page_title: Pearl Jam
section_title: Binaural and the Roskilde tragedy (2000–2001)
hierarchical_section_title: Pearl Jam / History / Binaural and the Roskilde tragedy (2000–2001)
caption_attribution_description: English: Eddie Vedder, Matt Cameron and Stone Gossard 2000
context_page_description: Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Seattle, Washington. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, as well as Matt Cameron, who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Drummers Jack Irons, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, and Dave Abbruzzese are former members of the band.
  Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament's previous band, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with its debut album, Ten, in 1991. One of the key bands in the grunge movement of the early 1990s, its members often shunned popular music industry practices such as making music videos or giving interviews. The band also sued Ticketmaster, claiming it had monopolized the concert-ticket market. In 2006, Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."
  The band sold nearly 32 million albums in the United States by 2012, and by 2018, they had sold more than 85 million albums worldwide.
context_section_description: Following its full-scale tour in support of Yield, the band took a short break, but then reconvened toward the end of 1999 and commenced work on a new album. On May 16, 2000, Pearl Jam released its sixth studio album, Binaural. It was drummer Matt Cameron's studio recording debut with the band. The title is a reference to the binaural recording techniques that were utilized on several tracks by producer Tchad Blake, known for his use of the technique. Binaural was the first album since the band's debut not produced by Brendan O'Brien, although O'Brien was called in later to remix several tracks. Gossard stated that the band members "were ready for a change." Jon Pareles of Rolling Stone said, "Apparently as tired of grunge as everyone except Creed fans, Pearl Jam delve elsewhere." He added, "The album reflects both Pearl Jam's longstanding curse of self-importance and a renewed willingness to be experimental or just plain odd." The album is lyrically darker than the band's previous album Yield, with Gossard describing the lyrics as "pretty sombre." Binaural included the singles "Nothing as It Seems" (sample ), one of the songs featuring binaural recording, and "Light Years". The album sold just over 700,000 copies and became the first Pearl Jam studio album to fail to reach platinum status.
  Pearl Jam decided to record every show on its 2000 Binaural Tour professionally, after noting the desire of fans to own a copy of the shows they attended and the popularity of bootleg recordings. The band had been open in the past about allowing fans to make amateur recordings, and these "official bootlegs" were an attempt to provide a more affordable and better quality product for fans. Pearl Jam originally intended to release them to only fan club members, but the band's record contract prevented it from doing so. Pearl Jam released all of the albums in record stores as well as through its fan club. The band released 72 live albums in 2000 and 2001, and twice set a record for most albums to debut in the Billboard 200 at the same time.
  Pearl Jam's 2000 European tour ended in tragedy on June 30, with an accident at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. Nine fans were crushed underfoot and suffocated to death as the crowd rushed to the front. After numerous requests for the crowd to step back, the band stopped playing and tried to calm the crowd when the musicians realized what was happening, but it was already too late. The two remaining dates of the tour were canceled and members of the band contemplated retiring after this event.
  A month after the European tour concluded, the band embarked on its two-leg 2000 North American tour. On performing after the Roskilde tragedy, Vedder said that "playing, facing crowds, being together—it enabled us to start processing it." On October 22, 2000, the band played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, celebrating the tenth anniversary of its first live performance as a band. Vedder took the opportunity to thank the many people who had helped the band come together and make it to ten years. He noted that "I would never do this accepting a Grammy or something." After concluding the Binaural Tour, the band released Touring Band 2000 the following year. The DVD featured select performances from the North American legs of the tour.
  Following the events of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Vedder and McCready were joined by Neil Young to perform the song "Long Road" from the Merkin Ball EP at the America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert. The concert, which aired on September 21, 2001, raised money for the victims and their families.
caption: Pearl Jam in Columbia, Maryland on September 4, 2000
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