Customer Reviews

30/5/00 - Wembley Arena, London, England

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Disclaimer: Owner of all 72 official PJ bootlegs. This second show in London was the fifth overall in the tour, and shows the band seriously hitting its stride on its way to a long, triumphant road trip. This gig has the most interesting set list among the earlier dates, and features a tight, energetic, and error-free performance by all band members. This show's joke from Eddie Vedder is his story of how Mike McCready bashed him on the head with his guitar - apparently revenge for an incident eight years earlier. The opener "Sometimes" appears for the first time in the tour, and you'll be surprised how such a quiet, brittle song can be such an effective opening for a hard rock concert. Other key numbers in this show are powerful takes on "Hail Hail," "Dissident," and "Not For You" (which has an extended and moody closing). "Immortality" ascends to Zepplinesque heights, and Eddie even remembers most of the lyrics, which is a rarity for this song (poor Eddie had a lot of trouble with this one on the tour). What truly sets this show apart are the final two numbers. This performance of "Black" is among the best in the entire series, as the crowd starts singing the song's backing vocal ("tootoo too too tootootoo") while Mike is soloing, and he in turn accompanies them, stretching the song out to nearly eight minutes. This is a truly spine-tingling and emotional moment. The band then closes the show with a powerful and dramatic rendition of "Alive" - the only time this song was used to close a show in the entire tour.

This is a superb live recording. The sound quality is excellent. Throughout the entire concert, there is only one point where one channel goes out for an instance. Remarkable, considering the complexities involved with recording a live performance. The audience is receptive, singing along with band. And why shouldn't they? The band is tight but loose; Mr Eddie Vedder is always "on" it seems; on this night, Mr. Mike McCready (g) is energised and gives an inspired performance. There is a bit of stage humour as Mr Vedder reports on a collision with Mr. McCready. He makes an oblique reference to Sally Simpson from TOMMY by the WHO. Mr Vedder & Co. create a comfortable atmosphere in which I feel I'm right there on stage with them, even though, deep down in my heart, I know that me and Eddie are worlds apart. But never mind that now, just listen to the CD. ;D If you are interested in superb live performances or in Pearl Jam this CD will be interesting to you.

I have a lot of respect for the guys of Pearl Jam releasing all of these live shows officially, mistakes and all. But there in lies the charm of the discs. It feels like you're there. This one is no exception, featuring loads of great songs spanning the two discs, including past hits like Even Flow, Alive and Black. And some of the bands newer material. I'd definatly recommened this to any intrested Pearl Jam fan.

I thought this show in London was better than their previous night there, I think it has one of the better versions of Black which the crowd really gets into towards the end of the song, Eddie isn't very talkative but for the most part he seems in a good mood and Matt is having a more fun tonight with the drums ecspecially on Immortality which Eddie remembers most of the lyrics, all in all its a good show better than average but not their best European show.

I think the US fans will really get a kick out of the Europe series. The audiences in Europe are alive and kicking through the entire shows... singing, clapping and cheering the entire time. Some may wonder why PJ would release an entire tour on CD... might seem like overkill to some. But the band are kind of like the Dead or Dave Matthews in the respect that no two shows are alike... heck, no two versions of a song are alike. Therefore you will find that many reviews can be very subjective. For instance.. this show has my absolute favorite version of Daughter... it is haunting and thickly layered. Ask around though and maybe I am the only one who feels that way...that is the beauty of this series. So should you get this show over another.. well I put it near the top of the Europe shows (along with Verona and Katowice 2).

This second night at Wembley was Pearl Jam's fifth show of their 2000 tour, and is almost as solid as the previous night. It's a performance that I would give four and a half stars to if I was able to.

The band is full of energy, and Mike McCready's guitar is active, but what is so great about this show is the quality of the songs that have not yet made an appearance on the tour. "Dissident," "In Hiding," "Habit," and "Not For You" are all fabulous, and it's the first time they've made an appearance in the five shows so far. "Thin Air," which is another rarely-appearing gem, is perfect. Other concert staples are played just as well, such as "Even Flow," "Rearviewmirror," and "Elderly Woman." The true highlight of the show, however, is "Immortality." The song is played for the third time on the tour, and the third time is a charm, mostly because Eddie Vedder remembers all the lyrics, but also because the guitars are smooth and beautiful. Finally, the closers of "Black" and "Alive" cap off a show that is nearly perfect, and also mistake-free for the most part. The two Wembley dates are fine purchases of Pearl Jam at their live finest.

This is the first "official" bootleg I've ever owned. I stumbled onto this one at a certain large "Mart". Suprised to find it although I was hoping too find one of the 25 after hearing about these boots in a certain national newspaper. Wembley Arena Day 2 is a good starter as its the fifth show in the tour and you start to hear things coming together. None of the songs could really be called obscure, but this has a little something for everybody. Vedder gets retrospective with Mike McCready after a few choice words for an earlier collision with Mikes guitar. Vedder on McCready: "so he pulls me into the bathroom, 'come here,see that(to Vedder), that's the Warfield San Francisco, eight years ago, so you did it to me too.'" There are a few mistakes: intro to mfc Vedder sings "got some car" and quickly mumbles "got A car". One of the higher points is McCready's solo in Evenflow, and the drum solo at the end of immortality by Matt Cameron. The show ends with near perfect versions of Black and Alive. Overall probably not the best of the 25 shows, but remarkably together for being only the fifth show since the 98 tour.

Pearl Jam is the best live band on the planet. This is an incredible concert that will be looked for years from now, when it's out of print. The band is flawless, energetic, playful, but most of all outstanding. Some of the band's most enigmatic material is on display in this rare experience. Classics like SOmetimes, Hail, Hail, ANimal, Habit, Off he Goes, not For you, Immortality, ALive ( a brilliant performance), Black. Oh, I could go on all day long. This is the band at one of its finest moments. Rock on, pearl Jam!!!!!

This is my favourite bootleg from the series because I was at this gig & it was the first time I'd ever seen PJ live. The atmosphere was beautiful, total strangers hugged me during the show & said things like 'isn't this fantastic!' It was the first time the band had played in England for about 10 years & most of us had waited that long to see them. Every time I listen to this CD it brings back the rapturous happiness of that night.
My only disappointment is that they didn't play 'Porch', 'Angel' or 'Breath' at this gig. Then it would have been perfect.

Even though this show was held in Wembley Stadium, the show is rather intimate at times, however Eddie doesn't talk much. No Code's Habit is one of my favorite performance's on the show. All in all it was great!