so uhhh... when did you KNOW?

kingmatt

Haven't posted in a while... but I was sitting here working and my mind wandered to when I first became a PJ fan. Or obsessed devotee. Or whatever we all are.

So here are my top 3 *moments*:

1) the first time I saw/heard Alive. I was at my buddy Kev's house and I was probably 17. Alive was likely in heavy rotation on MTV and it came on while we watched TV. I don't know what it was but those first notes just SPOKE to me. It sounds trite now but from that second I knew PJ was my band. And here I am typing that sentence 15 years later so at least I'm consistent.

2) first time I saw/heard Baba O'Riley live. It was at the Bob Guertin Arena in Hull, Quebec in the spring of 1993. I had mono so I couldn't really venture into the pit... but I sat in my seat and I was blown away by the raw power of this song. The chorus still gives me chills.

3) Indifference from the same show as #2 above. This was well before Vs was released and from my recollection it was the final encore. It was absolutely unreal. Considering this was back in the sweaty-Ed-in-cargo-shorts-climbing-shit-and-diving-into-the-crowd days I couldn't believe how effortlessly the boys were able to reel the energy in and pour it into a quiet - yet powerful - minutes. There were candles and a cross on the stage. Its burned into my visual cortex.

So there ya go. There have been plenty of moments since then but these are the first I can remember. Have at it.

Matt

AndySlash

I was into Pink Floyd big time when I heard the live Daughter on the Animal single tagged with Another Brick... That is what got me to listen to Pearl Jam. The same friend who had me listen to that let me record a tape of his Dissident singles, which I also liked a lot.

I was at best a casual fan until Yield. I played the shit out of that album when it came out, something I hadn't done with many other non-Pink Floyd albums in the couple years prior.

My first show was later that year, and I can say I was more into them at that point. But the turning point came when Binaural came out and the subsequent tour in 2000. With the internet I was able to follow the tour- I checked Five Horizons most every day waiting to see the latest update to the chronology. That's when I realized I was a die hard fan.

Fighting Hellfish

You're #1 applies to me also.

red mos

Mtv unplugged was in heavy rotation back in 92-93 and I just fell in love with that whole show. "Black" and "Alive" and then "Evenflow" and "Porch" Similar to the original poster, I've never had music just hook me like that and speak to me. The "alive and evenflow vids were in heavy rotation too I remember. I just kind of kept up to date on what pearl jam were up too and what was being played by them. Every song the radio played by them had the catchiest licks and Eddie's voice just fit the songs so well. After hearing "corduroy" which I taped off the radio, until I could save up the money and get my Parents to take me to the cd store. I must have listened to that song like a million times over and over. I just loved it. That's pretty much how I got into pearl jam.

Sadly, living in Texas, and being too young, (I had to go to shows my parents went too, and pj was not one of their bands), I didn't get to see pj until 2000. I can't describe really in words what it's like to see your favorite band, (Most here know what I mean I'm sure) it's just a magical feeling that only other pj fans understand. I did try for 98 yeild tour tix but to no avail.

Anon

I was walking through the living room and heard this voice and stopped in my tracks to see who it was. I was enthralled with the voice. I can't remember if it was a video or the award show but I didn't catch the name of the band. I searched for quite a while when I could and finally found out the name: Pearl Jam. I bought my first non-country tape shortly thereafter = VS and never looked back!! I'm from small town northern (Lake Superior) Wisconsin so breaking out of the country music was huge!! I bought Ten next and then saw them for the first time in Minneapolis.

It all started with Ed's voice for me!!

CitizenRick

I was 20...it was late 91'...I used to hang out in my buddy Mike's garage with the same crew of about 15-20 guys every Friday and Saturday night.

We would listen to rock music, play pool and drink beer. One Friday... his older brother came home and went directly into the garage and changed out the Tesla cd we were listening to and said "check this out...it's a new band called Pearl Jam...they fuckin' rock...and the singer is really different".

Once played (wow...the singer IS different...and they do fuckin' rock!)

Even Flow played (is that a groove I hear?...and what the fuck is he saying?)

Alive played (holy shit...my soul has been saved!)

