Pearl Jam Warming Up Before Overseas Tour
Before heading out on its Asia/ Pacific tour in late February, Pearl Jam will perform at least three warmup concerts - two in Seattle and one at the University of Montana in Missoula.
News of the concerts follows word of another surprise performance last week in Seattle - a clandestine recording session with singersongwriter Neil Young.
On Jan. 26-27, band members were at Bad Animals/Seattle to record at least four songs with Young, among them a version of his “Act of Love.”
Bad Animals co-owner Steve Lawson confirmed the session but offered few details.
“They recorded Pearl Jam-style,” Lawson said. “They set it up like a live show.”
There’s no word at this point about when the song will be released.
Pearl Jam will perform two free shows Sunday and Monday in Seattle for members of its Seattle-based fan club. Letters and free tickets to the shows went out to local fan club members this week, but no tickets were sold to the public.
“If you are unable to attend, please do not sell this ticket,” reads the letter. “That would not be in the spirit of this event. … This is our way of saying thank you.”
On Wednesday night, Pearl Jam will perform at the 7,500-capacity Harry Adams Fieldhouse at the University of Montana in Missoula.
The concert was announced in Montana Jan. 27, and tickets (at $18 each, plus a $1 to $2 service charge) sold out quickly at local outlets.
It’s no coincidence that Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament grew up in Montana and is rumored to be building a home in or near Missoula. Opening the show is a Montana band called Shangri-La Speedway, founded by friends of Ament’s.
Later this month, Pearl Jam will begin a tour of Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. A two-month, 40-date U.S. tour could be announced when the group returns from its overseas tour in late March.
As time allows, Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard will complete work on a new studio and headquarters for Loosegroove Records, an independent label he helped found last year in Seattle.
Before Pearl Jam returns from its overseas tour in late March, Columbia Records plans to release the debut album by Mad Season, the side band formed by Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley.
Staley also plans to rejoin his bandmates in Alice in Chains, which has been on hiatus since last summer, to record a new album this spring, according to the group’s Seattle management company.