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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth Every Penny, March 27, 2001
This review is from: Seattle, Washington, November 6, 2000 (Audio CD)
Sure, you're going to pay a few extra bucks for this particular set since it's 3 CD's, but believe me, you will be glad you did. I was fortunate enough to be at this concert, and it was a very special, emotional night. Pearl Jam had been through a lot in the year 2000, and this night was the end of it all. They played with more passion than I had ever seen them play live before, and they held nothing back. Like Eddie says in the midst of it all, "We're gonna be here for a while. We're not going anywhere." The result was over three hours of sheer greatness, and to my surprise, much of it was captured on these discs. Everything worked this night. The set list, the covers, Eddie's speeches, the crowd, the energy...this is PJ at its best. If you're still stuck in the haze that has been all these recent live releases from them, I highly recommend putting this one at the top of your list. The high point for me is "Daughter", where Eddie begins chanting at the end, and the crowd follows him. What's unfortunately not captured in these discs is the sheer delight displayed by Eddie at the climax of the song. He began jumping and dancing around like the Eddie of old, and you can tell by the crowd's response. I could go on to mention all the other great performances of the night, but words wouldn't do them justice. I'll sum up by saying that of all the Pearl Jam bootlegs we've heard over the years, this is the crown jewel. Since I'm in the fan club, I've been listening to it for a month now, and it keeps getting better. Enjoy.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Show, But a Little Overrated, October 24, 2001
This review is from: Seattle, Washington, November 6, 2000 (Audio CD)
Disclaimer: Owner of all 72 official PJ bootlegs. This hometown gig to end the massive 2000 world tour is definitely a fan favorite, and the show is a triumphant return to the old stomping grounds. But I feel that this show is so highly rated among the fans merely for sentimental reasons. After slowly absorbing all 72 of the bootlegs, I feel that this final show is certainly above average, but it's not even among the top 20 greatest shows. For some specific reasons, I'm gonna have to give this one an A-minus (but it's still good enough for five Amazon stars). First, despite the sentimental nature of the evening, this is not an especially powerful performance by the band. In fact, it sounds like they just want to wrap things up and go home. The shows a few days earlier in Boise and Portland are much more enthusiastic. And don't be fooled by the fact that this bootleg is stretched onto an extra third CD. This gig is about 30 minutes longer than the bootleg average, and it's probably four minutes too long to squeeze onto two CD's. However, there are only 29 songs played overall, and this is not any higher than the tour average (there are a few shows that stretch to a whopping 31 songs). The reason this show is so long is all of Eddie Vedder's extra stage talk. He does include some sentimental stuff about the hometown and all their local friends, but most of the time he's griping about the security arrangements and the local politics. These are not very enlightening harangues, from a guy who is usually very insightful. That's enough negativity, so now on to the good parts of this show. "Rearviewmirror" makes an unusually early appearance, and this rendition is among the most powerful of the tour. Other highlights include powerful readings of "Hail Hail" and "Jeremy," and especially grandiose and moving takes on "Parting Ways" and "Immortality." In a hilarious moment, Eddie plays the "Iron Man" riff on the ukelele before launching into "Soon Forget" (which is dedicated to Bill Gates tonight). The most moving part of this hometown love-fest is the triumphant return of "Alive" to the set list. They had not played this song since the European leg of the tour, in deference to the nine fans who died in Denmark. The band dramatically and emotionally brings this warhorse back to life to end the tour with a bang.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE ESSENCE OF PEARL JAM, March 27, 2001
This review is from: Seattle, Washington, November 6, 2000 (Audio CD)
I'll keep this short and to the point. This was the best show on the tour. I only saw one other, Los Angeles, a few weeks prior, but I don't think the energy of this final performance was ever matched in Europe or the US. They were playing for the Roskilde tragedy. They were playing for their hometown. Their were playing for the love of the music. And most importantly, they were playing for each other. Vedder is in rare form. As political as ever. "Jeremy" has a tag at the end that will blow the listener away. "once" is played with newfound energy. "Alive" is heartwarming. The air in the Key Arena was juiced, thanks in large part to the Chilli Peppers (just your average opening band, right?) who tore the place up and warmed the stage for PJ. You won't hear them on this disk, but you'll hear the crowd - louder then a Seahawks game in the late Kingdome. Watching Vedder during the Wellwater Conspiracy's (opening band) set, sidestage, drinking a beer with a sound engineer, toasting the last show of the tour, brought it all home. These guys are modern day prophets, deliving a message of unity, spirituality, -peace, and rock and roll. This three disc set carries that message, loud and clear.
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