Starting off with Pearl Jam (unplugged)

As you might have guessed, I'm not really into music that's "relevant" in 2018. What can I say, I'm old. Decided I'd kick things off with Pearl Jam -- why you ask? Well, as I'm starting this up, it's 8/25/2018 -- I just saw two INCREDIBLE Pearl Jam shows at Wrigley field on 8/18 and 8/20. If you've never experienced Pearl Jam live, you really should. I get that they are not everyone's cup of tea -- but in the 9 shows I've seen, I've left every single one feeling like I'm floating on a cloud. There's a passion there -- from the band and the fan base -- that is just tough to match. Even my wife, who has been to two shows and is most definitely NOT a PJ fan, agrees that a Pearl Jam concert is something different from your average concert. 8/24 also marks the 9th anniversary of my first Pearl Jam show -- it was a long time coming for me -- I was a fan, got tired of the band, rediscovered them, and then listened to a few bootlegs my brother-in-law let me borrow, and decided to check them out. The concert also fell during a memorable time in my life...this was a time when we were expecting our first child. I also welcomed two new nephews (born one week apart) that have both become "buddies" with my kid. This was also a time when the economy was still in a pretty turbulent state and there was a fair bit of stress as a result -- especially with a little one on the way. The catharsis offered by that first Pearl Jam concert was something that hit at the right time and is a big reason why I've held on to the memory longer than I tend to for your average concert. A great thing about Pearl Jam (something I wish all bands would do) is that they record and sell bootlegs of their concerts -- so it certainly helps that I can go relive the show anytime buy queuing it up on my iPhone.

So with Pearl Jam on the brain, I'm going to start off with the event that turned me into a Pearl Jam fan. As with most fans cultivated in the early 90's, the starting point as far as albums go is "Ten", but rather than dive into that, I'm going to talk a bit about the band's appearance on MTV Unplugged. At the time, that show was just gaining steam as one of the best showcases for bands. It had been around for a while -- early episodes featured a host (Jules Shear) and usually two bands per episode. Eventually, this turned into a single band playing a show that was recorded. Pearl Jam had been around a bit by the time their episode premiered but hadn't completely clicked for me. I was in full blow college music snob mode. My favorite bands at this time were R.E.M. and the Replacements. I was also convinced that any music I listened to had to fit a certain genre (this was stupid, by the way). Pearl Jam felt too "classic rock" to fit my alternative rock leanings when I first heard "Alive" and "Even Flow"...although I did like both songs. Then they were lumped into the alternative bucket, so I felt like it was OK to watch the Unplugged episode...

We were greeted with Eddie quoting a bit from the first song on the broadcast -- "State of Love and Trust". The band then tore through a song with just as much ferocity that didn't fit the typical unplugged performance. And right there, I was hooked. This was the first time I had seen the band outside of the official music videos -- and here's this little guy sitting on a stool, hair tucked up into a White Sox hat. He seems kind of quiet and shy as he talks, then as he starts singing, there's this intensity. His voice and histrionics became such a cliche as the band exploded that it's easy to forget just how commanding Eddie Vedder's presence was back then. Even though he's sitting down, he looks like he's about to explode off the stool -- there's this smoldering anger behind his singing and then his eyes almost roll back into his head. It was honestly captivating...

From here, the band tears through songs that would soon become overplayed. "Alive" was already on its way there. "Black", particularly this very unplugged version, would soon be so overplayed that I avoided the song for years. "Jeremy" was months away from being the omnipresent hit it became, and at this point was a clear high point from "Ten" and this performance. "Even Flow" was also on it's way to becoming nearly impossible to escape. None of these songs was reimagined for the unplugged format -- the band pretty much played them as they appeared on the album -- but even stripped down, these songs cooked in a way the proper album didn't.

The show closed with "Porch". I think by this point I was pretty close to pogoing around my parents' basement while I was watching this. Back in these days, I'd tape shows on VHS and then dub the audio to a cassette tape. This one kicked around my car for a long time. The cassette copy of "Ten" that I had was soon replaced by a CD, and the "Singles" soundtrack arrived (with "State of Love and Trust" and "Breath and a Scream"). 

Eventually, this would see a proper release in DVD form with the reissued version of "Ten". This remains perhaps my second favorite episode of unplugged -- right behind R.E.M.'s first appearance in support of "Out of Time". The DVD includes a different opener - "Oceans" which is a song I really hated in the 90's but completely love now. It really fits the unplugged atmosphere, and I'm surprised they trimmed it out for broadcast. Then again, anything but SOLAT wouldn't have had that sledgehammer intensity that grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. 

Check the episode out for yourself....