1) first show without dave

2) jack drummed, but hadn't been hired officially yet, I don't think

3) Vitalogy wasn't released yet, but all of Vitalogy had already been written and peformed repeatedly with Dave (starting in '93), exception of Corduroy which was premiered

4) the tour after Bridge was just playing the songs they had been previously, with Jack instead of Dave, and a few "No Code" songs, but not really anything substantial (habit, yes... lukin, no (60 secs???)), which was really out of character of them up until that point to tour without premiering their next album in the process

5) ed was about to turn 30 (which until you get there, you won't understand, but I can only imagine)

6) it was the last shows of that year, the one that Cobain died in

7) they played the hell out of their two nights

and it would be two more albums released before they would tour again with anything new to really play (starting in september of '96, about two years later).... it really was the end of an era to me, one without dave present, but in an acoustic setting, one he wasn't really necessary for, which makes it all the more fitting

3/15/94 Corduroy first played at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, MO

also played...

4/2/94 soundcheck
4/8/94
4/11/94

...then at the Bridge School in October.

I may have missed one as I was just scanning the concert chronolgy quickly.

94 was a pivotal year...! These shows are the most powerful shows I have ever heard, and I have numerous shows spanning their entire career.

Angry Eddie with his agressive voice was never better than 1994.

I love where Pearl Jam is today because I am content too... but in 94 I was as angry as Ed... and I love to revisit that intensity from time to time.

Newton
(your freindly neighborhood facts check guy)

Corduroy was played 4/7/94 too!

VERY INTERESTING! Did not realize this... I guess it makes my reasoning stronger... how different do they sound from the final version?

Corduroy has some subtle lyric changes (making for a much improved final version) but the music is essentially the same.

Immortality had different lyrics when it was played in 1994 as well.

You should read the 1994 concert chronology and chase down some of the pivotal shows from 1994. 1994 features some truly amazing shows from Pearl Jam's early career. Longer setlists and a feeling of urgency.

Newton

what's a benefit concert?

I can only comment on 4/8/94. Both musically and lyrically it sounds remarkably similar to what ended up on Vitalogy. I was at the show and have a very rough sounding bootleg. But I do remember that I was immediately floored by how great the song was. It was similar to the very first time I heard 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins - one of those rare occasions when you hear a song that pushes you beyond what you thought were your boundaries of music appreciation.