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Pearl Jam - Live at the Garden

Pearl Jam - Live at the Garden

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $15.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Eddie Vedder were possesed with the spirit of Jim Morrison!
Review: If Pearl Jam had released a video of their concert...any concert back in the early to mid-90's it would have blown anything circulating as far as concert videos go. They were a genuine live act who's every performance was so intense, one could sware lead singer Eddie Vedder were possesed with the spirit of Jim Morrison. But those days are gone and Pearl Jam has learned that they don't need to blow all their load in every show. Which is to say that this concert, "Live at The Garden," doesn't ever bulid up a momentum. There are a few exceptions like INDIFFERENCE, DO THE EVOLUTION and BLACK but none of the other songs come off very convincing or moving. There is of course great moments like BABA O'RILEY and CROWN OF THORNS but those are not exactly Pearl Jam originals(Mother Love Bone, exception) which leads me to assume that Eddie and the boys are tired of playing their music and enjoy other peoples music more. Maybe it was the fact that they had been touring for almost a year by the time they got to New York. I don't know...but you can be assured that there are no bad songs in this DVD, just GOOD performances. If you really want the good stuff I suggest "TOURING BAND" or DVD concerts like LIVE IN AUSTRALIA 1995 or LIVE IN MIAMI 1994, I personally purchased "LIVE AT THE GARDEN" because I am a BIG PEARL JAM supporter (who should'nt' be buying bootlegs, but I had to do it:)
Last beef I had was the awkward montage of the Statue of Liberty in the beginning sequence of the video with the music and pacing .....it was a bit sentimental and almost nationalistic for my taste. A far different cry than Pearl Jams critical opinions on the state of affairs but hey...I am still happy they actually have something to say after all those yesterdays!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Buzzcocks destroyed Pearl Jam
Review: In all due respect to Pearl Jam fans, I personally feel PJ is one of the worst, most overrated bands of at least the past ten years. They are horrible. And Eddie Vedder - a moron and a fool, especially after his Bush stunt (another clueless liberal that needs to grow the hell up). However, I do cheer Vedder for taking out The Buzzcocks on a lot of shows on the last tour, because Buzzcocks are one of the greatest bands of all time, true punk legends that get lost in The Ramones/Pistols/Clash shuffle. This DVD features a few members of The Buzzcocks jamming with PJ at MSG, a show I saw, which I had to sit through a torturous PJ set hoping to see The Buzzcocks jam out again. While I think it's fantastic that Vedder took The Buzzcocks out into arenas (where, of course, almost all PJ fans sadly had absolutely no clue who these true legends were), I cannot figure out why Vedder thinks he's a punk. It's great he loves The Ramones, Buzzcocks and all, but VEDDER IS NOT A PUNK. He can dress like one all he wants, he can make a fool out of himself with rambling nonsense such as when he introduced The Ramones at the Hall (for 20 minutes), trying to give lessons on what true punk is all about, but he's fooling no one; he's not a punk. PJ is just a bad heavy metal band. The Buzzcocks demolished them on stage. I wonder if Vedder was unaware of how good The Buzzcocks were on stage? I think it's obvious he knew The Ramones would blow away his band, as he never asked them to open (but he's in good company). He just kinda worshipped them "from afar." But either way, as much as I can't stomach Vedder or PJ, I do owe a debt to him for letting me see Buzzcocks at MSG, although seeing them in a club will always be better.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I was at this show
Review: INCREDIBLE. I've seen all but 1 MSG shows that Pearl Jam has done. And this one is right on par to the famous and epic 9/11/98 show. Incredible energy was shaking the stage!

Absolutely masterful performance by the best band of the last 15 years. Yes, I said that. Ben Harper & the Buzzcocks guest on a few tracks. This DVD is a great treat for the fans who were there and for those that missed it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Pearl Jam still kickin' it live...
Review: It seems that no matter how people feel about Pearl Jam, there's always something to be said. Give credit to a band who was never supposed to make it, made it, was never supposed to survive making it, survived, and is now experimenting and flexing its own creative muscles outside of the Sony box.

This DVD has a damn good performance. Is it legendary? Probably not, and it certainly isn't the greatest of all PJ concerts. HOWEVER, that being said, Pearl Jam is the one band you can always count on to never cheat the audience, to never let them down. They stay as long as they can (their average set is almost twice as long as most bands, and their tickets half the cost), and play as hard as they can. Nobody can argue that.

