Which bootlegs are you listening to right now?

Stockholm 2012

Elderly Woman opens the proceedings for the night to get the crowd warmed up and in good singing voices. Certainly isn't the most exciting or my favorite opener, but it can and does work well to open. And it does work extremely well to open when it's followed immediately by Corduroy like it is here. The outro of Elderly Woman immediately into the guitar intro of Corduroy to start the show sounds great and gets things started nicely and to get the crowd going. Mike also uses a slightly different approach to his solo here, with different echoing guitar effects and it sounds great. The energy stays going with very strong versions of Got Some and Why Go next, with Matt's drums mixed with some brilliant, crunchy guitar work splashed in. You can tell the band is a little more full of energy and it shows on the boot, and the crowd comes through a little more on this boot and are louder than some previous shows on the tour. After first addressing the crowd in Swedish, Ed comments how the crowd resembles an ocean of people, and fittingly so goes into playing Amongst The Waves which is a dependable version. Coupled with Amongst The Waves is Wishlist to keep the energy mid-tempo and positive, and they sound beautiful paired together. The tempo is gradually brought back up initially with Given To Fly, followed by Comatose, Even Flow, and World Wide Suicide - all providing a nice shot of energy in the middle of the set before the tempo is brought down again. Garden makes a somewhat unique appearance this early in the set next, but is a haunting and incredibly strong performance from all band members. Better Things is then covered for only the second time ever, and last time it has been played to date. I think it's a beautiful cover and they absolutely nail it. After the gradual build up of Unthought Known, you would expect a burner to follow but next played is another gradual energy builder with All Those Yesterdays making a rare appearance in an odd spot in the set and is a treat, and is also the only time it's played in 2012. The Fixer - 1/2 Full - Jeremy close out a high energy main set, which definitely has a bit of a weird flowing set list but it works well. A lot of energy from the band and the crowd, even on the slower numbers.

Off He Goes opens the first encore in appropriate fashion and is dedicated to a guy from Finland that Ed met and all of the world travelers at the show. Just Breathe makes the typical first encore appearance and Ed flubs the lyrics early on. The energy and tempo is brought back up with respectable performances of SOLAT and DTE with an extended "oh oh oh oh" segment from the crowd on DTE. Ed introduces Boom and it being his first time playing in Stockholm before Boom goes into play the organ intro to Love Reign, with Ed putting more emphasis on his vocals than usual on the song. Porch brings the first encore to a close in typical fashion and is an average version of it.

Ed comes out to the first encore and talks about how great the crowd is and makes a comment to the effect "you're listening to bootleg, you have to see what we're seeing." You can tell the band and Ed appreciates the crowd from this show and they go into playing Once followed by Better Man - both average renditions. Crazy Mary is next and as always, Boom tickling the ivory. I would definitely call his solo here better than average than most versions of the song. Fantastic duel playing by Boom and Mike as always, and the song as a whole is a better than average version of it. An emotional Black follows with the outro going right into the classic opening riff for Alive - the two back to back just never get old. RITFW and Ledbetter do their typical job to tuck everyone in to end the show with a Little Wing tag. Before Ledbetter Ed calls the crowd "perfect".

Another solid boot from the 2012 tour. The set list as a whole is very weird, it's tough to grasp at certain times and works beautifully at other points. I wouldn't necessarily say it flows the greatest, but it does work. The encores are monstrous, and the length of the set is reminiscent of the 2013 sets. A lot of energy from the band, a lot of energy from the crowd, and overall another tight collectively from the band. You can certainly tell coming down the home stretch of the European 2012 tour they are getting tighter and tighter. I would contend that personally, there isn't really anything that jumps out on the boot that grabs you and stands out more than others, but collectively from a musically tight performance from the band, the crowd, the length of the set, and quality of the boot it is very solid and definitely worth giving a listen. This far through the 2012 tour, I would rank it just below the Amsterdam 1 and both Berlin shows. Certainly a fine performance from the band playing in Stockholm for the first time since 2000. A very interesting bootleg.

