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Rating: June 2000, "Binaural," the sixth studio album by Pearl Jam, has just hit the stores and Eddie Vedder's Band is preparing to invade Europe when it is revealed, by the Band itself, that all dates of the European Tour will soon be available in official Bootlegs in stores. At first glance, making all concerts available on double Live CDs seems like a gamble, but soon it will prove to be a winning move; after all, Pearl Jam is the group that has had to endure the explosion of “Downloading” from the Internet the most (by the way, they have never declared themselves opposed, quite the opposite…) and their songs are easily downloadable in mp3 format from specialized sites, and precisely to contain piracy online, the Band announces the release of 28 Bootlegs (later reduced to 25 following the Roskilde tragedy and the cancellation of subsequent dates in Belgium and the Netherlands) in September when the idea will prove to be an unprecedented commercial success and Pearl Jam will find themselves with even five different CDs in the Top 200. The operation, in addition to preserving the Band’s honor and at the same time resolving all sorts of economic problems, will prove to be the official document of the five magnificent members in European territory and will forever preserve (even if in CD format) some of the most beautiful concerts of recent years.
On June 22, 2000, Pearl Jam is at the Fila Forum in Milan for the twentieth stop of the Tour. Two days earlier, at the Verona Arena (Verona and Milan will be the only Italian dates) the Band had delighted the fans gathered thanks to a top-level show (Eddie Vedder will even sing "O’ Sole Mio" kneeling before the delirious audience) and now hopes to repeat. The official Bootleg of the concert does not seem like an official Bootleg: cardboard cover, typewriter title; date, place, and Tracklist, no booklet inside, no photo; the CDs bear the “20” mark (the number of the stop) but just touching them one perceives the vibrations of Vedder's vocal cords in "Of The Girl," the introduction to the show, softly sung amidst the audience's screams or the explosion shortly afterward of "Grievance," meaner than ever. A journey through the decade-long career of the Seattle Band, twenty-nine flashes in the dark for almost two and a half hours of concert. "Binaural" is almost entirely present (the exclusion of the single "Nothing As It Seems" is not understood) but on the whole, all the group’s most beloved songs are present such as "Given To Fly," "Do the Evolution," "Jeremy," and "Betterman" (only the old anthem "Alive" is absent).
The CD, empty in its Artwork, attempts precisely to reproduce the emotion of the concert and is notable for some unmissable passages like the performance of "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In A Small Town" (simply presented as “Small Town") entirely accompanied by the audience, the same fate for "Daughter," made even more beautiful by an endless solo while Vedder toys with the fans. Formidable also the solos of "Even Flow" and "Rearviewmirror" and the beautiful executions of "Corduroy," "Not For You," "Garden," and the splendid "Present Tense". Before "MFC," Vedder mumbles something about the beauty of Rome, but it is unclear (the Song was written precisely when the singer was stuck in the traffic of the capital; one would expect swear words instead…). Track 2 of the second CD is empty, evidently a pause before resuming with "Nothingman" and a slow "Sleight Of Hand". Towards the end there is also room for "State Of Love And Trust," an old Pearl Jam song that appeared on the 1992 film “Singles” soundtrack, and "Rockin’ In the Free World" but also for the wonderful performance of "Black," very long, sung with soul. Vedder also attempts to sketch a timid Italian: “…signore e signori…grazie…” he says and the audience explodes.
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