2001: In case you were wondering how on earth they were going to fit the glorious 167 minutes that was 11/6/00 onto two cd's, the image above should answer your question: they're not. Seattle II will be a three-cd set! [No word on what the associated price increase will be, if any.]
Seattle II Will Be A Three CD Set!
[For those who care, the 'man/ape' marked selections for the next leg will be: Detroit, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boise, and the above-mentioned Seattle II.]
January 28, 2001: They're here!!!!! The first leg of the much-anticipated official boot recordings from PJ's North American tour (Virginia Beach-Pittsburgh) are available to fan club members via tenclub.net starting tomorrow at a special discounted price of $10.98 (plus shipping/handling and tax, where applicable). If you're not a member, you can join and then order your boots at the same time.
Order the U.S. Live Bootlegs Online Now!
Other retail outlets (such as CDNow; all boots bought via this link benefit 5h) have the boots available for preorder, but you will not receive them or find them in stores until February 27. [That's also the same date that the second leg boots (Montreal-Seattle) will be available via tenclub.net.]According to an interview with PJ soundman Brett Eliason earlier this year: "Compared to the recordings made in Europe using the traditional system, Brett says that the tracks are 'fuller, punchier and warmer. The differences are not subtle and everyone who has listened to the new tracks has been very impressed' ... Brett reports, 'There is more real low end and smoother high end. It has eliminated the mid-range 'honk' of the house PA.'
To respond to the many, many emails we've gotten asking us to put together a "top ten" to help people decide what to buy: we can't do that. Unless you've been to every single show, there's no way you can really choose a top ten. Plus, everyone has their own individual criteria for what's interesting and meaningful to them. We have the Concert Chronology, which provides the tools and information to help you make your own decisions -- which is all part of the fun of it!
Copyright © 2004 Five Horizons