Camden 2006

Praha 2000
One would think the opening combo, Of the Girl-Grievance occurred frequently in 2000, but it actually didn’t. Here that opening Binaural combo is just awesome, and both are excellent performances all around. Mike was sounding particularly lively on Grievance. It sounds like there are a few out of tune guitar licks in Corduroy at times, but nothing too distracting. Mike again is sprightly with his solo in Corduroy. Red Mosquito makes a well natured early appearance in the set, and is an above average version. Afterwards Ed states that the temperature is as “Hot as the devil’s asshole.” That’s one of my personal favorite Ed quotes! Pilate is next, another peculiar move in this setlist. To be so rare, Pilate sounds really tight at this gig. The intricate riff by Stone during the verses shines through perfectly in this boot mix with exceptional clarity. Not to be redundant but this set is full of surprises; Alive is played next as the 8th song in the main set. That’s abnormally early and unusual. A double dose of No Code is pleasant, Present Tense and Habit. Habit sounds fierce and potent. Ed begins the somber opening riff to Untitled as soon as Habit ends. Such a harsh contrast works effectively to create tension. MFC and I Got Shit follow, furthering an interesting setlist flow. Incredibly tight performance of I Got Shit, Ed’s vocals sound haunting and moody as they should. Wishlist keeps us at mid tempo, but luckily the final handful of songs in the main set puts us on our toes. I believe too much mid tempo towards the end of a set can sometimes drag it down. I digress, Wishlist here is actually one of the better versions from Euro 00 because Ed is mostly convincing on remembering the lyrics. Insignificance picks us up gently, a smooth fluent transition from Wishlist. Ed has to cover up some small lyrical and guitar mess-ups, but does it professionally and not too noticeably. Jeff’s bass sounds so strong on the second pre-chorus, as does Ed’s vocals. RVM is mostly a great rendering; Mike adds some cool guitar effects in the first chorus, and the jamming is just exceptional from everyone. Even Flow makes a late show performance and I enjoyed getting it out of mid-main set. Mike again is just absolutely blistering during basically all of Even Flow. Seriously, he’s impressive. Go ends the main set and is an extra heavy version. Stone and Mike sound just livid. All around, a near perfect main set with Mike firing on all cylinders.

Ed states this crowd has been the best of the tour so far, and then Sleight of Hand gets its live debut. It’s actually a wonderful first performance of the melancholy tune. Light Years is also spot on. Those two Binaural songs flow nicely and are poignant together. The version of Timeless Melody here is perhaps my favorite the band has yet to play. There's a beautiful and wonderful groove to the cover that never gets old. Ed's vocals are perfect and it's most likely the tightest version I've heard. Mike and Stone are blistering on DTE. Mike making some chugging like riffs and Stone’s solo is potent. SOLAT is superb and the guitar’s mixing is stellar in terms of clarity. Once is tighter than average. Matt adds a lot of nice rhythm changes, and Stone is just on it. Black is played just before Ledbetter closes. Matt must have dropped his drumstick in Black, and trust me it's easily done. Ledbetter is a dependable, just very good version with Ed's vocals sounding strong.

This one is in my top 20 bootlegs in general for its somewhat unique setlist for 2000, but more importantly the strength of the performance, set flow, high clarity audio mix, and Mike was absolutely ON. Magnificent bootleg this one.

Yokohama 2003 night two of the japan run. The sound is fantastic!

Pap said:

Hartford 2013

Yup, same here. I cant stop listening to it!!

