Artist bio

See also: Hovercraft, Mad Season, Three Fish

When Pearl Jam first rose to superstardom in the early ‘90s, the quintet was rarely regarded in the same light as Seattle colleagues such as Nirvana (more attitude) or Soundgarden and Alice In Chains (they rocked harder). Indeed, at first everything was a struggle for Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready, from getting “metal” radio to play “Alive” to struggling for cred amid its more established local mates. Then suddenly Pearl Jam and its roaring update of Aerosmith, the Who, and Led Zeppelin was more popular than them all. Ten went on to sell 9 million copies. Vs. set a record by shifting nearly 900,000 units in its first week of release. Listeners followed the band’s every whim: when 1994’s Vitalogy was issued on vinyl two weeks before it came out on CD, enough people bought that version that it debuted just outside the top-50 of The Billboard 200. Appropriately, the first single was called “Spin the Black Circle” and was the band’s least radio friendly track to date.

But with success came struggle, some media generated (the famous losing battle with Ticketmaster) but most of it fueled by band members’ own insecurity with their newfound celebrity. Pearl Jam pulled back on every level, looking to its influences for guidance and in the process establishing for itself new and important means of collaboration. What followed were a series of increasingly personal, musically intricate albums (1996’s No Code, 1998’s Yield, 2000’s Binaural) that often befuddled the masses but cemented Pearl Jam’s place as one of the best rock bands of its generation. The group’s rabid following was always rewarded with thrilling live shows that never featured the same setlist, justifying the otherwise preposterous scheme that saw 72 complete concerts from the 2000 tour made available to retail. By the 2002 release of Riot Act, Pearl Jam had reached a milestone not one of its hometown rivals had even come close to achieving: more than a decade of great music, made on its own terms.

Albums by this artist

Binaural (2000)

'Given To Fly' (1998)

Yield (1998)

No Code (Recommended) (1996)

Merkin Ball (1996)

Vitalogy (Recommended) (1994)

Vs. (1993)

Concerts

August 18, 2000
Deer Creek Amphitheater, Indianapolis

Pearl Jam with Sonic Youth

Deer Creek Amphitheater, Indianapolis (August 18, 2000)

The band is far down the road from when they first became modern rock darlings back in the early '90s, and their craft of rock and roll is becoming even more exciting as their catalog expands.

The venerable Sonic Youth opened the show with a vibrant but cursory set mixing older "hits" like "Schizophrenia" and "Kool Thing" with more recent material from NYC Ghosts & Flowers. An amphitheater is not neccesarily the most ideal place for a Sonic Youth gig, but compared to your average opening band, the elder statesmen (and woman) of alternative rock are certainly a nice treat.

Pearl Jam kicked off their own show with a brief run-through of Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive" and then blasted into the ragged anthem "Corduroy" from 1994's Vitalogy. The track's middle section proved the first of many showcases for lead guitarist Mike McCready, who wrenched intense solos from his various guitars all night.

Skinsman Matt Cameron, late of Soundgarden, put his energetic stamp on most of the evening's songs. On slower cuts like "Pilate" and "Dissident," Cameron seemed to want to pick the pace up a little too much for his bandmates' tastes, resulting in slightly confused renditions. But on rockers like No Code's "Lukin" and Binaural's "Insignificance", Cameron propelled the band toward inspired performance.

One of the most refreshing things about Pearl Jam today is the unpredictability of their live shows. The setlists vary from night to night, drawing on their six-album backlog and a large repertoire of rarer songs and covers. Some of this show's highlights included an extended version of "Better Man" with a solo guitar introduction and a nice coda of the English Beat's "Save It For Later". In encore, a bearded Ed Vedder took the stage alone for a rendition of the Hunters And Collectors' "Throw Your Arms Around Me," which he dedicated to his brother, who was in attendance.

Also included in the encore were "State Of Love And Trust" from 1992's "Singles" soundtrack and "Crazy Mary," from the 1993 Victoria Williams tribute Sweet Relief. Taking a cue from a sign-holding member of the audience, the band closed with the Neil Young classic "Rockin' In The Free World".

It was just a rock show, nothing that's gonna change the world. But on a summer night in Indianapolis, it felt so good.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.