Customer Reviews

15/6/00 - Spodek Arena, Katowice, Poland

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're one of the people who's heard and liked one or two Pearl Jam songs on the radio, but never really bought any Pearl Jam albums, this show just might be a great collection for you to own. In the very least, you'll get a lot of Pearl Jam's best-known material (Betterman, Last Kiss, Alive, Even Flow, Not For You, Wishlist, Given To Fly, Nothing As It Seems...) on 2 CD's really for the price of one. Even more likely, however, you will discover that Pearl Jam is not only an incredible live act, but also one of the best bands of the 90's. Suffice to say that this is the show that transformed me into a big fan of this incredible band.

"Long Road", probably Pearl Jam's best opening song (along with "Release"), starts this awesome show with an incredibly emotional performance from Eddie Vedder. The usual set of rockers follow, starting with a great rendition of Binaural's Breakerfall, and continuing on with such live staples as Corduroy and Animal. After Brain of J, Eddie introduces the moody, dark Nothing As It Seems, which leads to probably the best live version of Given To Fly I've ever heard, with Matt Cameron really nailing the drum part. After yet another rocker (Gods' Dice), the band goes into the beautiful and rarely played Present Tense, the only number from No Code to make this set. I still prefer the studio version of that song better, but this live rendition is as good as they come. After great renditions of Not For You and Betterman, the band goes into the could-have-been-radio-single Thin Air, a hard rocking Even Flow (with a mini-improv in the beginning), and an awe-inspiring version of Nothingman that is ALONE absolutely worth the album's purchase.

The second CD, meanwhile, has even more great performances of some incredible songs. The standout track here is DOUBTLESSLY the deluxe, best-I've-ever-heard, 7 minute version of Rockin' In The Free World,a must-own. Small Town, Last Kiss and Wishlist are all great soft songs, while Pearl Jam's fabulous takes on Do The Evolution, Rearviewmirror and Go give the disc a good dosage of rock. Footsteps, a rarely performed Jeremy B-Side, features Eddie playing harmonica, which adds to the song significantly. Mike McCready especially lets loose on Rockin' In The Free World, finishing off a great setlist and a perfect evening.

If you listen to this CD and like it, I would suggest that you get its companion piece, the second Katowice show. Not only will you get the big radio singles not played on this night (like Jeremy and Daughter), but also a much better look into the fabulous material from Pearl Jam's No Code. Between these 2 shows, Pearl Jam actually plays 50 distinct songs, which is another great reason to buy both of them.

I bought a stack of CDs from this series, and this is THE BEST in my opinion. The band rocked and grooved on every track, including some nice improvs that hold together. At times it feels like every song is the final one of the show, the grand finale jam--yet they pick up and begin again. After kicking off with LONG ROAD, it seems like they can't rise any higher--and even songs which did not quite click at other shows (Wishlist, Nothing as it Seems) are played with precision and life. Other standouts include new songs Rival and Thin Air. I even enjoyed Last Kiss, which is not on my list of favorites. Live and kicking, it outshines Milan and others.

Especialy for all polish fans (i am one of them...).What more can i say - all songs are groovier and more harder than studio versions and also "rocking in the free world" (Neill young's cover) is wonderfull...Eddie vedder is fantastic frotman - his stories telled to the audience are funny and really charming - he is not a star, he is just a normal nice man who just sings and plays in such a famous rock band.....
Fantastic show!!!!

I was interning in Poland during the Summer of 2000 and was able to attend this show. The setlist was the most eclectic of the 5 times I've seen Pearl Jam over the years. Long Road, Nothingman, Nothing as it Seems, Given to Fly and especially Footsteps were all performed incredibly this night. While the setlist does not feature as many of the more popular songs as night two in Katowice (pronounced Kat O Veetza), it is near perfect when taken as a whole. Though I was only able to make the first show, I own both Katowice CDs and wholehearedly recommend them.

