"Out of all the bootlegs Pearl Jam has released, these are my favorite. The band was feeding off of the amazing crowd both nights. It includes some of the best solo's I've ever heard from guitarist Mike McCready and Eddie's voice was in top form. It includes guest appearances from The Buzzcocks and Ben Harper and also many of their most famous songs such as Alive, Black, Daughter, Corduroy, Do the Evolution, and a unique version of Betterman. Cover's "Rockin in the Free World", "Know Your Rights", Crazy Mary, and Baba O'Riley. Amazing crowd energy with an amazing bands perpetual energy make a very memorable two nights. A MUST buy for any Pearl Jam fan and its very highly reccomended for anyone who loves live music."
Huge Pearl Jam fan, but this one's overrated
David R. Finnegan II | Rockford, IL, USA | 11/08/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The 7/8 show is good, but it's overrated- Eddie mentions on the next bootleg how memorable a night it was, but you don't get that from the bootleg. It's just an OK Pearl Jam show. It's got an inordinate number of Riot Act songs, most of which (I Am Mine, Cropduster, 1/2 Full) are card-carrying members of the momentum-killers club. They also butcher "In My Tree" by removing Matt Cameron's stellar drumwork from the forefront, and they let Ben Harper sing lead on Indifference, which is not a good thing. On the plus side, the 7/8 show does include good takes on hits Evenflow, Black, and Betterman, as well as rare covers Crown of Thorns, Sonic Reducer, and Baba O' Riley.
The 7/9 show is almost the opposite: Low on radio songs, but big on obscure fan favorites. It's got Glorified G, it's got State of Love and Trust, it's got Deep, it's got Present Tense. They could have made this one into a DVD and I would have liked it more than the 7/8 one.
The good thing about this bundle is that the places where one show comes up short, the other one picks it up. That being the case, I have to recommend this, even if it isn't exactly the band at their best either night."
Both shows are great
Julian Cueva G. Canton | Merida, Yucatan, Mexico | 01/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Great shows. More than 50 different songs, including gems like Crown of Thorns and Breath; along with classics like Do the evolution, Alive, etc.I prefer the first show, but both of them are great performances by the band. Get them both."
July 8, 2003
sheila marshall | Sarasota, FL United States | 06/22/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Will be now and forever the absolute best concert I will ever go too. Mansfield was as good, but no doubt NYC CD be a clasic CD in years to come."