Pearl Jam - Touring Band 2000.
Having had their
Riot Act album on constantly for a couple of days in preparation of watching
Pearl Jam Live at the Garden of which much of that album is played i naturally opted to watch Touring Band instead.
A 28 track live set filmed at 28 different shows across the US by three members of the bands crew. The image quality is almost bootleg as noted by Eddie Vedder himself in the accompanying booklet but it's so much more than that in reality whilst the sound is top notch and as Ed writes "Play it loud". So i did!
Stone Gossard looks like the most unlikely guitar hero ever - dressed much like myself whilst watching - in what seemed like a t-shirt and pyjama bottoms at several shows - for a grunge band who don't do solos there's a bloody lot of them ripping into the crowd from both Gossard and Mike McCready.
Highlights include scorching renditions of
Rearviewmirror, Don't Go, Animal and show closer
Neil Young's
Rocking in the Free World. Elevation 2001 - U2 Live from Boston
An arena show which is almost like a club gig for a band the stature of U2. Kicking off with two of my favourites of theirs in
Elevation and
Beautiful Day this show doesn't get better than it's opening two songs however other highlights include
Where the Streets Have No Name, Desire, The Fly and a gorgeous
With or Without You in which Bono and a girl from the crowd lay down as if looking at the stars as he sings to her. As long as she wasn't a 'plant in the crowd' and a genuine fan i'm guessing that will be one of the highlights of her entire life.
R.E.M. - Perfect Square
23 hits and rarities including a never before heard by me Perfect Day performed live in the grounds of the stunning casino in Wiesbaden, Germany. I've reviewed this previously.
It's my favourite music dvd bar none.
Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion II World Tour Live in Tokyo
Basically the second half of a three hour show in Japan from the mammoth two and a half year tour for the Use Your Illusion albums. (I saw them twice. Firstly at Maine Road, Manchester in June 92 and then at the Milton Keynes Bowl in May the following year).
The band and Axl are on top form with this ninety minute dvd only having eight songs performed from what is a 22 song set list - the rest are on the Use Your Illusion I dvd - but it doesn't matter. It's great watching them jam and Slash is the consummate guitar god.
As for those eight songs? What songs they are.
You Could Be Mine, Sweet Child O' Mine, So Fine, Rocket Queen, Move to the City, Knockin' on Heavens Door, Estranged (Stunning) and closer
Paradise City. Kiss - Kissology Volume One. Cobo Arena, Detroit (26 / 01/ 1976) - A single 13 song arena show from what is part of the mammoth seven and a half hour
Kissology Volume One.
It's primal rock n' roll shows like this that captured the imagination of America's youth and made
Kiss the self proclaimed 'hottest band in the world'. Going off this evidence they weren't bull-shitting.