(picture credit – Karen Loria / http://www.flickr.com/photos/pearljamofficial )
Pearl Jam
Australasian tour - November 2009
I’ve mentioned to many of you in the past just what this band means to me. And im not alone when i say that their music just connects with me. The songs just reach out and grab me - both lyrics and music. And this band is one that ive never tired of listening to (and ive been a fan since 1992). I have at times lost confidence in some of their records upon release (ie No Code or Riot Act) but eventually find my way back to these records and discover their purpose in the greater picture. I recall that first time I heard Alive and that amazing opening riff and resulting guitar tone from Stone. Then the groove of Even Flow. I was hooked and to this day listen to Ten constantly. Vs arrived and took a new path for me - with laid back tunes like Daughter, Elderly Woman and Indifference being some of my favorites right up there with the more rockin numbers. Every album that has followed has been eagerly anticipated and repeatedly played upon release.
My first live exposure to the band was watching Mtv back in 92 or 93. The Even Flow video with its live recording was intense. In these pre internet days we had to rely on free to air TV broadcasting the odd live video or if we were lucky and stayed up all night we might get a few live tracks back to back. I recall seeing a few Unplugged gigs this way on Mtv - including a few of the Pearl Jam unplugged performance. One performance stands out for me and many other fans of the band - the 1993 Mtv Video Music Awards. I vividly recall the end of the awards show with Christian Slater announcing the band and then they kicked in to a killer version of Animal. Then the mighty Neil Young comes out for the most amazing live version of Rockin in The Free World I have ever heard. And the band looked all cool too. Lots of shorts and long hair and baseball caps. And Ed looked pissed off or maybe even drunk. Then Mike trashed his amps at the end. It was the coolest thing id seen on Mtv since the Guns n Roses Live At The Ritz performance from 1988.
The band toured here for the first time in 1995. I didn’t go to the shows and have regretted it ever since. The shows were announced before the release of Vitalogy and sure Ten and Vs were great but to buy tickets to a show for an album I hadn’t heard yet was a bit risky on my high school budget back then. We all know how great Vitalogy is and im sure you all agree with me that missing that tour was a big musical mistake for me. I read the reports of the shows in the weeks following and I wasn’t happy. The band were on fire. Jack Irons was drumming too - even Dave Grohl flew over here to hang out at a few shows in his post Nirvana / pre Foo days. And Flea jammed with them as well. Lucky for me that national radio station Triple J recorded one of the shows and broadcast it not long after. This recording (and subsequent upgrades thanks to the wonders of live show trading) has become one of my favourite live recordings of the 1500+ that I have from many artists.
1995/6/7 was great as a music fan as the emergence if this internet thing really opened the world to new live recordings (albeit in low quality mp3s). We could read international show reviews mere hours after they occurred. We could see photos of the shows. We could find out about upcoming releases. We could search for these international versions of the albums, 7" singles, etc. It was awesome to be a merd (Music Nerd) at that time. That period also co-incided with my post high school jobs and a flush of income that I have nothing to show for now but a stack of records, tapes, cds, singles, video tapes, magazines, posters, t shirts, gig tickets and the subsequent diminished hearing.
1998 was the first time i got to see Pearl Jam live. I somehow managed to grab seats to one of the shows at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in March. Shudder To Think were the support act and they were that bad that I walked out. To say they sucked is an understatement. But then Pearl Jam came on and floored all 12,000 of us in attendance. It was great. Stone even did Mankind. Very cool. Lucky for me that the band later that year released Live On Two Legs so we could relive many great moments from the Yield tour.
Late 1999 was an amazing time in my life. I had a new job. I got together with the woman who would become my wife. And during this time there were a few albums that became the soundtrack that ill always think of when my mind goes back to those times - Foo Fighters There Is Nothing Left To Lose, Beastie Boys - Sounds Of Science (the anthology) and Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication. But its one song that will always stand out - Pearl Jam's Black off the Ten record. A few life long friends were camping to bring in the new Millennium. Many tunes were played over those few days. I recall laying in our tent when my girl heard Black for the first time from a stereo the next campsite over. She was amazed at how great it was and had to hear it again immediately - I just so happened to have my Live On Two legs cd in the car and that version of Black became a constant player for many years to come.
