troublenomore62
A huge heartfelt thank you to Pearl Jam. My 16 year old daughter and I were at the show in Quebec City. This was my first concert since my husband died We were married in 1991, so we were together as long as Pearl Jam is. We traveled all over to see them, and these trips were very special to us, our escape from "regular life" - our last show together was Hartford 2013. When my husband became ill, one of his wishes was to see Pearl Jam one more time. Sadly, he was unable to fulfill that wish as he passed six months ago, so when the tour was announced, my daughter and I decided to see a couple of shows in his honour. We picked Quebec City and Ottawa, as they were not too far from home. As the Quebec City show got closer, I was starting to dread it. Seeing a band that had so many memories of my husband tied with it seemed very daunting. It seemed so wrong to be going without him. I also had not listened to a lot of music since he died, as my husband was an amazing drummer, and anytime I would hear a song that he had played (and there are hundreds - he played every day) it would cut like a knife. But this was going to be my daughter's first concert ever and she was so excited. She only started listening to Pearl Jam after her dad passed and fell in love with their music. Her big regret was that she did not start listening to them earlier and was unable to share this with her dad.
When Eddie started his dedication to Valerie and Jan, it was as if he was speaking to Amanda and myself. We stood there with tears rolling down our faces. THEN they played Given To Fly! My husband would never talk about funeral arrangements, the only thing he requested was that we play Given To Fly.
To Valerie, I am a couple of months ahead of you and I understand your pain. I hope that your path through grief becomes softer. Much love.
Gabi
P.S. My daughter, who is quite reserved, jumped and danced her way through the show. I have not seem her smile in a very long time and she smiled from start to finish. She cannot wait for Ottawa. I think Pearl Jam has a new fan for life.