PJ20

I’m not a person with an addictive personality, but seeing Pearl Jam live is like a drug, and I say that in all seriousness. Since 2009 I’ve been to 14 Pearl Jam shows, seven in Europe and two in the USA and five in Canada; and yes I have no doubt you’re thinking that’s mental and you’d be right! I’ve only seen them three times in the UK, and yep if you are a PJ fan reading this, I did turn down Shepherds Bush tickets – *tut* but I didn’t know then….and no, I didn’t go to the O2 gig, so yeah, I missed out on Footsteps! For those non PJ peeps, no they don’t play the same set each night!

Prior to taking this trip, I had spent hours considering, digesting, worrying and a bit more worrying, (yeah -  I worry a lot) about whether to go and generally driving my friends mad. I had also spent time in the days before flying out suddenly trying to arrange last minute trips for some friends to come out for the party. But now I was on my way....On the 1^st  September I took the night train to Heathrow to fly to the USA, my first time out of Europe, my first long haul flight and all on my own I arrived in Chicago, there to meet friends and  to go to PJ20. I waited for Yvi to join me at the airport, it felt odd to be in a country I recognised so much..but from the media!

Me and Yvi stayed in downtown Chicago, near the shuttle pick up to take us to the venue. On the day we arrived there was a pre-party up near the site, I was gutted to miss it, and latterly it seemed that being there meant you being ‘in the know’. Anyway, despite the tiredness, we ventured out to explore the Millennium Park in the centre of Chicago, met up with our Scottish friends and then succeeded in finding a Chicago theatre to enable copious photo opportunities for Yvi to recreate an Eddie Vedder poster!

The following day, after I managed to find a cashpoint to accept my card, we headed to the bus, picked up our wristbands, and felt part of the bubbling excitement.  We also came across a couple of lads from Ireland, who it turned out, would be a hilarious addition to the weekend. Alpine Valley is a music theatre in amongst a ski resort a couple of hours drive from Chicago in Wisconsin (or Michigan if you’ve a mis-printed hoodie like me).

We had ticket issues that had to be resolved which meant a lot of hanging around on that first day. Initially it was fun chatting to people, even when the rain began, there was a lot of laughter hiding behind a van drinking from random bottles – neat Pimms anyone? I had 10C tickets, so also got the goody pack with the Vault #1 release etc.

However, the enjoyment began to be lost on me when after hours of standing in the torrential rain I squelched when I moved and my jeans were so wet they were falling down with the weight of water. I could hear bands/acts playing that I wanted to see and yet I was standing outside the gates – this isn’t what I’d gone for! Others were tailgating in the car parks, a whole new concept to us Europeans, we just don’t do that over here, and sadly we missed out on that too. Finally with the tickets sorted, walking in was a godsend, though the merch stand for dry clothing and the 10 Club toilets were the most immediately welcomed thing!

Don’t worry, my smile began to return in dry clothes and I was lucky enough to go into the PJ20 museum whilst sheltering from the storm. Some of the stuff in there was amazing to see, it gave you a real sense of the journey of the band, it really was a collectors dream. In the poster expo, I was able to spend some time talking to the guys from Ames; they liked my accent apparently! Yvi fulfilled her poster addiction!

Venturing down to find our seats (after initially sitting in someone else’s – oops!) it was like a European representation in our row, and I was about to experience my first seated show. I have to say I liked the fact you could put merch under your seat, but it felt very alien to me, there was a sense of restriction. We watched Mudhoney (for the first time, fab), Queens of the Stone Age (ace) and The Strokes (hmmm not for me), before getting the shot of Pearl Jam we’d come for.

As Philip Glass began, I got that first sense of religious Pearl Jam ferver. Leading into the chords of Release (I love that song as an opener) Yvi was already in tears, and as I hugged her, the pent up frustration of the day ebbed away, as the realisation dawned of where we were. It was a solid main set; there was an odd flow but it still felt comforting in an exhilarating way. I loved In The Moonlight, and I got to hear some tracks such as SOLAT, Life Wasted, Help Help, Deep etc.

