My LA Pearl Jam Experience
magikev
Posts: 296
I was going to post this in the fanviews section, but there was just too much to put there. Unfortunately, I missed LA 1, but have a pretty good take on 2, 3, and 4. Apologies for tense changes and poor grammar . . .typed this fairly quickly.
October 1:
I wake up in the morning, and decide I can't stay down in San Diego knowing that Pearl Jam is playing 2 hours away. Luckily, I hop on the message pit and get a seat in the Mezzanine (center) thanks to gar mcmichael and a girl from New Mexico. My girlfriend was going the LA 3 with me, and my buddy was joining me for LA 4, but this one was me flying solo. Finally, I arrive in the seats a couple songs after Ben Harper began. I'm stunned by how few people are there to see him (best opening act I've ever seen), but people quickly start filling in the seats. It's about this time that I decide the Mezzanine is not for me. I'm a professional magician by trade, which means that I thrive on being sneaky. Security was a joke, however, and I quickly found myself in the center orchestra. And so started a game of cat and mouse, filling in the occasional empty bathroom breaker's seat, and somehow staying around Orchestra NN, section 1, all evening. Near the end, I made a rush for the pit, but was grabbed by security and walked back to the Orchestra. Now keep in mind, I try to be as polite as possible during all this. There is nothing worse to me than a pushy PJ fan blocking people's views and making the lucky paying seatholders uncomfortable. Eventually, I made it into the pit for the 2nd encore . . .worth every moment. After the show, I showed security some magic, and made a few friends who would prove invaluable later . . .
Show Highlights: Driven to Tears, Jeremy, Unthought Known, seeing the string quartet for the first time (all songs)
October 6
Had 10C seats for this show (330xxx - I'm only 23, and joined in 2004 . . .ugh, wish I joined when I was 6 years old instead), and went with my girlfriend. We were both pleasantly surprised, as our seats for Section 3, row JJ, seats 101 and 102 (aisle closest to center). There were by far the closest 10 Club seats I've had. Walking by the soundbooth, I saw the setlist handed off right after Ben Harper was done . . .I didn't want to look, but had to . . .and at first was disappointed. The 1st encore was identical to nights 1 and 2. But then I saw Sometimes and Breakerfall were the openers, neither of which I had seen live before. But Encore 2 made me expel a string a quiet expletives, as I saw "Hunger Strike w/ ?" I knew immediately that Chris Cornell was backstage somewhere (and prayed silently that it would not actually be Corin Tucker). Word of advice, by the way: if you see a setlist, RUN . . . .it's tempting, but not worth actually knowing what they are about to do. Hunger Strike was better than I even expected, and then Alive was insane. I need to see it on video, as I'm still not sure how it all went down. Mike was playing his solo, then all the sudden he had no guitar. And that's when I realized that the solo was still going on, only being playing by the one and only Jerry Cantrell. And by the time that sank in, Mike was running around shirtless. My girlfriend and I have no clue how that all happened, and we both left the show in awe and slightly confused. Amazing show.
Show Highlights: NO COVERS, Sometimes, Breakerfall, Hunger Strike, Alive
October 7
So today was the day I took my best friend to his first Pearl Jam show. He loves the band, and has been looking forward to this for a while. I bring my 10C ticket stubs from the night before, as our seats this night are Loge row EE, in the 2 seats furthest to Mike's side. We never sat in those seats once. During Ben Harper's set, we chilled in my seats from the night before, which nobody came to occupy . . .then, during a moment of distraction, we walked behind a guard into the pit . . . where we found the security guards I had done magic for on October 1. They said the only way we could stay was if we found seats. So we walked into 8th row center, sat down, and . . . . .NOBODY EVER CAME. We just happened to pick what looked to be the only unoccupied seats in the pit. So my friend's first Pearl Jam show, and we are 8th row center.
After the show, we walked out the exit door and down a ramp where we should not have been. My friend, who has worked with artist management at various venues, quickly let me know that "We can get in a lot of trouble for being here." We were at the door leading onto the stage, staring at the back of the backdrop. We continued, despite our better judgement, down the hall and out an exit door, which led us directly to the show's afterparty. After speaking with a few people, we learned that the band was hanging out in a separate room, but that they would probably come out to socialize within 90 minutes or so. Unfortunately, my friend was just coming down with the flu, and had to work in the morning, so we had to leave :(.