PERFECTLY FLAWED would best describe this lastest package from Pearl Jam. The two greatest things about this CD are that first it doesn't sound like PJ tried to record a live album. Every missed note, flawed drum beat, and untuned instrument make an appearance. It shows just how natural a real live show can be on your home stereo. It's almost as though they didn't even know they were being taped. Secondly is the sound quality. Lets be frank, this isn't studio quality, it is an "A" quality bootleg. There is little or no production done and you will have to turn your stereo up louder than you normally would. If it had a studio sound it would lose all bootleg attitude. Vocally, Vedder's voice is ON! Rough and harsh on tracks like "Animal", Grievance and "Brain of J". Slow and melodic on "Long Road", and Insignificance". On guitar Stone does an amazing job of playing the fast riffs perfectly. If you live in Canada you will only be able to find the two Poland shows (others as Imports.) A true PJ fan would be foolish to pass on this one!

Disclaimer: Owner of all 72 official PJ bootlegs. This first of two shows in the far-away college town of Katowice, Poland is a reasonably solid but not too spectacular entry in the Pearl Jam bootleg series. The performances by all the band members are competent, but there aren't too many remarkable moments in this show. There are a few more problems than highlights, with painfully obvious timing errors in "Corduroy," "Gods' Dice," and "Wishlist." It appears that the normally rock-solid Matt Cameron is having some trouble tonight, and I suspect that he can't quite hear what's going on (a technical problem). This show does have the benefit of many songs that weren't played too often in the tour, with surprise appearances by "Brain of J," "Present Tense," "Rival," and "Footsteps" (though Eddie Vedder forgets many of the lyrics in those last two). Even with some of these problems, the crowd eats it all up with a spoon, as it's unlikely that they see very many major concerts in those parts. In a funny moment, Eddie mentions four or five different girls named Magda that they met that day, and dedicates a song to all the Magdas. While the quality of this show is acceptable, it is vastly overshadowed by the gig the following night in the same town. After the next scheduled date was cancelled, Pearl Jam decided to stay in Katowice for an extra day, putting on a surprise performance the following evening. It really was a surprise, as only a few thousand people were able to show up, and this led to an especially intimate and unique performance by the band. That second Katowice bootleg is one of the real winners of the European bootleg series.

This is the first night of a two night stand in Katowice and these two shows illustrate how diverse and amazing a live band Pearl Jam has become. Highlights from this show are Brain of J, Rival, Footsteps, and Rockin' in the Free World. Great mix of old and new songs, more of a radio friendly set than night two and great crowd reaction.

The crowd at this show was some four times the size of the next night's crowd, and yet, both the band and the audience are noticeably subdued on this show. It isn't bad by any stretch, but aside from a couple obscure songs, there isn't much to write home about, either. The band shows more passion and proficiency on other nights.

In short: All these sets are good, but this one isn't especially noteworthy.

Can you imagine how bigger our record stores would have to be if every band released as many CDs as Pearl Jam has? This has got to be without a doubt, the coolest release of this year. 26 DOUBLE live albums, simultaneouesly, and at a price that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (like other live bootlegs I've purchased). The sound quality is way beyond anything you'll find on eBay. I'm surprised that no band has ever tried this before.

I've never really been interested in Pearl Jam until these bootlegs were announced. However, I've liked their radio songs like Even Flow, Alive, Do The Evolution, and Nothing As It Seems, all of which are on this disc. Now that I own one, I never realized how amazing this band is. Vedder must be wiped out after every show because of how much energy he and the band put into each show. One interesting thing I noticed on this disc, is that, while Even Flow is normally a fast-paced song, on this CD, they do the song at Alvin and The Chipmunks speed. If you're even the slightest bit curious about this release, you've got to check this out.

This whole tour was hot, but if you're only going to buy one of the two releases from Katowice, go for the second night & not this one. The band was playing to a much smaller crowd (the second night did not sell out) and played a better set, in my opinion.