Show Notes
Pearl Jam's 2008 tour was a short, but memorable run in between album releases that took them along the entirety of the U.S. East Coast. After shows at Bonnaroo, Madison Square Garden and Mansfield among many more, they finished the run by playing a benefit show at the famed Beacon Theater in New York City. The band helped raise $3 million for the Robin Hood Foundation to fight poverty within the city limits. 2,500 lucky fans were able to witness what happened on this night, help raise funds and awareness while getting a great show out of it.
2008 has a few major storylines for the band that mostly center around songs returning from long absences. This was the first time in 13 years that they brought W.M.A. to the table as a full performance, the first time in the Matt Cameron era that Who You Are was played, and it was the debut year for Lost Dog opening track, All Night. All three of these songs help define the time period, and if you happened to witness the band in New York that year, these songs were accompanied live by three local backing singers. We'll go into depth on how these songs benefitted from a different feel for the band at the time, and how the singers blended in soul with rock 'n' roll to create memorable performances. Especially of Harvest Moon.
We'll also talk about Randy's first year getting a chance to see a show and how that changed the trajectory of... his life? And on Javi's side, he'll go into depth on what displeases him about the sound in this era and why he thinks it holds the band back from being able to expand their pallet.
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