Ed seemed to have an ease with the crowd, the interaction was there, probably moreso than I'd seen before other than in Berlin. The encore was fast approaching and there had been rumour after rumour of who was going to appear. As Chris Cornell walked on stage, there was Temple of the Dog re-forming, in front of me.  It was special, it was happening and god did I grin. Then, track two of the ToTD reunion, was Stardog Champion, a Mother Love Bone track. I don’t think that had been played since Andy Wood died. I didn’t mind the time given over to Cornell on lead vocals, and the band definitely didn’t but I know it led to a few gripes among the purists.

Weary after a long but jubilant day, the bus journey back to Chicago was pretty harsh to be honest.

Morning of day 2, Yvi and I overslept, two girls getting ready in under 30 minutes has to be some sort of record! The bus driver thought it would be good to put a film on...it was an horrifically bad decision and the speakers caused a high pitch squeal for most of the journey which wasn’t appreciated!

Day 2 turned out to be the day I had wanted day 1 to be. In from the start, we managed to see all the acts, and it felt like a member of Pearl Jam played with them all! For me Ed and Glen Hansard, and Ed with John Doe were the stand out appearances. We got to spend time in the 10C area, amble around the site, chat to the poster artists (I was very chuffed that Brad Klausen liked my Eddie Vedder wave necklace!) and catch up with people we’d missed thus far. There seemed to be a buzz on day 2, that felt stronger than on day 1. At one point we were deciding what to do next, and turned around to see Mike McCready an arm’s length away just walking across the site (with minders lol!), stopping to chat to people, I said hi and Yvi was quick enough to get a photo. This band, let’s face it, they don’t have to mingle, they know they’ve a rabid following, but I felt it showed the connection to the fans and to the other acts on the bill that they kept popping up around the site.

There was a proper sense of community across the venue, so many smiles from so many nationalities. We had lawn tickets and it was obvious that many of the people around us weren’t used to GA! It was slightly awkward where we were standing, people didn’t seem to know what to do without seats. However, with Wash as an opener, Love Boat Captain, All Night, Jeremy,  Black, an improvised track, Liam Finn on Habit and Glen Hansard on Smile, plus more ToTD - I guess you just had to be there to see how much the band were enjoying themselves and just how infectious that was. Day 2 made Day 1 work, it tied together the sets.

It made me smile.

It’s odd, had I written this before I went to Canada there would’ve been mention of Rockin in the Free World, but Toronto blew this version away.

We were able to find time to sightsee in Chicago the day after the gigs, still on that high, we had lunch in the Chocolate Factory (*sigh* Big Bang Theory addiction) and saw the city from great heights. I’d like to go back and see more, I didn’t feel I had enough time to explore. After a tearful goodbye with Yvi, I  decided to go back and take photos at Millennium Park, ending the weekend where it had begun. I had wanted time to reflect before the next day moving onto Montreal. In fact what happened was I stumbled across a Soul Train party and ended up dancing with strangers in the dark! You know, as you do...

I am so pleased I went to PJ20. I have to admit, I didn’t have the emotional attachment to the gigs I thought I might have, but there was still that chemistry, that magic. Some people were never going to be happy, they were expecting things that were never going to happen; their hopes would have always been dashed even if the band had played until dawn (night 2 had a 33 song set, I reckon that's pretty good going when you've played throughout the day with other acts too!). 

I like to think I don’t go anywhere with an expectation, though I guess in the case of Pearl Jam shows, there is a certain level set. You’re always going to get those people, those purists, who want all rarities, or all songs from particular albums, I’m not one of those. I don’t need to be front row, listening to a song never played before to enjoy myself. For me, it's about connection, to the music, to the people around you, to the band. It's about feeling the sound in your chest cavity, and aching for it to continue.

I wouldn’t have been anywhere else - why did I worry?