Tuesday, June 28, 2011

PJ20: twenty



This Labor Day weekend Pearl Jam will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a multi band festival, PJ20. It pains me to say I won't be able to attend since there's only one place I can be that weekend. After the announcement I made it a point to collect all the live recordings of the shows I attended. I've been fortunate enough to catch some legendary ones and wanted to relive all the moments that made them special.

Pearl Jam understands what it means to be a touring band. They can play for over two hours every night and still mix up setlists by taking chances. The real moments of greatness occur when the collective energy of the band and crowd lock together. Pearl Jam's ability to decipher what the crowd wants and deliver is what truly makes them one of the best live bands ever... yeah I said it.

Leading up to Labor Day I'll be writing a couple posts a week discussing the best things I've witnessed this band do. Twenty posts total. It'll serve as therapy for not being able to make the big party. Feel free to post responses if you have anything to add about my "best of" list or anything PJ related! I want to hear what you think. Without further adieu, here's #20


06.08.92 - Pinkpop Festival Landgraaf - Netherlands

Obviously I wasn't there (since I was eleven years old), but the video footage was some of my first exposure to live Pearl Jam. Here's this young band gaining momentum by destroying little theater's, now playing to their biggest crowd. It's a performance that will ultimately define their careers. Here's some of the clips for you to see what I'm talking about:













1 comment:

  1. PJ20 will be screen at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor on September 20. Tickets in advance are available at: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3852815

    For more info: http://www.michtheater.org/schedule_descriptions.php#pj20

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