My love story with Pearl Jam
It all started back in 1991 when Ten came out. I was only 15 at the time, so this starts off as an under age love story.
I discovered Ten through Mtv, as in Italy in those years, it was the place where you would get the latest music. Back then Mtv was doing only music, which is what you would expect from a channel called Music Television. Anyway, I listened to the songs they were passing (Alive and Even Flow, and later Jeremy and Oceans) and fell in love with them, both: the songs and the band. I have to admit that it was love at first sight when I first heard Alive.
In 1992 there was also the unplugged, but that didn’t do too much for me (differently than the Nirvana one) as I liked the electric guitars way more.
Then, in the summer of 1993, I went to the US as an exchange student for a whole year. So the first thing I did, I bought myself Ten. What an album! You need to recall, if you are old enough, that at the time the internet was not available, so you either listed to the radio, watched MTV or bought the music you wanted. And so I did! What a joy!
Shortly after Vs. came out. I remember the music stores in the shopping malls with tons of Vs. CDs. It was incredible how the picture of the sheep was everywhere. You would see lines and lines of these CDs one after the other. Bought it immediately. My expectations were fully met! I loved the album right away!
And so I spent the rest of my time there in the US listening a zillion times and more to both Ten and Vs..
While I was there, we went to Toronto for the senior year class trip and I bought from a guy on the street the most beautiful Pearl Jam T-shirt I had ever seen up to that time. It was black with the Alive cover on the front (it said Pearl Jam and Alive in red with the sketched man in white) and at the back it had a yellow note-page with the titles.
Once returned to Italy, I was the only one listening to Pearl Jam among my friends… Most of them liked some of the songs, but I was the only one in love with them.
My best friend (now best man) introduced me to Singles, which I never saw while in the US. Great movie! Great soundtrack! Bought that as well… As by now I had more access to money and music also in Italy.
At the end of 1994 Vitalogy came out. And I was surprised. It was different. The music had changed. I really liked the artwork and I got the idea of what the band was trying to do and say, but the music was different. I ended up listening to it only half a zillion times… But I liked it and to this day I consider it a great album. But the music was different.
In 1996 it was No Code. The music was different again. And despite the carton cover and all the pictures, I considered the album more commercial than anything done before by them. My heart obviously drove me to listen to it and like it, but for sure it was far from the first 3 albums.
The good thing was that on the 13th of November 1996 I was able to see them live. What a show! I was 20, young and strong, so I started queueing at 3pm and managed to get to the very front. It was great! I loved every moment of it! The concert for sure revived our love and made everything perfect, even No Code. Thinking back now I think that was the apex of our love story…
Then Yield (1998) arrived… I was disappointed… The music had further changed in the wrong direction and I considered that the end of it… I still listened to their latest album as I liked some of the songs, but I then listened mostly to the previous albums. However, the love had grown colder. More people around me started knowing and liking Pearl Jam and I started moving away from them…
To the point that when Binaural came out in 2000 I didn’t even buy it. My girlfriend (now wife) had a copy and I half listened to it without caring too much. I don’t even remember liking it or not… I just didn’t care anymore… The magic was gone…
Exactly the same happened in 2002 with Riot Act. My girlfriend had a copy and I listened to it maybe twice…
Pearl Jam (2006) and Backspacer (2009) I did not even listen to…
The years between 2000 and 2010 are the dark ages of our love story… Like a sad marriage that drags on without love…
Then in 2011 I bought PJ20 when it came out. Watching it brought a lot of memories back… What was I doing? So I started listening to them again, mostly the first 2 albums…
Once Lighting Bolt came out my wife really liked it, so I got to listen to it and I also really liked it.
And then it happened. On the 16th of June 2014 I went to see them in Amsterdam with my wife. What had I done till that day? How could have I wasted 10 years of Pearl Jam? The love was back! More than before! The show was incredible! 3 hours of great music! All of it! Every single song! With some songs I had shivers starting from my lower back and coming all the way up to the back of my head and making my hair raise. A feeling I had not experienced in a very long time. I was very much in love again! I was on the top of the world!
And so I started catching up with all the newer albums. And, surprise, surprise, they are good! What a dickhead I had been…
Earlier this year I found out they were doing a Latin American tour, so I made sure I managed to organise at least one of my work trips over there at the same time of one of their concerts. And so on the 25th of November of this year I was in Bogota! Another great concert! I am probably saying something you all know, but they are simply great live! The emotions are indescribable! He struggled a bit there due to altitude, as Bogota is at 2,700 metres (8,700 ft) and the air is pretty thin up there. But still he was a lion on stage. The whole band did great!
But there is an additional extra juicy part to our love story. All of a sudden our love story became physical! That day in Bogota I managed to find out where they were staying. So I left the office early and went to their hotel. We were a crowd of about 50 people there and when Eddie came out I could not believe it. I shook his hand and said I had travelled all the way from Amsterdam to see him and told him to make it worth it. For sure he didn’t disappointed me! It was so cool to see him in person. He is much shorter than you expect (I’m 6.2) and he looks very much 50 years old, although not when he is on stage. Also he dyes his hair, which was a bit of a surprise from a man like him, or at least for the idea I have of him. Anyway, when he came around my legs were shaking like a little girl. I was overwhelmed! Will never forget that day. My profile picture is from that day.
