Today in Pearl Jam History : And there was matt....

crazygeo

Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron fills in for the ailing Jack Irons on Pearl Jam’s tour. The drummer’s first gig is an appearance on Late Night With David Letterman. 1998

The rest is PJ history...the longest lasting PJ drummer .... EVER!

Empty Glass

great day for sure

DiRtyFranK38

by far the best and definitive pj drummer in my mind.

Jdcazz1

My first PJ show was Rochester, '94 and Dave A. was amazing on the drums. He has been a huge influence on the way I play the drums, as has Matt. Over the years I have been one of those who wished that somehow he would find his way back in the band and would be one of those lamenting about the "two Matts" where in Soundgarden Matt was very aggressive and more laid back with PJ.
After much reflection I have now come to the conclusion that clearly Matt is the best drummer for this band. His playing on the South American shows recently showed more of an edge. (perhaps because he has been touring with Soundgarden too).
Matt is the only Drummer that can handle such a wide range of PJ's songs. He is physically in excellent shape to handle a 3 hour gig. As a drummer it is awesome knowing that Matt is in complete control at all times and at any time can call upon his more technical side if needed. If I had to shorten up the way I feel about Matt I would make a t-shirt that said IN MATT WE TRUST

pjtradeking

Actually, you were just a tad late! ;-)

05/01/98 – Ed Sullivan Theater: New York, NY (Late Show appearance) [5m]
set: Wishlist
notes: PJ makes their second appearance on Late Show with David Letterman and their first outing with Matt Cameron drumming. A “sweet” and carefully rehearsed “Wishlist” with Mike again sporting bleached locks and a Goodness shirt. Ed’s voice sounds wonderful and each guitarist gets a small “solo.” The song seems to fade at the end of Ed’s solo, but a drum-driven reprise wraps up the song in a different fashion.

05/07/98 – ARO.space: Seattle, WA (first show with Matt Cameron) [75m]
support act: Shawn Smith
set: Interstellar Overdrive, Corduroy, Do The Evolution, Brain of J, Last Exit, Given to Fly, In Hiding, Off He Goes, MFC, jam/Habit, Wishlist, Faithfull, Hail Hail, Mankind, Leatherman (!), Leaving Here
enc: Last Kiss (cover)
notes: PJ makes their first full public appearance with Matt Cameron at this surprise show at the club formerly known as Moe’s (site of the Mirror Ball release party and private Neil Jam show in 1995). The band is visibly nervous until ‘Habit,’ at which point they totally kick in, laughing amongst themselves, making jokes. ‘MFC’ and ‘Habit’ are total standouts, as well as Stone’s tambourine playing during ‘Leatherman’ and Eddie’s hilarious backing vocals during ‘Mankind.’ The band leaves the stage and then Matt, Jeff and Ed return, Ed tells us a little story, displaying a Michael Jordan bong and a single. He tells us he bought the single for 99 cents the day before and stayed up all night listening to, ‘Last Kiss,’ a 50s gothic romance that was re-released and popular during the early 70s, and then proceeds to serenade us with a wonderful rendition of that song. Amazing show!
(FYI: The opening jam is none other than a shortened version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Interstellar Overdrive’