One would think that after releasing 72 live albums in a span of six months, the Frank Zappa-esque desire to flood the market with more music would be fairly low on Pearl Jam”s list of priorities.
Pearl Jam has been criticized for their release of 72 bootlegs, which has been seen by the harshest critics as an obvious profit-making ploy, or as simply the masturbatory (and often sub-par) releases of an egotistical band.
But the fans ate them up, and Pearl Jam set a record when five of the initial European bootlegs hit the Billboard charts at the same time, the first time in history that a single band has charted that many releases at the same time.
It was obvious that the bootlegs were targeted toward passionate fans of the band, but their latest release appears to be more of a mystery. “Touring Band 2000” is a DVD release featuring concert footage from a variety of dates from Pearl Jam”s summer American tour. The meat of the DVD is the 27-song concert from 18 different cities, each song edited together to form a continuous concert.
Who exactly is supposed to really enjoy this release is the big question. It”s clearly not for people who remember Pearl Jam as “that grunge band from when I was in junior high.” Many of the key songs that made Pearl Jam famous, such as “Alive,” “Black,” “Go” and “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” are noticeably absent. It also doesn”t fit the passive fan very well either the presence of non-album songs like “Leatherman,” and “I Got Shit” would be something of a mystery.
Even the passionate fans who collect Pearl Jam albums and memorabilia will find themselves slightly left out even though they recognize all of the music, it”s hard not to notice the complete lack of energy in the band”s playing.
The music itself is stellar, and the emotions in the songs can”t be hidden lead singer Eddie Vedder mentions Columbine before launching into the classic “Jeremy,” and the same old dangerous look creeps into his eyes. But from the band”s soft opening “Long Road” to the loud Neil Young closer, “Rockin” in the Free World,” the band seems distracted, tired, rooted in place.
Countless shots throughout the video show lead guitarist Mike McCready looking offstage in boredom and rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard looking monotonously down at his fret board.
Though the music itself is incredibly passionate, I can”t help but think that turning the sound off would make me feel like I”m watching a Fiona Apple concert. McCready, known for his wild solos, stands stiffly in place and stares at the ceiling through his two biggest solos, “Corduroy” and “Even Flow.” The lack of movement is distracting because selling a concert video suggests that the band wants to give you something to see.
It”s on the DVD”s bonus features that the band”s magic shines through. A special “Matt Cam” segment features drummer Matt Cameron on three tracks, “Evacuation,” “Even Flow” and “In My Tree,” which showcases his explosive drumming style.
There are also two video features, one titled “Smile” (accompanied by the lesser-known Pearl Jam song of the same title), with quirky footage of the band backstage and onstage. The other is a three-part European Montage, with footage from the cities, of the band, and of the fans. It is on these video features that the energy can be seen. Gossard bouncing about to the beat, McCready smashing his guitar to pieces, bassist Jeff Ament wildly slapping his bass, Vedder jumping about wildly, and more importantly, the entire band smiling and dancing and clearly in love with the music.
This passion fails to come forth in the actual concert. The frustration stems from the fact that anyone who has seen a Pearl Jam concert knows that they are never so boring. In some ways, the piecing together of various concerts seems to have deleted the parts of their live shows that make them magical.
In the liner notes of “Touring Band 2000,” Vedder asks the viewer to “Please Play This Movie Loud.” I agree, since the music is great. But feel free to turn the picture off.