And so now here I am. I signed up to the club and I downloaded the concert from Trieste last year and already listened to it 3 times in 5 days. Great concert!
And now I am waiting for the next album and even more for the next concert.
I just want to say that Pearl Jam played for me the music of my early life. And I loved their music and I love their music. I am convinced that the up and downs through the years are both linked to me as well as the band. At the beginning their music was in full sync with my life and vice versa. Then they changed and I changed. And then I changed again and again, and so did they. And now we are back in full sync!
For sure I would not be the man I am today had it not been for their music.
Thank you Pearl Jam.
Simone
PS: Please bear in mind that all of the above is my personal experience of Pearl Jam and my personal judgement of their music. It is neither true, nor false.
I discovered Ten through Mtv, as in Italy in those years, it was the place where you would get the latest music. Back then Mtv was doing only music, which is what you would expect from a channel called Music Television. Anyway, I listened to the songs they were passing (Alive and Even Flow, and later Jeremy and Oceans) and fell in love with them, both: the songs and the band. I have to admit that it was love at first sight when I first heard Alive.
In 1992 there was also the unplugged, but that didn’t do too much for me (differently than the Nirvana one) as I liked the electric guitars way more.
Then, in the summer of 1993, I went to the US as an exchange student for a whole year. So the first thing I did, I bought myself Ten. What an album! You need to recall, if you are old enough, that at the time the internet was not available, so you either listed to the radio, watched MTV or bought the music you wanted. And so I did! What a joy!
Shortly after Vs. came out. I remember the music stores in the shopping malls with tons of Vs. CDs. It was incredible how the picture of the sheep was everywhere. You would see lines and lines of these CDs one after the other. Bought it immediately. My expectations were fully met! I loved the album right away!
And so I spent the rest of my time there in the US listening a zillion times and more to both Ten and Vs..
While I was there, we went to Toronto for the senior year class trip and I bought from a guy on the street the most beautiful Pearl Jam T-shirt I had ever seen up to that time. It was black with the Alive cover on the front (it said Pearl Jam and Alive in red with the sketched man in white) and at the back it had a yellow note-page with the titles.
Once returned to Italy, I was the only one listening to Pearl Jam among my friends… Most of them liked some of the songs, but I was the only one in love with them.
My best friend (now best man) introduced me to Singles, which I never saw while in the US. Great movie! Great soundtrack! Bought that as well… As by now I had more access to money and music also in Italy.
At the end of 1994 Vitalogy came out. And I was surprised. It was different. The music had changed. I really liked the artwork and I got the idea of what the band was trying to do and say, but the music was different. I ended up listening to it only half a zillion times… But I liked it and to this day I consider it a great album. But the music was different.
In 1996 it was No Code. The music was different again. And despite the carton cover and all the pictures, I considered the album more commercial than anything done before by them. My heart obviously drove me to listen to it and like it, but for sure it was far from the first 3 albums.
The good thing was that on the 13th of November 1996 I was able to see them live. What a show! I was 20, young and strong, so I started queueing at 3pm and managed to get to the very front. It was great! I loved every moment of it! The concert for sure revived our love and made everything perfect, even No Code. Thinking back now I think that was the apex of our love story…
Then Yield (1998) arrived… I was disappointed… The music had further changed in the wrong direction and I considered that the end of it… I still listened to their latest album as I liked some of the songs, but I then listened mostly to the previous albums. However, the love had grown colder. More people around me started knowing and liking Pearl Jam and I started moving away from them…
To the point that when Binaural came out in 2000 I didn’t even buy it. My girlfriend (now wife) had a copy and I half listened to it without caring too much. I don’t even remember liking it or not… I just didn’t care anymore… The magic was gone…
Exactly the same happened in 2002 with Riot Act. My girlfriend had a copy and I listened to it maybe twice…
Pearl Jam (2006) and Backspacer (2009) I did not even listen to…
The years between 2000 and 2010 are the dark ages of our love story… Like a sad marriage that drags on without love…
Then in 2011 I bought PJ20 when it came out. Watching it brought a lot of memories back… What was I doing? So I started listening to them again, mostly the first 2 albums…
Once Lighting Bolt came out my wife really liked it, so I got to listen to it and I also really liked it.
And then it happened. On the 16th of June 2014 I went to see them in Amsterdam with my wife. What had I done till that day? How could have I wasted 10 years of Pearl Jam? The love was back! More than before! The show was incredible! 3 hours of great music! All of it! Every single song! With some songs I had shivers starting from my lower back and coming all the way up to the back of my head and making my hair raise. A feeling I had not experienced in a very long time. I was very much in love again! I was on the top of the world!
