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What is a Pearl Jam?
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Once upon a time, I heard a story that provided the inspiration for this article's title. My ex-girlfriend was bragging to an acquaintance that she would soon be accompanying me to a Pearl Jam concert (Chicago II from this year, for those interested). The acquaintance stopped and looked at her quizzically, then asked, "What's a Pearl Jam?" The question was not facetious, but rather the result of honest ignorance. The woman did not know that this was a band's name, let alone that at one time the band in question was one of the biggest musical acts on the planet. The anecdote stuck with me, and has since left me wondering, well…what, in fact, is a Pearl Jam? The only folks that can adequately answer this question are those that are privileged enough to have at some point in their time on Earth witnessed the majesty of seeing Matt, Jeff, Stone, Mike, Eddie and yes, Boom, perform one of their legendary live shows.
Some nights, the boys play tight, strong and powerful sets, short, sweet and to the point, leaving the stage some time around the two-hour point. On others, they perform sprawling, longer sets featuring more jams and ballads, climbing past two and a half hours. Sometimes they create sets heavy with their greatest hits and scattered with a few lesser-played gems. More often the band will baffle the casual fan with sets drenched in obscurity and riddled with b-sides. Special guests will occasionally join the group on stage, such as Robert Plant, Neil Young, Bono, Chris Cornell, Ben Harper and Ace Frehley, just to name a few. And rarely, PJ will play an event marked as an "experiment," something special, rare and separate from all the types of shows listed above. But no matter what type of gig Pearl Jam is performing on a given night, each live performance this band gives to its devoted fans is something special, an exciting, fun, intense, passionate, freewheeling and yes, spiritual happening.
Music magazine heavyweight Rolling Stone wrote that PJ "toured incessantly and became one of rock's great arena acts, attracting a fanatical, Grateful Dead-like cult following with marathon, true-believer shows in the vanishing spirit of Bruce Springsteen, the Who and U2." In 2005, USA Today readers voted Pearl Jam the "greatest American rock band" of all time, beating out such giants as Aerosmith, The Eagles, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Metallica and yes, Seattle rival Nirvana. When the boys won Esquire magazine's 2006 award for "Best Live Act," the publication described them as, "the rare superstars who still play as though each show could be their last." This year the same magazine featured a segment called "9 Live Shows a Man Should See," listing Pearl Jam first, writing that the group "is filling stadiums by forsaking nostalgia." The article added, "They do a few hits at their shows, but it's their reputation for the unexpected that moves tickets – and bootlegs," concluding that, "Pearl Jam is the new new Grateful Dead." More important than the awards, the accolades or the comparisons to the Dead and other legendary live acts, is that word "unexpected." The reason so many members of the group's loyal fan base travel to various and often-distant locations to attend a series of concerts, rather than just the closest one? Each show is wholly unique. One never knows just what special bit of magic might permeate the room on a given night.
...To be continued.
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