09/6/00 - Rock Am Ring, Eifel/Nurburg, Germany
If Pearl Jam fans wondered whether there could ever be too much of their favorite band's live "good thing," the objects of their affection spent much of 2000 in an unprecedented effort to find out. Addressing the issue of pirate concert recordings and overpriced bootlegs head-on, Pearl Jam recorded and released every show on its 2000 European tour as budget-priced double-CD sets. Perhaps because of the relative reserve of the German audience (especially compared with the virtual Pearlmania of other Euro dates), this is one of the more run-of-the-mill shows on the tour. Featuring the by-now eclectic and unpredictable set list that's come to characterize their show, the band dispenses the warhorses "Breakerfall," "Even Flow," and "Alive" relatively early in the set, and they almost seem to coast through the second half. Vedder is at his manic, muttering best on the bridge of "Daughter," but "Last Kiss" and "Once" seem lethargic, especially slotted into what should be the show's building climax. This was surely one of the band's more reserved outings on the tour.--Jerry McCulley