Oslo 2012

A magnificent Long Road opens, and it truly is magnificent. Ed's voice is stunningly strong and mellow despite being sick with a sore throat, along with Matt's snare strikes sounding punchy and crisp which really highlights the song. A very cohesive rendition and truly is one of the better versions of the song out there. What sounds even more magnificent is the ending going immediately into a roaring Animal. Certainly makes for a great start to this show. The energy doesn't let up with Hail Hail, Given To Fly, Interstellar Overdrive, and Corduroy played one right after another next. It really does round out an excellent start to this show and has an impeccable flow to it, and Matt's drums really are highlighted here as they are throughout the entire boot. He just sounds like a technical machine on this boot and is flawless. Ed addresses the crowd for the first time telling the crowd he got sick from kissing a sick Swedish boy and will need some help tonight before going into Elderly Woman to bring the pace back down. Low Light makes a fine appearance next to continue keeping the pace slower for the moment, but it is a slightly more lively performance of the song than usual. Mike adds some subtle guitar effects throughout the song and Matt's drums again shine. After the short slow paced segment, things are brought back up with Severed Hand followed by Even Flow with Mike, Matt, and Stone meshing together masterfully in the middle segment of the song. Green Disease makes a fine appearance next, and is the last time it's been played to date and is a strong performance considering how rare it's played these days, with Matt again highlighting the song with his machine gun drumming. The "color" combination continues with Red Mosquito next, which makes its only appearance of 2012 and showcases Mike and Matt's obsolete talents. I hate to sound like a broken record, but Matt sounds just fantastic on this boot. Daughter comes next with a powerful It's OK tag, and sounds beautiful going immediately into the extended guitar intro to Immortality from Ed. AGAIN, we get a dazzling performance from Matt on Immortality! After the song, Ed pronounces to the crowd "Matt Cameron, Matt fucking Cameron on the drum kit!". Leatherman makes its only appearance of 2012, before Black and Why Go round an incredibly air-tight main set, that is impeccably cohesive with flow off the charts. Probably a perfect main set that is flawless. It only makes sense after all the showcasing of Matt's drums during this show that they close out the main set with Why Go, where they sound again just on point.

Inside Job makes a fine appearance opening the first encore, with Matt carrying his symbols during the guitar intro, which adds a more lively touch and strong star to the encore. Ed makes a heart felt speech to reach out to people in your life that you love to tell them you love them before it's too late, as he's feeling down because of recently losing a friend that he didn't have a chance to tell before they passed. The sentiment adds to playing a melancholy Just Breathe next. Only appropriate that Juse Breathe segways into Breath, and followed by Mankind makes a nice rarity combination for the encore. An obviously sick Ed introduces Stone to the mic before Mankind, and Stone then returns the favor pronouncing "I'd like to thank Eddie Vedder for just being fucking fantastic to us all." DTE and Porch make for a rousing finale to the first encore. Also very impressive how incredibly strong Ed's vocals still sound despite being sick.

Right where the first encore dropped off, it picks back up with a blistering Once to begin the second encore. Smile sounds excellent next before another solid cover of Mother and Ed still particularly sounding strong and rich. In typical fashion, Alive - RITFW - Ledbetter bring this outstanding show to a finish.

In summary - an excellent bootleg and show and one that is the best this far of the 2012 European tour in my opinion. As a whole, it is as close to it gets as a perfect and flawless performance from the band, the set list is as cohesive as it gets and flows so well, and the quality of the mix is top notch as most of the 2012 boots bring us. If you want to hear superior drumming and a drummer putting on a clinic, then listen to this boot. Matt absolutely shines here and sounds profound on almost every song. You have to give nothing but kudos to Ed who is clearly suffering from being sick and a sore throat, and he sounds so strong throughout the entire show and is quite impressive. With one show to go on the European 2012 tour, the band is clearly firing on all cylinders and sounding tight as ever. Again, nothing that truly makes one's eyes pop out when looking at the set list, but collectively an excellent performance from the band with no snags whatsoever. A highly recommended boot and one that is strongly one of the better bootlegs of 2012.

Charlottesville - 29/10/13

Lisbon 2006

The Guests Are So Refined - compilation - Japan 2003

Right now...Charlotte Oct 2013