Eddie Vedder to Play the Tibet House Benefit Concert

 

Rolling Stone is reporting that Eddie Vedder will be performing from home on February 17th as part of the Tibet House Benefit Concert.  Tickets for the event are available at Tibet House and Mandolin websites starting at $20. 

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performances of 2020, #1

 #1, DANCE OF THE CLAIRVOYANTS

Today marks 849 days since anyone has been to a Pearl Jam concert, so our definition of "performance" got pretty wonky in this countdown.  However, there was one (and only one) full band performance that happened in 2020, so we have no choice but to nail that at the top.

During the All In Washington streaming event, Pearl Jam put together a performance of the song that sounded nothing like Pearl Jam, but somehow still made us love Pearl Jam all over again, Dance of the Clairvoyants.  If you haven't heard it since April, have a lesson, because hope is high for some live music in 2021, and you'll need to be ready!

Happy New Year!

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performances of 2020, #2

 #2, ATLANTA 1994

"Sonic Reducer" from the April 3, 1994 Atlanta show.

Celebrate #10DaysofPJ with the newly-remastered bootleg, now available in the Pearl Jam shop: https://t.co/iKcB08YQyy pic.twitter.com/RQdd8WYiS2

— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) December 18, 2020

One more time, Pearl Jam delved into the past and brought amazing music back to those of us suffering in 2020.

On December 10th, Pearl Jam announced that they would be giving their whole fan club a release of the April 3rd, 1994 show at Fox Theater in Atlanta.  Fans had been trading this show for decades or if you were particularly dedicated you could collect several versions of the Dissident single and put them together into a cut-up, out-of-order version of the show.

Once that version of Sonic Reducer convinces you that you MUST own the show, you can buy it at the Ten Club as a digital download or CD.  They are calling it "Vault #11," so we hold on to a bit of hope that we may see this in vinyl in 2021.

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performances of 2020, #3

 #3, SITTING AROUND AT HOME

Spending months under stay-at-home orders in 2020 really wore us down.  After watching Tiger King from one end to the other, we started feeling bad for ourselves.  Enter Jeff Ament and John Wicks (of Fitz and the Tantrums).  They brought us the Buzzcocks cover that fit the moment flawlessly, Sitting Around at Home. 

"This Buzzcocks’ tune (written by Steve Diggle) has entered my brain every bored moment I’ve had since 1979. Different Kind of Tension is a great existential pandemic listen. Recorded with my crosstown brother John Wicks, crushing the drum kit in his basement". - Jeff

Later, the song was pressed onto a vinyl 7" with Something Real from the compilation, Good Music to Avert the Collapse of American Democracy, Volume 2, where Jeff and John were now calling themselves Deaf Charlie

Growin' Up

OK, we're probably a little late reporting this, but forgive us for being bitter that Eddie released a really great song in the middle of our "Top Ten Pearl Jam Performances of 2020" countdown.

On Christmas Day, Eddie released a digital EP of his two songs from the Venture Into Cures benefit show (Matter of Time and Say Hi), which also include four other tracks that Eddie recorded in his home studio, Just Breathe and Porch (from his performance for Amazon employees earlier this year), Future Days (from the 2020 Game Awards, #8 on our countdown), and a dynamite cover of Bruce Springsteen's Growin' Up.

The EP is available on all sorts of digital retailers, including Amazon.  Check it out and say thanks for the fact that Eddie Vedder has a home studio.

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performances of 2020, #4

 #4, KEEP ME IN YOUR HEART

Let's take one more stop at the 2017/2018 Fan Club Singles and one last trip into Eddie's home studio.  One of the songs included is a sweet cover of Warren Zevon's Keep Me In Your Heart, a song specifically requested by Howard Stern when Ed appeared on his show in November.  It was a beautiful performance that makes us desperate for the 2021 Pearl Jam World Tour.

