Singling out highlights is like trying to pick a favorite child; every viewer will have favorites, and every choice is justified. The death of grunge is Pearl Jam's blessing. Having proven its endurance, the band flourishes in the absence of overexposure. Everyone's in peak form (we like the beard, Eddie), and the DVD's bonus features are both fun and substantial, including city, band, and fan montages from PJ's earlier European tour, Todd McFarlane's outstanding animated "Do the Evolution" video, and three songs featuring "Matt Cam," fixed on drummer Matt Cameron, with percussion mixed louder on the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. The only possible complaint is the absence of interviews or backstage footage, but that's a trivial quibble. It's the music that matters, and as an audiovisual record of PJ's 2000 tour, this DVD was created with all the right priorities. --Jeff Shannon

I need not have worried, because the DVD is superb. There is a great mix of old and new, fast and slow songs. The transitions from one venue to the other are seemless, and the sound is outstanding (note, I'd recommend not using 5.1 channel surround, it sounds a little too processed that way). There is also the unique "Matt Cam" angle, which gives you the view from Matt Cameron's drum riser with a heavier percussive mix.

Where the DVD really shines though, is in the cinematography. It consists exclusively of hand held footage shot by the roadies. As a result the DVD presents a rough, in your face viewing that matches perfectly with the band itself. The mixture of wide shots covering the whole stage, close-ups on individual band members and pans of the crowd almost mimic the view of someone sitting in the front rows. I promise, if you crank this DVD loud enough, you'll feel like you're at a show.

As for the remaining features, the European montages are interesting, and the instrumentals they are set to are pretty cool; it's always nice to hear something new from PJ. Of course, it's nice to have a clean copy of the "Oceans" and "Do the Evolution" videos with decent sound. My personal favorite, however, were the outtakes from the North American Tour set to "Smile". Aside from the fact the song is one of my favorites, and aside from the fact the Pearl Jam dressed up as The Village People is worth the price of the disc, it really captures the essence of the band. They're genuinely having fun; they aren't in it for the money, they're in it because they love the music and they love their fans. In this day and age that's pretty special...and so's this DVD.


You're Happy, I'm Happy   May 1, 2001
22 out of 24 found this review helpful

You're the type of person that loves reading about good Pearl Jam material, aren't you? Well then you ought to love this...

This is a beautifully arranged DVD with a terrific array of features. Pearl Jam gives you montages of themselves, the cities they visited and the fans, all of which are accompanied by some unreleased instrumental tracks from the Binaural sessions. One of them even sounds like something that could have been on Ten. They're all lovely clips and I'm sure they will make you nostalgic of the last show you were at, or the last time you were in Cardiff or something. They have the videos for Oceans and Evolution, which are both very good. The Oceans video is great, you get a glimpse of them when they were younger and still blowing up. It's a fun video to have on the DVD seeing as how it was probably made about 9 years before this tour. The Evolution video is of course really good, and a pleasure to watch.

Matt's Cam is kind of cool, though it's not something I'll probably watch many more times unless I want drumming lessons. You do get to hear In My Tree which is not on the rest of the DVD.

Ahhh, to the setlist. Quite honestly, I wasn't expecting this to be as good as it was. I saw them in Albany, and they were very good, but there are always some throwaways. There really aren't many on this DVD, and they do a great job choosing the keepers. Each song is at a new venue and it's always a smooth transition into each other. Songs that sound particulary good are Dissident, Given to Fly, Evolution, Go, Insignificance, Grievance, Evenflow, Daughter, and Animal. They're really having a good time, and they sound tight and hard. Of course, not everyone will be satisfied, I would have loved it if Garden, Immortality, Sometimes, Brain of J, and Release were on there, but I'm not complaining. Being an almost psychotic fan, I was worried Stone was getting bored with Pearl Jam what with Eddie playing guitar more, but he seems really immersed in the music and has some really great solos on MFC and Evolution. Eddie was in top form talking to the audience and charming everyone as usual. Okay, I have a crush on him, I'm sorry, it's not even a non-sexual crush, it's just a straight up homosexaul crush, just kidding...kind of. Look, I have a girlfriend!!

Well anyhow, I'm sure all of you have already purchased this, and want to see the others' reaction. I'm ecstatic. Thanks for reading.


Great live DVD!   September 14, 2005
Stoneman (Millersburg, PA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

After having seen a few PJ shows as well as numerous other concerts, I can say that this band is abosulutely the BEST live band in the business. This tour was no different and this DVD, on one hand, is a big window into the PJ concert experience for those who have never had the pleasure, and on the other hand for those who have been there it brings back memories of a great time! I was in the audience during this awesome performance of Corduroy in DC. The energy was intense at the very least. Don't pay attention to those who say this DVD was crap because they obviously do not know what they are talking about. These are probably the kind of people who need big props and fancy lasers on stage to keep their interest. It's also evident that they have never been to a PJ concert. True music lovers will enjoy it. The music and footage is intentionally raw and hard. PJ doens't need all the flash to sell their shows, it's all about the music and the atmosphere. This is evident on this DVD. Buy it! You will not regret it!


Superlative Pearl Jam Entertainment   March 4, 2005
Petar Vodogaz (Sydney, NSW Australia)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

After collecting the entire CD collection of Pearl Jam, I decided that the entire compilation would not be complete without a DVD of the band. So in essence this DVD 'Touring Band 2000 is exceptional.

The footage is 100% supurb with the sound quality and the media quality above par. This DVD is a roundup of Pearl Jam's 2000 North American tour and they have 24 songs that was collated from the different concerts including their home city of Seattle.

Every Pearl Jam fan will be happy with the song collections on this DVD which includes my favourites 'Evacuation', 'God's Dice', 'Even Flow' and 'Evolution'. There are extra special features included in this DVD, video clips of 'Wishlist' and 'Do The Evolution'. There are the Fan Footage, City and Band documentaries.

All in all this is a successful DVD that has all of the songs that made Pearl Jam a hit. I am very happy with this DVD.


Pearl Jam is definitely a Five Star band but........   December 18, 2005
~Ariel~ (Starkville, MS)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Why is it that a band as talented as Pearl Jam only has 2 measley concert DVD's out there, neither of which chronicles their prime?? Touring Band 2000 is by no means a "terrible" buy, but considering the source I expected much better. Other reviewers hit the nail on the head saying how there is very little onstage energy, except on the bonus footage of the European tour. I also liked the "Oceans" video. All songs included here are wonderful songs, but the deliverance lacks something to be desired. Something I know Pearl Jam possesses, but was not evident in these performances.

This DVD is ok, but it is a far cry from doing the band justice. Where is the energy and excitement? Eddie Vedder used to jump feet in the air in the old days, here you're lucky to see him lift his foot 2 inches from the floor. The beard just adds to the lifelessness, might mistake him for a homeless guy if you didn't know better.

But, enough complaining, buy the DVD because it is the best of the slim selection in Pearl Jam concert DVDs, but do not assume you are getting top notch. This is the leftover scrappings of a band capable of so much more. Maybe someday the vault will be opened and we who were too young to see Pearl Jam in their prime, will finally have that honor.