Binaural arrived and everything about that album was amazing. The artwork to the way the track list flows perfectly on a road trip. Its all good. Light Years became a favourite track that would later on take on a whole new meaning for me - and became the girls second favourite track. Other stand out tracks on the disc for me are Nothing As It Seems and Sleight Of Hand. The 2000 international tour was great as it produced the start of the official bootleg series. I bought a few, downloaded a few and traded a few. A very cool move on the bands part. I saw the band again on the Riot Act tour - February 14 2003. The album didn’t really grab me at the time but the live show did and left me wanting more. Lucky for me that the band continued the official bootleg program so i could relive that show over and over.
Late 2003 saw the arrival of a major piece of technology into the house - broadband internet. And with broadband internet came torrents and with torrents came a multitude of live shows from many of my favourite bands - both CD and DVD. Yayness maximum. I struggled to keep up with the amount of shows I owned back then and still struggle to this day. Ill struggle with that issue forever - but its a good problem to have. Once fantasized about live versions of songs or rare shows now became reality. Shows that I only had in 96k mono mp3 now became 16bit flacs. Every day was a new show from a favourite band. The backseat of my car was flooded with dozens of live shows on CD. One live show I managed to get during the following years was a high quality FM recording of the Pearl Jam show here in Melbourne (March 17 1995) on the Vitalogy tour. It had announcers voice over’s throughout the show but it was great to finally have the full thing. Dave Grohl jumped on the drums during Rockin In The Free World. Amazing versions of Immortality and State Of Love And Trust as well. But one track stood out - a solo Ed speech about that day being his and then partner Beth's anniversary. He then mentioned that there’s a line from the New Zealand band Split Enz song and he’d like to sing it - "I got you. And that’s all I want". I recall that being one of the most raw, heartfelt and romantic lyrics id ever heard. It said so much in so few words. I made a note to myself to remember it for later on.
2004 and 2005 were good to get the rearviewmirror and Lost Dogs sets. Whilst in New York in late 05 I managed to score them both on vinyl so now im only missing Live On Two Legs and Benaroya Hall on vinyl. I know a guy who has Two Legs on vinyl (sealed) that will (WILL!!!!) one day relinquish ownership to me. In mid 2006 I was preparing for the wedding and wrote my vows. Being a “merd” I wanted to put some musical references in as that’s what I normally do in everyday life and the wedding was no exception. Some of you were there and you heard them. The last line of my wedding vows was "I got you. And that’s all I want" The fellow “merds” who where present that afternoon were all impressed. So too was the mrs.
The Pearl Jam / avocado album was released mid 2006 as well as tickets to the November Australian tour. I wanted to see a few shows but was trying to be good with the cash post honeymoon so just decided on one show in Sydney. A few weeks before the show Yvee got the cancer diagnosis and to say that that time in my life was fcuking warped is an understatement. I wasn’t going to go to the show but she made me go. I was with Ben in great seats and wasn’t really in a gig going mood until the band hit the stage. The set list was great and the songs off the new record really came alive (pun intended) in the live environment. I’ve mentioned before to some of you that the performance of Black that night fcuked me up majorly. I stood there crying harder than when she had told me the diagnosis. That line in the middle really hit hard "I know some day you'll have a beautiful life. I hope you'll be a star. In somebody else’s sky. But why cant I be mine?". Ben put his hand on my shoulder as if to say "im here for you man". It was a moment ill never forget and one that I always recall when listening to that version from the official bootleg.
As many of you know my girl didn’t make it. While preparing for the funeral in December 2007 I had to prepare something to hand out at the service. Not wanting anything sad I was leaning towards some lyrics to a song and decided on Light Years. It was her second favourite PJ song and has very fitting lyrics in my opinion. So an A5 sized card was given out that had a beautiful photo on it with the lyrics "And where ever you've gone. And wherever we might go. It don’t seem fair. You seemed to like it here. Your light's reflected now. Reflected from afar. We were but stones. Your light made us stars"
In the weeks after the funeral I struggled to listen to music that had real meaning to me. One album that comforted me during this time was the Benaroya Hall acoustic set. Those were some dark days for me but that album helped me pass them.
So I caught an Eddie Vedder solo show in Boston in August 2008 and it was good but it lacked something - Stone, Matt, Jeff and Mike. Later in 2008 came a rumored box set for Ten and then came the announcement for what I call the greatest box set i own. I wrote a review on my blog HERE.
2009 came the release of Backspacer. But before that came the announcement of an Australasian tour. I finally joined Ten club to get tickets but the tour ended up being in stadiums with GA on the floor anyway damn it. Oh well its ok for me and my 430 XXX number, but I feel for those Aussies with their sub 200 000 numbers. I wanted to do the whole tour but had to factor in time off work as well as cash. So decided on Melbourne and Sydney only. The Backspacer album was released and I really like it - its not their best work but there is some real gems on it that I later found out really shine in the live setting.
