Beck, Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), & Mike Ness (Social Distortion) Feb. 26, 2002 Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theater Benefit Performance for Recording Artists' Coalition DISK ONE: Beck/Vedder/Ness 1 Monday Morning (Lee Hazelwood) Vedder 2 Driftin' 3 You've Got to Hide Your Love Away 4 Dead Man 5 Parting Ways 6 Can't Keep 7 You're True 8 I am Mine 9 Bumming My Way 10 Brokenhearted Vedder/Beck 11 Sleepless Nights (Everly Brothers) Mike Ness 1 The Devil in Miss Jones 2 Ring of Fire (J. Cash) 3 The Rest of Our Lives 4 If You Leave Before Me 5 Ballad of a Lonely Man 6 Don't Think Twice (Dylan) 7 Six More Miles (to the Graveyard) (Hank Williams I) Disc Two: Mike Ness/Vedder/Mike McCready 8 Ball and Chain 9 I Fought the Law (Bobby Fuller) Beck 1 Intro (Divas) 2 Nobody's Fault 3 Guess I'm Doing Fine 4 Dead Melodies 5 Tropicalia Beck/Vedder 6 Little Hands (Skip Spence) 7 Evil Things Beck 8 Round the Bend 9 Beachwood Park (Zombies) Beck/Thom Yorke 10 I'm Set Free (Velvet Underground) Beck/Vedder/Ness 11 Sweet Virginia (Rolling Stones) Review of Show: Billboard Magazine, February 27, 2002 Eddie Vedder, Beck, Mike Ness / Feb. 26, 2002 / Los Angeles (Wiltern Theatre) The marquee outside Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre last night (Feb. 26) indicated that Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Beck, and Social Distortion's Mike Ness would be playing separate solo performances as part of the Recording Artists Coalition (RAC) benefits. But few in attendance were quite sure what to expect. Would they play together? Was the night simply going to be solo acoustic sets? What about surprise guests? Any such questions were put to rest seconds after Beck hit the no-frills stage for a rendition of Lee Hazelwood's "If It's Monday Morning." Vedder joined in by the second verse, with Ness appearing shortly thereafter to finish the song with his cohorts. Vedder remained on stage afterward as the crowd chanted his name. With his head bent down and a mohawk hidden beneath his hat, he looked more like the "old man" from the Neil Young song than the frontman of one of the world's most popular bands. As his Pearl Jam bandmates and Ben Harper watched from the side of the stage, Vedder mastered his way through one of the most high-profile solo sets of his career. He began with the obscure Pearl Jam B-side "Driftin'," and moved on to his cover of the Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," which has become a minor rock radio hit of late thanks to its inclusion on V2's "I Am Sam" soundtrack. After a hushed "Dead Man" and the more dynamic "Parting Ways," Vedder rattled off three brand new songs on the ukulele he first utilized for "Soon Forget," from Pearl Jam's 2000 album "Binaural." It's impossible to imagine what these tunes -- thought to be titled "Brokenhearted," "Can't Keep," and "You're True" -- might sound like with a full band backing, but they certainly impressed both lyrically and musically in this setting. He switched to guitar for the brand new "Thumbing My Way" (sample line: "I can't be free with what's locked inside of me") and "I Am Mine," the latter of which Pearl Jam debuted last fall at a series of benefit concerts. With its waltzing tempo, fret-sliding riff, and soul-searching lyrics ("I know I was born and I know that I'll die / the in-between is mine"), "I Am Mine" proved a clear highlight of the set. Briefly displaying his nearly shaved head, Vedder commented on world violence, saying, "I'll keep the mohawk until they stop killing." Throughout, the overzealous audience interrupted quiet moments between and during songs, prompting Vedder to remark, "I thought $50 a ticket would bring more a high class crowd." He also joked about Bon Jovi's appearance at the Winter Olympics closing ceremonies, which found Jon Bon Jovi draped in an American flag. Vedder finished his set by inviting Beck back on stage for the Everly Brothers' "Sleepless Nights." The duo looked so relaxed with each other, you had to wonder if they once played together in an underground band or maybe even jam together every now and again. After a brief intermission, the heavily tatooed Ness took the stage alone, proclaiming "Let's do this mother f***er!" as he ripped into "The Devil in Miss Jones" from his 1999 album "Cheating at Solitaire." He focused on material from that set and the same year's "Under the Influences," including a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" and the tribute song "Ballad of a Lonely Man." Extending the collaborative spirit of the evening, a hat-less Vedder and Pearl Jam's Mike McCready -- his hair dyed white -- helped Ness close out his set for a rendition of Social Distortion's honky tonk-leaning "Ball and Chain." After another break, Beck (backed by a full band) returned to test out mellow, folk-influenced new songs such as "Lost Cause," likely to appear on his next album. However, the band's rustiness showed on a cover of the Zombies' "Beechwood Park," which sounded barely rehearsed. It's amazing to think this is the same guy who ran up and down the stage during the 1995 edition of Lollapalooza, screaming about giant dildos crushing the sun. In between songs, Beck was his old self and joked with the crowd. "Here's an old song that you may not recognize on piano," he said before playing a few bars of his breakthrough hit, "Loser." Although there was no specific banter about the RAC cause, Beck made frequent references to "special Recording Artists bottled water," which he joked was made from "the sweat of Ozzy Osbourne." Vedder returned to guest on Skip Spence's "Little Hands" and Beck's own "Evil Things," with Beck joking, "I didn't know Eddie would show up with a mohawk. I didn't have enough time so I brought a pink head band." But Beck had one more trick up his sleeve, as he invited Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke onstage to the utter shock of the crowd. Admittedly "a little jet-lagged," Yorke bounced his head in familiar fashion and supplied the guitar solo on the Velvet Underground's "I'm Set Free." As if Yorke's appearance wasn't enough, a lone encore brought Vedder, Beck, and Ness together for a run though the Rolling Stones' "Sweet Virginia," from the group's 1972 set "Exile on Main Street." "This is an auspicious night," Beck remarked. For the lucky folks in attendance, it was also one that won't soon be forgotten. -- Ryan Coleman, L.A.