I'll never forget that night as long as I live. I finally had a true heart felt connection with music.

The ride began that night...and it's still going today.

I was lazy and cheated and reposted this from another thread...but I still wanted to share my story.

chiquimonkey

92 when i saw unplugged. black had me riveted and by the time porch was finished, so was i, an absolute goner

sundogg16

i guess mine was when the cable company played the msg concert back to back 24 hours a day for a whole month i already loved them but thats when i became a "freak"

PJCoug

I will never forget the first time that I "heard" Jeremy.

It was October 1991. I was sitting shotgun with my mom in the family Volvo. I was channel surfing and tuned it into the local rock station in Sacramento and they played Jeremy. I remember the song was half way finished when we arrived at our final destination. My mom got out of the car and I told her that I would be out when the song was over. I remember feeling as if I had never heard anything like that before. I sat in the car and listened to it, and once the song was over, I came out of the car to meet back up with my mom at our destination.

Fast forward a few months to Christmas 1991. I received 2 copies of Ten along with Temple of the Dog on tape. After opening all of our presents, I clearly remember sitting in the hallway with my tapeplayer listening intently to both albums over and over all day long. Man, that was a great Christmas.

On a similar note, I also remember where I was the first time that I heard "Stairway To Heaven."

Gmoney

heard alive and became interested... heard oceans and was hooked... heard daughter and that was it for me...


you can't even imagine what happened when i heard faithfull...

jmacd

what started it was eddie singing with chris cornell on temple of the dog & what a great voice he had. shortly after that, "alive" came out & floored me. just the power of the song & the band blew me away.

PJ Sweden

For me it was on a bus between Sydney and Brisbane in -92, with my brother. I borrowed his DAT player and listened to the music on there (TEN), and watched the scenery go by....Wow blown away at once! Hooked ever since...

harmless_little_f***

I was loving Ten at the earliest, always playing it, but I knew PJ would be with me for life when I saw Mtv Unplugged the first time it was aired.

Can You Say Octopus?

1. Alive...The chorus just gets better every time i hear it. The video hooked me and has never let go.

2. RITFW at the 93 MTV Music awards. Usually award shows are a major suckfest, but that moment proved me wrong. Likely the best performance at an award show...Ever

3. Watching Baba Oreilly at the Singles Premiere on TV..."Cuz hes got good taste in music..." Someone said that they still get chills when the play that song...i agree. It is such a religious experience to see it played live.

Honorable mention...
I know that i havent let up since i remember where i bought every Pearl Jam item that i have in my collection. My wife is incredibly understanding

Cropduster84

February 1998........

heard a clip of Given To Fly......bought the single (fell in love with Pilate and Leatherman)..........bought Yield.......the rest is history.......

pjfan31

Fighting Hellfish wrote:

You're #1 applies to me also.

What? you were at kev's place too?

dontgimmenolip

August '91 - I saw the Alive video. Before the music started, I looked at my little brother and said "Pearl Jam - what a stupid name", and I half-paid attention to the music. For the next year, I would catch the vids for Alive and Even Flow sporadically, but I still wouldn't pay much attention (I was on a huge Led Zep kick, and I was 14 and stubborn).

September '92 - I heard Jeremy on the radio while I was doing my homework. I finally knew what the dude in my Geometry class was talking about. I think I taped Jeremy and Alive off of the radio. I gave that dude a blank tape and said "copy me the 4 best tunes on the album". He said "I'll give you the three radio songs, and my favourite song." He also recommended I watch the rebroadcast of Unplugged. I taped Unplugged. By the second verse of Black, I was a fan for life. I hooked the audio output from my VCR to my tape deck and made a tape of the unplugged songs to listen to on my Walkman (fuck iPods ).

Christmas '92 - I got my first copy of Ten on cassette. It went straight into my Walkman, and I was holding back tears by the end of Release.

dane

I was hooked when I saw MTV Unplugged in '93. Bought Ten the next day.

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=208509

binauralonthecape

i was a fan of the group ever since i had heard vitalogy, but i would have to say that binaural, and in particular, nothing as it seems and the internet made me a die hard fan...