PJ Music Factory

A Stool and a Spotlight at Melbourne Park

· Melbourne Park · Melbourne

Both chronologies' notes say a crew member brought the singer a stool and that, with the venue dark, the singer was spotlighted before what they call a lovely solo "Trouble." The house holds four text files for the night, a remaster series information file and its fingerprint list in each of two folders.

Illustrated multi-night Melbourne poster with dates including March 3; the complete panel and artwork credit are retained.
Melbourne poster for March 2, 3 and 5, 1998.

On Tuesday, March 3, 1998, Pearl Jam played Melbourne Park in Melbourne, which both chronologies head by that name. Shudder to Think stands on the chronology's opening act line and on Five Horizons' support act line. Both chronologies' main set lists open with "Sometimes" and "Last Exit," and both give the same four encore entries in one order, from "Hail Hail" to "Alive." Both notes find the band relaxed and enjoying the night.

The show

Under the Heading

Five Horizons brackets 97m after its heading without stating what it measures. Its heading gives the date as 03/03/98 and the place as Melbourne, Australia, and the Pearl Jam Concert Chronology's gives March 3, 1998, with the same venue and place.

The Performance

The chronology's setlist runs from "Sometimes" to "Do The Evolution," and its entries include, in order, "Last Exit," "Brain Of J.," "Faithfull," "Animal," "Red Mosquito," "Corduroy," "Wishlist," "Once," "Jeremy," "Given To Fly," "Daughter," "Trouble," "Better Man," "MFC," "Habit" and "Even Flow." Five Horizons' set line runs from "Sometimes" to "Do the Evolution," and its entries include, in order, "Last Exit," "Brain of J," "Faithfull," "Animal," "Red Mosquito," "Corduroy," "Wishlist," "Once," "Jeremy," "Daughter," "Given to Fly," "Daughter" again, "Trouble," "Better Man," "MFC," "Habit" and "Even Flow." Both chronologies give an encore line of the same four entries in the same order, capitals aside: "Hail Hail," "State of Love and Trust," "Black" and "Alive."

Both notes say the band was relaxed and in a great space, its members looking as if they enjoyed themselves, and that the interplay among them was great. They say Jeff, laid back, kept his focus on the music through the night instead of jumping or bouncing around. They say the singer's voice was good and he seemed happy, and that he talked with the crowd quite a lot and handed out various items at the front. Both notes call Mike awesome beyond words and on fire all night again, and they call "Corduroy" the highlight of the show, with Mike amazing and the singer on the floor with his guitar. Both notes say Jeff had the wrong bass, and that Stone, Jeff and Mike then decided what they would play next, to everyone's amusement, before "Given To Fly." Both notes say a crew member brought the singer a stool and that, with the venue dark, the singer was spotlighted, which they say looked amazing, and that this led to a solo "Trouble" from the singer that they call lovely. During "Black," both notes say, someone jumped on stage to touch or shake hands, and the singer spoke with the fan for a moment and then carried on. Both notes call "Alive" a pleaser, the singer whirling the microphone like a lasso.

The Next Step

Melbourne Park, the night before, is told in Shudder to Think's Singer Helps Out in Melbourne. Melbourne Park two nights later, on March 5, is told in A Third Melbourne Night on the Radio.

Recording & sound

What the Record Preserves

The chronology's entry ends with a line for its remaster series that names the band, the date and Melbourne, and Five Horizons' entry closes with one short line that reads as a link label of its page: tour poster. The objects the chronology's page hangs under the night's heading include an image and two untitled links into its remaster series. The house holds four text files for the night, in two folders that each hold the same pair: the remaster series' information file and its fingerprint list. The information file's lineage line starts and ends at FLAC, and the file opens with three lines giving the band, the date and Melbourne Park with the city and country. Its notes say volume fluctuations were smoothed, the EQ set for tonal balance, many loud claps removed and the volume raised. Its numbered labels stand in two groups, the first from "Sometimes" to "Do the Evolution" and the second from "Hail, Hail" to "Alive." The fingerprint list gives one line to each FLAC file, named as the labels are but for the twentieth, which drops the comma. March 3 at Melbourne Park comes down to a venue both chronologies head alike, a bracketed figure, one act on both bill lines, main lists that open alike, the same four encore entries in both, notes that both tell of a stool and a spotlight, an image and two links into the remaster series, and four house files in two folders that match.

Other Media (0)

Other accounts

No further accounts of this show have been added.

Sources & thanks (5)
  1. Pearl Jam Concert Chronology — 1998 page
  2. Five Horizons — Concert chronology 1998, entry for 03/03/98
  3. Pearl Jam Concert Chronology — 1998 page, the entry for the date
  4. The house archive — Information file (remaster series) in the 1998-03-03 folder
  5. The house archive — Fingerprint file (remaster series) in the 1998-03-03 folder