Chicago - A Silent Request (and LOUD Thank You)
Earlier this year, a couple days before the pre-sale, my sister, Bridget, passed away.
One of our favorite shows was the Boston Garden - I’ll never forget her raising her arms and yelling “Release Me” louder than I had ever heard her ‘sing’… it was an almost repeat later with Garden, “I will walk with my hands bound….” - two songs I wasn’t entirely sure she knew at the time, when in reality she probably knew them all. What made it unforgettable is for what happened later during the intro to Soldier of Love.
The first time we ever went to a show together, we were planning on seeing Tom Petty, before PJ announced they were playing - I left a message on the answering machine that said “Hi Bridget this is Tom Petty - I know you were going to come see me, but Pearl Jam just announced their tour…”
For weeks, she told everyone how Tom Petty called her and told her to go to Pearl Jam instead.
One of the best parts of going to a show with Bridget was the weekly calls for a show being ~6 months away - we had to have every minute of it planned out, and our 2x tickets didn’t stop her from inviting 6 of her friends.
When she won the lottery, she would describe how “Pearl Jam emailed me - they want me to go to their show.”
The (silent) request here is for nothing more than what appears on the set list already, as Bridget would love anything that was played.
At her funeral, a family friend said Pearl Jam lost their biggest
fan.… To which, I responded that Green Day, Weezer, James Taylor, The
Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen (to name a few) did too….. She loved
music, but yes, she LOVED Pearl Jam.
My sister was always a bit different in many regards, and yet not all that different than any of us.
All in all, I think we went to about ~10 shows together beginning in Hartford, and ending in Europe (Berlin and the Czech Republic) - her only international travel.
All in all, I think we went to about ~10 shows together beginning in Hartford, and ending in Europe (Berlin and the Czech Republic) - her only international travel.
One of our favorite shows was the Boston Garden - I’ll never forget her raising her arms and yelling “Release Me” louder than I had ever heard her ‘sing’… it was an almost repeat later with Garden, “I will walk with my hands bound….” - two songs I wasn’t entirely sure she knew at the time, when in reality she probably knew them all. What made it unforgettable is for what happened later during the intro to Soldier of Love.
All
in all, I have many fond memories of going to shows with her, and she
cherished just about everything - from signed set lists, to drumsticks
and a tambourine as graciously offered by Jill and her daughter (for
which Bridget’s thank you note (in her unmistakable handwriting) read - “Dear Mrs. Pearl Jam and little girl…”)
For weeks, she told everyone how Tom Petty called her and told her to go to Pearl Jam instead.
One of the best parts of going to a show with Bridget was the weekly calls for a show being ~6 months away - we had to have every minute of it planned out, and our 2x tickets didn’t stop her from inviting 6 of her friends.
When she won the lottery, she would describe how “Pearl Jam emailed me - they want me to go to their show.”
It’s the one thing I’ve missed most from these Chicago shows - she died a couple days before the pre-sale happened.
When I stop and think about it, there are no real words to describe how much she meant to me and others around her.
The (silent) request here is for nothing more than what appears on the set list already, as Bridget would love anything that was played.
Rock it.
Post edited by cjorea on
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'Cause they can't see beyond today
The wisdom that the old can't give away, hey
Constant recoil
Sometimes life don't leave you alone."
Vancouver, BC - 2009
Vancouver, BC - 2011
Vancouver, BC - 2013
Mountain View, CA - 2014
Mountain View, CA - 2014
Quebec City, QC - 2016
Ottawa, ON - 2016
Pemberton, BC - 2016
Seattle, WA 1 - 2018
Seattle, WA 2 - 2018
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
Thank you for all the kind words, and I hope that they may be extended to us all who have lost someone close.
Just a wall of emotion, coupled with an immense sense of gratitude - to the band and each one of you equally.
I realized a couple songs in that the last person to go see PJ with Bridget was our father, and he’s going to LOVE this bootleg as much Bridget loved all hers.