And so I started catching up with all the newer albums. And, surprise, surprise, they are good! What a dickhead I had been…
Earlier this year I found out they were doing a Latin American tour, so I made sure I managed to organise at least one of my work trips over there at the same time of one of their concerts. And so on the 25th of November of this year I was in Bogota! Another great concert! I am probably saying something you all know, but they are simply great live! The emotions are indescribable! He struggled a bit there due to altitude, as Bogota is at 2,700 metres (8,700 ft) and the air is pretty thin up there. But still he was a lion on stage. The whole band did great!
But there is an additional extra juicy part to our love story. All of a sudden our love story became physical! That day in Bogota I managed to find out where they were staying. So I left the office early and went to their hotel. We were a crowd of about 50 people there and when Eddie came out I could not believe it. I shook his hand and said I had travelled all the way from Amsterdam to see him and told him to make it worth it. For sure he didn’t disappointed me! It was so cool to see him in person. He is much shorter than you expect (I’m 6.2) and he looks very much 50 years old, although not when he is on stage. Also he dyes his hair, which was a bit of a surprise from a man like him, or at least for the idea I have of him. Anyway, when he came around my legs were shaking like a little girl. I was overwhelmed! Will never forget that day. My profile picture is from that day.
And so now here I am. I signed up to the club and I downloaded the concert from Trieste last year and already listened to it 3 times in 5 days. Great concert!
And now I am waiting for the next album and even more for the next concert.
I just want to say that Pearl Jam played for me the music of my early life. And I loved their music and I love their music. I am convinced that the up and downs through the years are both linked to me as well as the band. At the beginning their music was in full sync with my life and vice versa. Then they changed and I changed. And then I changed again and again, and so did they. And now we are back in full sync!
For sure I would not be the man I am today had it not been for their music.
Thank you Pearl Jam.
Simone
PS: Please bear in mind that all of the above is my personal experience of Pearl Jam and my personal judgement of their music. It is neither true, nor false.
13/11/96 Milan - 16/06/14 Amsterdam - 25/11/15 Bogota - 29/05/17 EV Amsterdam - 21/03/18 Rio de Janeiro - 12/06/18 Amsterdam - 13/06/18 Amsterdam - 18/06/18 London - 24/06/18 Padova - 05/07/18 Berlin (AMAZING) - 08/08/18 Seattle - 10/08/18 Seattle (Spectacular) - 09/06/19 EV Amsterdam - 10/06/19 EV Amsterdam - 21/06/22 Berlin - 23/06/22 Zurich - 25/06/22 Imola - 25/07/22 Amsterdam - 11/09/22 New York
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2010: Newark 5/18 MSG 5/20-21 2011: PJ20 9/3-4 2012: Made In America 9/2
2013: Brooklyn 10/18-19 Philly 10/21-22 Hartford 10/25 2014: ACL10/12
2015: NYC 9/23 2016: Tampa 4/11 Philly 4/28-29 MSG 5/1-2 Fenway 8/5+8/7
2017: RRHoF 4/7 2018: Fenway 9/2+9/4 2021: Sea Hear Now 9/18
2022: MSG 9/11 2024: MSG 9/3-4 Philly 9/7+9/9 Fenway 9/15+9/17
2025: Pittsburgh 5/16+5/18
LIVEFOOTSTEPS.ORG/USER/?USR=435
I casually paid attention to PJ releases throughout the years. But then my wife got me the PJ 20 book.... I couldn't put it down. Then I saw the film and that was it.....all in once again. Got to Wrigley (worst seats in the stadium, but still awesome) and Buffalo in 2013 and eagerly awaiting the new tour announcement. Hoping to catch 2 shows. And yes, I kick myself as well for the many years of live PJ I missed.
Am I the only one who finds the hair part in the story an odd piece to be mentioned?
"Then Yield (1998) arrived… I was disappointed… The music had further changed in the wrong direction and I considered that the end of it… "
Great post. Thanks for sharing and welcome! Do you still live in Italy?
Those that can be trusted can change their mind.
Listened to Ten, fell in love.
:makes three posts:
2010: Newark 5/18 MSG 5/20-21 2011: PJ20 9/3-4 2012: Made In America 9/2
2013: Brooklyn 10/18-19 Philly 10/21-22 Hartford 10/25 2014: ACL10/12
2015: NYC 9/23 2016: Tampa 4/11 Philly 4/28-29 MSG 5/1-2 Fenway 8/5+8/7
2017: RRHoF 4/7 2018: Fenway 9/2+9/4 2021: Sea Hear Now 9/18
2022: MSG 9/11 2024: MSG 9/3-4 Philly 9/7+9/9 Fenway 9/15+9/17
2025: Pittsburgh 5/16+5/18
OP, thanks for sharing and welcome to the forum! Don't let this idiot ruin your experience.
Seeing your profile picture I can imagine why you stopped there...
I like Yield, but at the time it was just the wrong me and the wrong album
Planning to do both dates next summer!
I just wanted to share what had happened to me and to let you know that there is a time and an age for all music. Luckily Pearl Jam came back into my life and I hope I won't lose them again.
I also hoped to inspired others to share their love story, as it is a great way to make a community alive.
Love!
Simone