This concert was special for many reasons and if you come for the music and for the special guests, you'll be more than happy, you'll have the surround sound CRANKED and you'll be screaming along side by side with the video. It is a concert that draws you in as you see a band who has aged and matured alongside you for the last 13 years. They are not the best band ever, (and this is coming from a big PJ fan) but they are a damn good band who has never wavered in their mission to produce solid rock and roll that THEY as PEOPLE would want to go see themselves.

Buy the DVD, turn it on, crank it up, and watch a band who has earned the respect of their peers and of their own idols. The Buzzcocks don't just tour with anyone, folks, and they lend their own unique sound to a show that needed just a little filling out. And it works. Sing along because I told you so, and because you know you will. And because your neighbors need to hear some rock and roll.

I did. LOL. go.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hunger Strike
Review: I`ve watched th whole video and it is really amazing.
Can somebody tell me where is the Hunger Strike clip filmed at the Sports Palace in Mexico???

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beyond words
Review: Let me preface this by saying that I have been to maybe 150 shows in my life, and the 7/8/03 MSG show is the best show I have seen by any band, ever. Coming from a huge music fan, that's saying a lot.

Ok, here goes. I'll try to write it for the casual fan who may not know every song.

First let's start with quality. The video work is fine. Nothing fancy. It's a little jumpy sometimes, but good overall. The 5.1 surround sound is quite nice as well. There are lots of extras on the DVD as well, including an easter egg. It includes lots of tour montages, bonus clips (Ed pre-show solo stuff), etc. But the main part of the dvd, the show itself, is probably what you want to hear about so I'll try to be specific. I'll do a song-sy-song review below:

set:

Love Boat Captain: Good opener. The sound is a little off, but gets better during the next couple of songs. This is off the latest album. It references the 9 people who were killed during their set at the Roskilde Denmark show in 2000

Last Exit: Good rocking song that gets the crowd going.

Save You: Same as above. Good version. Off the last album

Green Disease: Also off the last album. You'll notice that the crowd doesn't go insane for some of the newer stuff, but because the MSG shows had such a high fanclub turnout, the reaction is better than expected. This is a fun, hard song.

In My Tree: This is a new, slower version of the song off of No Code. This is one of my all-time favorite songs, and they nailed the new version this time. This was the first tour they tried it this way, and it worked.

Cropduster: Also a new song. Good, but for the casual fan nothing spectacular.

Even Flow: Mike totally owns the middle jam, and the crowd goes nuts for it.

Gimme Some Truth: John Lennon cover. It was nice to see.

I Am Mine: This is prefaced by a nice speech from Eddie about Sept 11. You have to rewind to the end of the previous song to hear it. Good version as well.

Low Light: Had I not seen it a few days earlier I would have gone nuts. They broke it out in Boston on 7/3 for the first time in 5 years and the place went nuts. They also went nuts at MSG.

Faithfull: Great hard-rocking song from "Yield"

Wishlist/(Why Can't I Touch It?): Great light show for this, and the tag at the end is a Buzzcocks cover. Before the show, 3 members of PJ came out when the Buzzcocks finished their set and played this song with them. Great crowd singalong!

Lukin: 1-minute rocker from No Code that goes right into the next song

Grievance: Good hard song, was nominated for a grammy 3 years ago.

1/2 Full: Gotta love Ed w/ the mirror during this one. Great guitar from Mike on this song...very bluesy.

Black: Decent version. Great solo at the end from Mike. There are better versions, but this is pretty good.

Spin The Black Circle: Great hard song circa 95. A crowd pleaser.

Rearviewmirror: Awesome first set closer. Insane ending, crowd and band going nuts w/ the strobe lights.

enc 1:

You Are: Nice light show, great vibe to this song.

Thumbing My Way: Good slow song from the last album.

Daughter/(With My Own Two Hands): This was around the time I realized it had gone beyond being just a great show to being something special. Ben Harper comes out and sings the Two Hands tag w/ the band. I still get chills watching it. The crowd loves it.

Crown Of Thorns: Crowd going nuts by this point. It is a Mother Love Bone cover, which is Stone/Jeff's band before PJ that broke up when the lead singer died of an overdose. They played it twice on the 2000 tour (the first time being at their 10th anniv show), and twice on the 2003 show. I never thought I'd see it.

