Pearl Jam… those guys were something special from the very beginning.
I first heard them in the summer of ’91 when Ten came out. A buddy at the record store put it on one slow afternoon and I remember thinking, “This is different.” Eddie’s voice hit me right in the chest, and the songs just had this weight to them. It wasn’t like anything else coming out of Seattle at the time. By the end of that year I was playing that record nonstop.
When I moved here in ’92 they were already blowing up, but I still got to see them a bunch of times. One night that really sticks with me is December 9th, 1993 at the Seattle Center Arena. They came out with this insane energy. The place was packed, but they played like they were still in some dive club. I still remember them tearing through “Daughter,” “Alive,” and “Porch.” The whole arena was singing along so loud it felt like the roof was gonna come off. That was one of those shows where you could feel how huge they had become, but they never lost that fire.
They always handled the fame in their own stubborn way. Back in ’94 and ’95 they went to war with Ticketmaster over those crazy service fees and tried to tour without them. A lot of people thought they were crazy for fighting the biggest ticket company in the country, but they stood up for what they believed in even when it cost them shows and money. I respected the hell out of that. While other bands just went along with the machine, Pearl Jam pushed back hard.
These days in 2002, it sounds like they’re working on new material and playing a few smaller shows here and there. Eddie just inducted the Ramones into the Rock Hall last month, which felt pretty cool. I still throw on Ten when I want to remember that first rush of ’91, or Vs. when I’m feeling nostalgic for those wild years when everything was exploding. Vitalogy and No Code still get heavy rotation too.
Pearl Jam wasn’t just another Seattle band. They became part of a lot of people’s lives, mine included. They proved you could get massive without selling your soul completely. Not many bands can say that.
Some bands just stay with you, you know? And these guys… they’re definitely one of them.