In late 2000 and early 2001, Pearl Jam began releasing the first of what would turn out to be hundreds of “official bootlegs” containing high-quality recordings of the band’s concerts (SPIN parsed the first 72 double-disc shows in our March 2001 issue). The band has continued the fan-friendly practice all the way through this year, most recently issuing bootlegs from its European tour. But now, like ESPN Classic replaying an immediately unforgettable football game, Eddie Vedder and company are launching a new “Instant Classic” bootleg series, the band has revealed (via Antiquiet).
The first installment is a recording of Pearl Jam’s September 30 show in Missoula, Montana. The event was in behalf of Democratic Senator Jon Tester’s ultimately successful reelection campaign and included a cover of MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams” joined by members of Mudhoney, which you can watch above.
Through November 13, the show is on sale in MP3 format for $4.99, with proceeds benefiting Missoula’s Poverello Center, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the homeless. After November 13, the show will be available for the usual price of $9.99, in not only MP3 format but also on CD or in high-quality FLAC and FLAC-HD formats.
Missoula won’t be the last show to receive the “Instant Classic” treatment, Pearl Jam suggest. “Every so often, performances like this stand out immediately as ‘one for the books’ in the band’s eyes,” a post on the group’s website reads. “When they do, these ‘Instant Classics’ will continue to be made available with this special offer.” So let Pearl Jam be who they am, and let them continue to kick out the discount charity live jams.
