Around the bend…

Some random Pearl Jam news items:

• Pearl Jam will be appearing on Saturday Night Live on April 15th, with host Lindsay Lohan. Unfortunate hosting choice, but maybe her utter lack of talent will result in more time for a 3rd song performance by the band. This is the first time since 1994 the band’s been on the show. This appearance seems to signal a more conscious effort by the band to achieve some mainstream commercial success. Two songs were released on iTunes in the past couple of weeks, and rumors of a forthcoming music video are rampant. That’s all well and good, but if I see the band on TRL, it may be time to reevaluate my devotion to them.
• More tour dates have been announced:

  Apr-20 London, UK The Astoria

  NORTH AMERICA LEG ONE
  May-9 Toronto Ontario Air Canada Centre
  May-10 Toronto Ontario Air Canada Centre
  May-12 Albany New York Pepsi Arena
  May-13 Hartford Connecticut New England Dodge Music Arena
  May-16 Chicago Illinois United Center
  May-17 Chicago Illinois United Center
  May-19 Grand Rapids Michigan Van Andel Arena
  May-20 Cleveland Ohio Quicken Loans Arena
  May-22 Detroit Michigan Palace of Auburn Hills
  May-24 Boston Massachusetts TD Banknorth Garden
  May-25 Boston Massachusetts TD Banknorth Garden
  May-27 Camden New Jersey Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
  May-28 Camden New Jersey Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
  May-30 Washington DC Verizon Center (formerly MCI Center)
  Jun-1 E. Rutherford New Jersey Continental Airlines Arena
  Jun-3 E. Rutherford New Jersey Continental Airlines Arena

  NORTH AMERICA LEG TWO
  Jul-9 Los Angeles California The Forum
  Jul-10 Los Angeles California The Forum
  Jun-23 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena
  Jun-24 Cincinnati, OH US Bank Arena
  Jun-26* St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
  Jun-27* St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
  Jul-2* Denver, CO Pepsi Center
  Jul-3* Denver, CO Pepsi Center
  Jul-6 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
  Jul-7 San Diego, CA Cox Arena
  Jul-13 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
  Jul-16 San Francisco, CA BG Civic Auditorium
  Jul-18 San Francisco, CA BG Civic Auditorium
  Jul-22 George, WA Gorge Amphitheater

  Aug-25 Leeds, UK Leeds Festival
  Aug-27 Reading, UK Reading Festival

  The band will be playing with Tom Petty on the *’ed dates. Of particular note is the lack of a show in Buffalo. Lame, considering the 2003 Buffalo show was among the three best on the Riot Act tour.

• A six-track promo CD meant for the ears of record executives leaked on the web recently, including Life Wasted, Severed Hand, Parachutes, and Comatose (in addition to the already-released Worldwide Suicide and Unemployable). I’ll wait until the album comes out on May 2nd to review them, but I like the direction I’m hearing in these tracks.
• Pearl Jam will be appearing on Letterman on May 4th. Letterman’s the only late-night talk show the band’s ever done, so this comes as no surprise. Their first full-band appearance after No Code’s release in 1996 was aired commercial-free in a nod to the band’s commercial-conscious stance against large corporations like TicketMaster at the time, and the band was slated to play two songs. Unfortunately, because “Bob Borden’s 4-state Burrito Bonanza” took up far too much air time, the band’s second song, Leaving Here, was cut off about halfway through as the show ended.