Show Highlights: Being 8th row center all show, Long Road, Nothingman, Alone, All Those Yesterdays, Kick out the Jams, Porch, Mike running right past me in the pit, Indifference with Ben, going backstage, WAY too much fun
October 1:
I wake up in the morning, and decide I can't stay down in San Diego knowing that Pearl Jam is playing 2 hours away. Luckily, I hop on the message pit and get a seat in the Mezzanine (center) thanks to gar mcmichael and a girl from New Mexico. My girlfriend was going the LA 3 with me, and my buddy was joining me for LA 4, but this one was me flying solo. Finally, I arrive in the seats a couple songs after Ben Harper began. I'm stunned by how few people are there to see him (best opening act I've ever seen), but people quickly start filling in the seats. It's about this time that I decide the Mezzanine is not for me. I'm a professional magician by trade, which means that I thrive on being sneaky. Security was a joke, however, and I quickly found myself in the center orchestra. And so started a game of cat and mouse, filling in the occasional empty bathroom breaker's seat, and somehow staying around Orchestra NN, section 1, all evening. Near the end, I made a rush for the pit, but was grabbed by security and walked back to the Orchestra. Now keep in mind, I try to be as polite as possible during all this. There is nothing worse to me than a pushy PJ fan blocking people's views and making the lucky paying seatholders uncomfortable. Eventually, I made it into the pit for the 2nd encore . . .worth every moment. After the show, I showed security some magic, and made a few friends who would prove invaluable later . . .
Show Highlights: Driven to Tears, Jeremy, Unthought Known, seeing the string quartet for the first time (all songs)
October 6
Had 10C seats for this show (330xxx - I'm only 23, and joined in 2004 . . .ugh, wish I joined when I was 6 years old instead), and went with my girlfriend. We were both pleasantly surprised, as our seats for Section 3, row JJ, seats 101 and 102 (aisle closest to center). There were by far the closest 10 Club seats I've had. Walking by the soundbooth, I saw the setlist handed off right after Ben Harper was done . . .I didn't want to look, but had to . . .and at first was disappointed. The 1st encore was identical to nights 1 and 2. But then I saw Sometimes and Breakerfall were the openers, neither of which I had seen live before. But Encore 2 made me expel a string a quiet expletives, as I saw "Hunger Strike w/ ?" I knew immediately that Chris Cornell was backstage somewhere (and prayed silently that it would not actually be Corin Tucker). Word of advice, by the way: if you see a setlist, RUN . . . .it's tempting, but not worth actually knowing what they are about to do. Hunger Strike was better than I even expected, and then Alive was insane. I need to see it on video, as I'm still not sure how it all went down. Mike was playing his solo, then all the sudden he had no guitar. And that's when I realized that the solo was still going on, only being playing by the one and only Jerry Cantrell. And by the time that sank in, Mike was running around shirtless. My girlfriend and I have no clue how that all happened, and we both left the show in awe and slightly confused. Amazing show.
Show Highlights: NO COVERS, Sometimes, Breakerfall, Hunger Strike, Alive
October 7
So today was the day I took my best friend to his first Pearl Jam show. He loves the band, and has been looking forward to this for a while. I bring my 10C ticket stubs from the night before, as our seats this night are Loge row EE, in the 2 seats furthest to Mike's side. We never sat in those seats once. During Ben Harper's set, we chilled in my seats from the night before, which nobody came to occupy . . .then, during a moment of distraction, we walked behind a guard into the pit . . . where we found the security guards I had done magic for on October 1. They said the only way we could stay was if we found seats. So we walked into 8th row center, sat down, and . . . . .NOBODY EVER CAME. We just happened to pick what looked to be the only unoccupied seats in the pit. So my friend's first Pearl Jam show, and we are 8th row center.
After the show, we walked out the exit door and down a ramp where we should not have been. My friend, who has worked with artist management at various venues, quickly let me know that "We can get in a lot of trouble for being here." We were at the door leading onto the stage, staring at the back of the backdrop. We continued, despite our better judgement, down the hall and out an exit door, which led us directly to the show's afterparty. After speaking with a few people, we learned that the band was hanging out in a separate room, but that they would probably come out to socialize within 90 minutes or so. Unfortunately, my friend was just coming down with the flu, and had to work in the morning, so we had to leave :(.
Show Highlights: Being 8th row center all show, Long Road, Nothingman, Alone, All Those Yesterdays, Kick out the Jams, Porch, Mike running right past me in the pit, Indifference with Ben, going backstage, WAY too much fun
Kevin Viner
http://www.kevinviner.net
http://www.kevinviner.net
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1998 Brisbane 2
2003 Brisbane 1
2006 LA 1 & 2
2008 LA 2, San Diego 1 (EV)
2009 LA 1, 2, 3 & 4, San Diego
2011 St. Louis (EV)
2012 Tulsa 1 & 2 (EV)
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