Pearl Jam Boots – Singles

We mentioned back in December that Pearl Jam was going to do authorized bootlegs for each show on their upcoming Riot Act World Tour, to be sold exclusively online. Now the details are out:

Pearl Jam announced today that they will release an official bootleg of each show on their 2003 Riot Act world tour (tour dates attached). Each bootleg will be a limited edition, double disc CD set. Unlike the 2000 bootleg series, the 2003 bootlegs will not be available in stores. Currently, the band plans to make them available only at the following URL addresses:

http://www.pearljam.com
http://www.tenclub.net
http://www.pearljambootlegs.com

Bootlegs will be sold for $12.98 to Ten Club Members and for $14.98 to non Ten Club members.

Those who order an official bootleg prior to the show-date can expect it to be shipped within 2-3 days. Rush shipment options will be available.

Additionally, anyone who orders an official bootleg will be able to download at no additional cost an mp3 of that show within hours of the show’s real-time completion. We wanted to provide fans with a souvenir of the show they experienced immediately following the show – this comes pretty close, says Tim Bierman, Pearl Jam’s 10-club manager.

Bootlegs can be pre-ordered now for Pearl Jam’s Australian and Asian tours, which kick off in Brisbane on February 8 and in Sendai on March 1, respectively.

Pearl Jam originally conceived of the bootleg series as an effort to bootleg the bootleggers by making available for sale less expensive, higher quality recordings of all of their live shows.

2003 RIOT ACT US TOUR

The following is a tentative list of cities, dates and support acts for Pearl Jam’s 2003 Riot Act US tour.

Leg One

April 1 Denver, CO Pepsi Center – Sleater-Kinney
April 3 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center – Sleater-Kinney
April 5 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Sleater-Kinney
April 6 Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Sleater-Kinney
April 8 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena – Sleater-Kinney
April 9 Birmingham, AL BJCC Arena – Sleater-Kinney
April 11 West Palm Beach, FL Coral Sky Amphitheater – Sleater-Kinney
April 13 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum – Sleater-Kinney
April 15 Raleigh, NC Alltel Pavilion – Sleater-Kinney
April 16 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Sleater-Kinney
April 18 Nashville, TN Am South Amphitheater – Sleater-Kinney
April 19 Atlanta, GA Hi Fi Buys Amphitheater – Sparta
April 21 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena – Sparta
April 22 St. Louis, MO Savvis Center – Sparta
April 23 Champaign, IL Assembly Hall – Sparta
April 25 Cleveland, OH Gund Arena – Sparta
April 26 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena – Sparta
April 28 Philadelphia, PA First Union Spectrum Arena – Sparta
April 29 Albany, NY Pepsi Arena – Sparta
April 30 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum – Sparta
May 2 Buffalo, NY HSBC Arena – Sparta
May 3 State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center – Sparta

Leg Two

May 28 Missoula, MT Adams Center – Idlewild
May 30 Vancouver, BC GM Place – Idlewild
June 1 San Francisco, CA Shoreline Amphitheater – Idlewild
June 2 Los Angeles, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Idlewild
June 5 San Diego, CA San Diego Sports Arena – Idlewild
June 6 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center – Idlewild
June 7 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion – Idlewild
June 9 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Music Center – Idlewild
June 10 Little Rock, AR Alltel Arena – Idlewild
June 12 Kansas City, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – Idlewild
June 13 Council Bluff, IA Mid-America Center – Idlewild
June 15 Fargo, ND Fargo Dome – Idlewild
June 16 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center – Idlewild
June 18 Chicago, IL United Center – Idlewild
June 19 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center – Idlewild
June 21 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley Music Center – Buzzcocks
June 22 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center – Buzzcocks
June 24 Columbus, OH Polaris Amphitheater – Buzzcocks
June 25 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre – Buzzcocks
June 28 Toronto, ONT Molson Amphitheatre – Buzzcocks
June 29 Montreal, QUE Bell Center – Buzzcocks
July 1 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge – Buzzcocks
July 2 Boston, MA Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts – Buzzcocks
July 5 Philadelphia, PA Tweeter Center at the Water front – Buzzcocks
July 8 New York, NY Madison Square Garden TBA
July 9 New York, NY Madison Square Garden TBA

It’s an excellent idea, taking advantage of fan excitement in the afterglow of the show, using the immediacy of the Internet to get anxious fans their “interim” MP3.

This reminds me that we watched Singles on DVD the other night (picked up at Wal-Mart before Christmas for $5!!). It was better than I remembered: the love stories weren’t as creaky as I recalled, but conversely the music wasn’t as good as I remembered. Seattle was something, but a lot of grunge was just LZ redux, especially Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains wasn’t very interesting until they went acoustic. The liveliest songs, by Paul Westerberg, aren’t even Seattle.

It was hilarious to see Pearl Jam backing up Matt Dillon as Citizen Dick – man they were young, and Eddie looked like one of the longhaired gnomes sitting next to George Harrison on the cover of All Things Must Pass. I interviewed Pearl Jam when they opened for Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers in Columbus right after 10 came out – talk about a different world – Eddie was very quiet, we talked about San Diego a little, Jeff Ament was very friendly and talkative, now they’re legends. I’m still not as big a Pearl jam fan as some, but they’ve earned their place.