Ben did the first two shows of the tour - Perth and Adelaide - and traveled between in the Jam Van. Ben has been a part of the Touring Van on a few US tours and also the 2006 Australian tour. I read some show reports from these opening two shows and was very impressed with the set lists.
The tour got to Melbourne on November 20. Ben had been lining up with his fellow tour followers the night before the show to get a good position on the rail when the doors opened. I had to work on the day of the show so was lucky that the people around Ben were cool enough to let me in when I turned up the afternoon of the show. Jason and his mate were great guys to hang with and spend 3 or 4 hours in line with. When doors opened we made it to the barrier in front of Stone. Liam Finn and EJ Barnes were good openers. Ben Harper rocked - his drummer is phenomenal. The Pearl Jam show was great though I didn’t get a good view of the lights nor the best sound from that position. But I was lucky enough to score one of Mike and Eddie's guitar picks. They did Black and yeah I was messed up again. I was happy but also sad that she would have been seeing a show on this tour for the first time. Ben passed out during Black too. Stupid fool didn’t eat or drink anything while sleeping out and lining up all day. I found it sort of funny that be blacked out during Black. Ben sort of laughed at that too. Set highlights were the opener of Elderly Woman, Brother, Present Tense, the best version of Jeremy ive ever heard, Ed doing The Needle and The Damage Done, Black and Spin The Black Circle. All in all a very enjoyable show.
The day after the show Ben and I drove to Sydney in his JamVan to see the show on the 22nd.
We got inline about 11 on the day of the Sydney show to conserve some energy - it was forecasted for 41 degrees that day. The plan was to get to the front "T" barrier to see the show so we could just chill out and enjoy the show. Ben's girl was in town and we were going to see the show with Gen who couldn’t see more than one show this tour (after her 10 shows on the 2006 tour). But tonight was also going to be my mate Sean's first Pearl Jam gig - after being a fan since 1992 as well. Sean's like a brother to me and has been there for me in many many ways over the last few years so it was good to experience the show with him. We chilled out and enjoyed the Liam Finn and Ben Harper sets before the main act. Liam joined the band for the Hunters & Collectors song Throw Your Arms Around Me and then Ed also joined Ben again for the Queen/Bowie track Under Pressure. Nice. The show was great from the barrier we were on and even though Ed was sick with a cold the band put on a great show that was just as good as the Melbourne show in my opinion. Eddie spoke a few times about his love for Sydney to rapturous applause. He then mentioned the next song was a request and that it was "for a young light named Sebastian". They then went into Light Years. I recall Sean giving me a hug after the song. I wasn’t sad during the song and recall looking up at the stars and getting a feeling that she's ok. Before the next track Last Exit I lent over to Ben and said "fcuk it - im coming to New Zealand too" He was happy as he had been bugging me about seeing more shows this tour. I didn’t have flights, accommodation or tickets to the shows but for one of the first times in my life I just did something spontaneous. After that version of Light Years I needed to see more of this band. The show ended shortly after as Ed was sick, but set highlights were Hail Hail, Given To Fly, Untitled/MFC, Garden, Mankind!!!, State Of Love And Trust, Light Years and Crazy Mary.
After the show I bumped into Jason from the line-up in Melbourne. We were raving about the show and both mentioned how good Light Years was. He then told me that the song was dedicated to his son Sebastian who had passed on a few weeks earlier. I told him about the meaning of the song to me and what I had used the lyrics for. He was floored and so too I. We met up again outside the arena and I met his wife. We had a brief chat about the power of music to help in times of need and its a conversation im sure we will continue shortly. Sean loved the show and we all had a quick meal to talk endlessly about the show.
