I love the guy who seems to know a little about everything when questioned always says 'I don't know'
Can't barely get through tuesday show at the moment. What with all the fake callers, callers who just blow him over the air, and pre-made songs etc.
Haven't gotten into pearl jam yet. That might spark things up for me.
It's obvious that Howard has people feed him questions and possibly even during the interview...but he also has a good memory and I think he's admitted that people will tell him facts right before the guests come in and he'll use those during the interview.
As far as Pearl Jam, check out their "Live On Two Legs" material. It's a "Best of the 98 Tour" they put together, but it flows like a single show. They were supposed to release every 1998 show on CD in order to combat bootleggers who wanted $40+ per show, but... whatever was supposed to happen ...it didn't happen until the 2000 tour. It was their 2000 tour that got mass released and they had the most albums simultaneously chart until, surprise, Taylor Swift...if I have that fact right.
Their fans are definitely Deadhead-types. Because each show is (mostly) different, you'll find people where they've done a crazy amount of shows and they're trying to "chase" a "white whale" to "finish an album." I know someone who runs her own business and can work remote...she's trying to do every show this year. Of course, she's also involved in the pre-show fundraisers, so she's usually at most USA shows anyway.
Another great thing is that they took a page from Neil Young. They may have a studio song clocking in at 3:42, but it can be over 5-6 minutes with a solo or an extended ending. That story that Ed said where Mike can jam Even Flow for 5-6 minutes...check out the example below.
It's just so weird to go to see another band and they play their songs exactly like how they were done in the studio with the same stories between each song...of course, their tickets are typically much easier to get.
And anyone who can take a guitar (without celebrity value attached) worth more than some cars and play it behind their head gets mad respect.