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performance of 2020, #5

 #5, HUNTED DOWN

In April, Pearl Jam finally released their songs for the Christmas Singles that their fans have been waiting two years for, and one of those songs stuck with us.  Stone Gossard took lead vocals on a cover of Soundgarden's Hunted Down, and the reimaged song is haunting and beautiful.  It's music that was totally worth waiting years to hear.

Even though the Fan Club Single program is now defunct, here's hoping we get more great one-offs like this in the future.

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performance of 2020, #6

#6, EDDIE PERFORMS RIVER CROSS

A year ago, it was hard to imagine that Pearl Jam wouldn't tour behind their first album in 7 years, but as it turned out, that's exactly what happened.  Or at least, it happened in a different way.  No big concerts, but Pearl Jam and their members popped up from time to time on streaming events.  One of those events, featuring River Cross, the closer on Gigaton, happened on April 18th, where Eddie, filmed by his daughter, performed in his home studio.

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performances of 2020, #7

 #7, SUPERBLOOD WOLFMOON

The days of being surprised by Pearl Jam releasing videos are long gone.  In fact, Pearl Jam had planned on an IMAX, full-album viewing experience for Gigaton, but even if theaters hadn't closed in 2020, you would have missed the "tiny concert" for Superblood Wolfmoon.  The video created by Tiny Concert artist, Keith Ross, went live in February and spawned a few cute, Pearl Jam collectibles.

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performance of 2020, #8

 #8, EDDIE PEFORMS AT THE GAME AWARDS

This summer's release of The Last of Us II on the Playstation featured a cut scene where the characters performed Pearl Jam's Future Days from Lightning Bolt, and the game was subsequently nominated for Best Score and Music at the 2020 Game Awards.  As part of the webcast of the award shows, Eddie Vedder took to his home studio to perform the song himself.

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performances of 2020, #9

#9, MIKE MCCREADY'S BATHROOM SESSIONS

Next on our list is the most quarantine of the quarantine performances.  Mike McCready discovered early on that the acoustics in his bathroom lent themselves to beautiful performances.  It was a fun way to survive the pandemic and draw attention to the struggles of those with Crohn's Disease.

Our only regret, is that it didn't progress beyond four short sessions.

 

.@MikeMcCreadyPJ is back! Bathroom sessions part 2 - a song for healing. pic.twitter.com/Ipg04aKlvi

— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) March 30, 2020

3rd Bathroom session with a story about the first time Jeff Ament saw me play. - @MikeMcCreadyPJ #StandTogetherStayApart #InTheHouse pic.twitter.com/AF0tRPBCTK

— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) April 14, 2020

Ten Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame

 

Earlier this week, the Recording Academy announced 29 songs and 7 albums that were just added to the list of 1,142 recordings that make up the Grammy Hall of Fame.  Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, was among the inductees.

Happy Birthday, Eddie Vedder!

Top Ten Pearl Jam Performances of 2020, #10

 2020 is a year that changed everything for music fans, and it's going to call for a new way of looking back on the year.  Pearl Jam DID create some newsworthy moments this year, but since they had to get creative in how they "performed" for us, we're going to get creative in how we look back on it.

Instead of the Top Ten Pearl Jam MOMENTS of the year, let's look back on the Top Ten Pearl Jam PERFORMANCES!

#10, STADIO OLIMPICO IN ROME, ITALY, JUNE 26, 2018

Pearl Jam released several remastered live shows on video via Nugs' streaming service, Nugs.tv.  All of them mixed for surround sound by Gigaton producer, Josh Evans, and edited by Kevin Shuss.  The performances were all great, but fans seem to agree that 2018's show in Rome is a thing of beauty.

Rome, 2018. Now streaming on @Nugsnet: https://t.co/TC5Q3l3jQy pic.twitter.com/Gu6v6xGK7V

— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) December 20, 2020

As it stands, these are limited-time, pay-per-view events, but keep looking for more great shows to pop-up, even after Pearl Jam heads back out on the road.

Purple Vinyl Ten Reissue

 If you missed your opportunity to pick up the limited-edition, purple vinyl version of Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, it is back in stock at the Ten Club!