So the next few days were franticly getting flights, accommodation, transfers, time off work, etc. But it got sorted and I arrived on the night before the Auckland show. New Zealand is only a 3.5hr flight so no big deal. The shows over there were stadiums as well, so the early line up thing continued. Ben and I got there about 1030am and were in the first 30 in line. It was good to spend the whole day meeting more of Ben's friends from previous tours. I also met a few local Kiwi people who were great to hang out with. The show was the first time Pearl Jam had played in New Zealand in 11 years so anticipation was high amongst the locals. But this anticipation also brought out the "tools" so the once normal non crowded / no moshing / easy going / respect your fellow fan vibe of the entire Australian tour became the mosh pit to rival one at a Slayer gig. Damn it. Eddie stopped the show a few times and singled out a few of the local fucktards to get them to chill out. A few of the bands security personnel tried to stop them with little success. The first 5 or 6 songs were a blur as I was attempting to not fall over. But then it kinda chilled out - emphasis on the word kinda. One guy was trying to start some circle pits - think Venice Beach circa 1985. This is fine if I was at a Slayer gig but again - this was a Pearl Jam gig. This inbred had his shirt off and a nipple ring. I did have thoughts about pulling the nipple ring off but remembered the story I heard about the local Maori tribes and their hatred of non local Maori people. Anyway - asswipes aside the show was great. The set list was tight with highlights being Faithful, Unthought Known, Love Reign O'er Me and The Fixer. Mike gave a friend of mine a handful of guitar picks to share amongst her friends - and she did. That was uber nice of them both. I regifted mine to one of my new Kiwi friends and then was gifted another one. PJ fans are tops!
Saturday I went to Reel Groovy Records in Auckland. I spent a stack of cash there when I was in New Zealand for the 1998 Metallica shows. Its a great independent record store that was in some financial trouble a few years ago but made it through ok. I picked up Backspacer on vinyl as well as the new Weezer record (its awesome), Joe Walsh's But Seriously Folks and the super rare Springsteen Dream Baby Dream 10". That afternoon i flew to Christchurch for the final show of my tour, the Australasian tour and the bands 2009 tour. My flight was full of Pearl Jam fans and one guy from America came up to me and gave me props for my shirt (black long sleeve from the 1998 Yield tour) as he had never seen it anywhere. He had been to a few hundred shows so I felt special.
Christchurch is cool - reminded me a bit of Boston. Ben and I got to the line about 7am and were 13th and 14th in line. It was cool again to hang out and meet more peeps and crazies. But it was cold. 16 degrees was the maximum temp that day as we were in line outside. Mad scrambles for jumpers and jackets was the main focus throughout the day. When the gates opened we walked (very quickly) and made it through to Stone's side again. Just before I got the to barrier I noticed one of Eddie's guitar picks on the grass so quickly ran back and got it. Sean will love it im sure. Liam Finn's set was good again though I was getting a little bored of the tunes. It was good to have Neil Finn make a brief appearance with Liam again. Ben Harper came out and was great as always - his drummer is amazing. Ed joined Ben again for Under Pressure.
Pearl Jam opened the show with Given To Fly and then went straight into Got Some. Very cool. The crowd was much better than Auckland as well. I guess the cold didn’t necessitate the excess drinking and subsequent dickheadness of the Auckland crowd? Tremor Christ was choice - earlier in the day id mentioned my want for more Vitalogy stuff as id missed the Brisbane show and Not For You. I Got Shit was great to hear live. Garden into Do The Evolution into Go was awesome to close the main set.
Neil Finn came back out with his son Liam for the final encore to perform the Crowded House track Better Be Home Soon with the band. Right after that Liam and Neil stayed onstage with the band to perform Split Enz’s I Got You. And fcuk me if it all didn’t come back full circle to me. It was hard to go to these shows due to the impact the music the band make has had on me and the events in my life their music is forever connected to. And to not have my girl there to see the band was also an issue for me. But then to get fcuked up during Black in Melbourne to seeing Light Years in Sydney and now seeing Ed sing those opening lines to I Got You with the guy who wrote it and the wedding reference for me it just helps close the loop. Two days after the Christchurch show was the second anniversary of her passing. In a way I went to New Zealand to get away for a bit to give me a boost to help get through that date. It worked.
Ed gave Gus his wine bottle after the show. Gus offered me some and it was good to find out that it aint red cordial he's downing each show. Im not a wine drinker but it was a nice drop. Post show was photos and stories and email address swapping with peeps ill stay in touch with until we all meet again at the next tour. Or next years 20th anniversary shows in the States. Or maybe the Europe shows in the summer.
I chilled out the day after the show. I was beat. This rock n roll stuff is hard work even just seeing a few shows in a few days. I have no idea how I managed 14 shows in 18 nights in 5 states when in America last year. I got to the airport and met up with Ben and some other mates. We shared favourite show moments from the tour - and of course I missed some of the best ones in the three shows I missed. Then we heard the story of Neil and the magical Maori juice and the walking through reception naked at 6am. There’s much more to that story and im looking forward to hearing more about it at the next tour.
adam
PS - one final thing. Yellow Ledbetter is one of my fav. PJ tracks. Sure its becoming their Bobby Jean, but I love it. While getting the YouTube links together for this review I came across the below video for the song. Too fucking funny!