Breath: Yeah, the band is on fire at this point. Breath was the song they broke out at the MSG II show in 98 for the first time in years. It's special to see them play it there again.

Better Man: Not a particularly great version, but the crowd singing the first verse alone makes it worth listening to.

Do The Evolution: Watch the band during this...they start freaking out. Eddie gives a speech after the intermission explaining why. Considering Roskilde 2000, it's totally understandable. You could literally feel the floor moving if you stood still. MSG is raised off of ground level, and the crowd was going so nuts that they caused the whole place to shake. Watch Ed in particular.

enc 2:

Crazy Mary: 1 word: RIP. That's all I have to say

Indifference: Ed re-introduces Ben Harper. They have played this with Ben a couple of times before. This was my first time seeing this older song and I was loving it.

Sonic Reducer: Buzzcocks' member comes out. This is an old Dead Boys cover. I had never seen it live either and it was great. Maybe not as intense as it was on the early tours, but still rocking.

Baba O'Riley: Another Buzzcocks' member comes out. I will *never* forget the look on the usher's face next to me when the crowd sang the middle bridge part. He just had this huge grin on his face, like "wow, that was freaking cool as hell!!!"

Yellow Ledbetter: Nice closer, with Ed mumbling some new lyrics. Not a great version by any means, but different which is always good.

I'm not sure I can say enough about this show. I have never seen so many people leave a show speechless with their jaws on the ground.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A rock concert to appreciate.
Review: Let me start by saying that the video and sound quality of this DVD are just about perfect. If you're a PJ fantic (like myself), you will love this... but you already know this =^) If you're a fan of good, old school style rock n roll, you'll appreciate this. As some reviewers have pointed out... if you don't get PJ, then it's too late for you and you never will. They most certainly have mellowed out in the last 4 or 5 years as far as their on-stage antics go. Now, they're more into enjoying a great evening with their fans (the best in the world). So no, you won't see Ed climbing the rafters or stage diving into the crowd... you won't see Mike come out for the encore naked as he has on few occasions in the past. You'll just get some high energy rock n roll. The plus side to their maturing as a band is that the band plays together like a well oiled machine. Mike's solo's have come a long way since the beginning and in many ways, and on many nights, he takes the spotlight. Just watch his solo on Even Flow.. awesome. If you're true fan of MUSIC, you'll love this DVD. If you need explosions and stage props, etc. go get slip knot or an old Kiss concert. Thank god for Pearl Jam. I get it!!! And I love it!!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Seen better.
Review: Not exactly Rage against the machine, but this PJ concert does have some moments.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Why the Garden?!?
Review: Overall this is a great DVD, they improved the audio and video quality since 'touring band' without making it seem too clean or fake. I only wish that they would have not released one whole show since I found it much more interesting to see songs from all sorts of shows as found on the 'touring band' DVD. The problem with one complete show is the lack of quality in some songs. '1/2 Full'and 'Rearview Mirror' lack the emotion and energy that they deserve. The only other problem is the lack of 'Riot Act' songs...I saw them in WI and it was the same thing...too many old songs like 'Black' and 'Even Flow'.
If you want more new material get the 'Live at the Showbox' DVD which I think is much more fun to watch than this new one. One other thing too, the stage set at the Garden is the worst that I have seen since it is in the center and with the people behind it doesn't allow for their back-drop and lights to have any effect. Much of their simple atmosphere is lost because of this. The more I think about it the more I want to know, who picked this show to be the one that was released? Very bad decision in my eye but still a must have for a Pearl Jam fan.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Pearl Jam - lost what they had
Review: Pearl Jam have not only lost the energy they once had as a live act, but also have lost it musically, as far as their last album "Riot Act" showed.

If you compare "Live at the Garden" with Pearl Jams earliear peformances, it really looks quite dull and plain boring.
Eddie Vedders singing is'nt up to much and the band seem to just stand around looking fairly unenthusiastic, the only cool looking members of the band on stage being Jeff Ament(Bass) and ex Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron (Drums).

As for Eddie Vedder, he just tries to eat his microphone or maybe he is just stumbling into it face first as he is nearly asleep, it certainly sounds like it, while it looks like a couple of members the band could do with losing a few pounds.

This live perfomance is boring and confirms Pearl Jam are plain awful as a live act today, which is a real shame as they used to be fantastic - musically and on stage.




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