Your Top 3 Moments of Being a Fan

CROJAM95 · January 7

1998/ freshman year @ Oneonta (upstate NY) and all the getting acclimated to college life months prior … the fact Pearl Jam was playing MSG in September was on the back burner of my mind… met a few die hards in my dorm, from NYC/LI area where I’m from….. day before someone mentioned the show , it was Friday…. So 6 of us, stuffed into a VW Corrado ( tight fit 😝) made the 4 hour plus car ride to get there about 20 minutes before showtime… my 1st show, all the TM drama and me being younger at this point limited my chances prior to see them… the whole ride down, this one asking for bathroom break, that one is hungry now…. Cmon fuckers we gonna be late !!! All I remember saying over and over, I think I was rocking back n forth like a crazy person … thinking this isn’t how I envision my 1st show, to walk in late after being crammed in a car… but we got in perfect time, on low wing, bout 15 rows up on Mikes side …. Wanted to do 9-10-98 too but we all had classes, but man what a show to be thrown into the 🔥…. Got Release, the fuckin BREATH show 😎 just the energy and seeing these guys with my own eyes … true admiration and respect for what they do … I was like, I need more more more 😁 never thought it would lead to almost 80 at this point, but what a start. We all had the best time, stayed till Sunday at friends house reminiscing and playing music, remember the evening out back just talking about meanings of songs…. 90s still fraught with excellent music. We all went back to school on Sunday and others heard about the epic show and were excited we did it….

2011- PJ20

The excitement leading up to this was so high, probably too high as these weren’t even close to the best shows I’ve seen… but driving from NY to Chicagoland, seeing a Cubs/Reds game on the front end…. Driving up to beautiful Wisconsin, cheese curds, beer, preparty… hanging with friends that weekend was special. My Brother, his GF, my GF all drove from NY… picked up a good friend to hang with… some crazy Shenanigans and just great memories … even did the Packers/Saints game after… my brother being a big Packers fan… just great timing with all these bucket list things ( Wrigley/ Lambeau/Alpine valley) …. NO WAY night 2 still blows my mind, release the boots for Christ sake

2024

A bittersweet year that without this band and a few select people I’ve met thru them… would have been too much to deal with. Had an unfortunate hospital stay after Philly 1, had to miss some shows and it bummed me out. The power of music and encouragement from some got me to not focus on so many shitty details and just grin and bear it….. was so much fun prior 😣… prior to Vegas trip I found out a friend had succumb to her mental illness and it was very difficult to comprehend it, one of those you’d never guess this person was hurting… mother of 2 beautiful kids, successful, beautiful inside and out…. Someone I got to know a lil more n more as the years went on, I was not in a great head space …. The show starting with SOMETIMES felt perfect, I was starting to ease into it and just let the music help heal a bit… was a powerful set Vegas 1….. she was on my mind all night, Ed made a few gestures towards me on Mikes side that night …. Got a Mike Pick few songs earlier, then Ed during Alive started to point me out for a Tambo… I was able to catch it and thought wow, what are the odds… especially this night where my head was all screwed up, it meant something to me, more than a $10 Tambo… sometimes you need something to say, maybe it’s not all random… I know I know, but that’s what I’m rolling with

So I’m fortunate enough to get MSG GA both nights this year, up front both nights. N1 got to get some of Ed’s Wine , N2 I was thinking about my dad who passed in 2007… always wanted to see a show, but life got in the way …. So I was lil emotional this night, also cause I couldn’t make it in 2003 msg due to some crazy stuff, so I brought my Croatian Flag for my dad / our heritage, and during RITFW during “ red, white and blue “ lyric I put it up and Ed pointed me out and nodded… I almost buckled 😊 it was so powerful to me, another one of these strange moments that seam otherworldly and just beautiful. I’ve had the privilege to meet Ed a bunch, he’s signed some things and had a few chats… I vaguely told him some things after his Solo shows up in Washington Heights in 2008…. Very sincere guy, he told me never stop moving … it will never catch you if you keep moving … he is right, gotta keep forging a path forward .

Then Philly n1 getting a great seat upgrade from a dear friend, seeing one of the best shows I can remember … hard to rank Philly shows too, always so great but that Night was at the time not knowing my last show to date, sitting laid up in the hospital I was like… Well fuck if it’s done, that’s a great one to see 😁 again I felt pissed that this all happened during tour time, but looking back being in the afterglow of spectacular shows/ new album/ new friends…. That got me through…. Surreal things all around

So many other memories/ shows…. Too many to remember, but these hit me emotionally the most

Honorable mentions

Wrigley 2013

Spectrum / Yankees WS fun 2009

2009 LA Gibson Shows & San Diego

Fenway shows 2016 and 2018

Uniondale 2003 craziness

MSG 2010 amazing 2 shows

Philly Ten 2016

Bridge School multiple times

Sea Hear Now

Ohana / Encore

Apollo show

Letterman multiple times

Hartford shows

Texas 2023 good folks/ food/ football

Rock in roll hall of fame

Side project shows

Made in America

Have so many more cool pics that are being held hostage by a past flame 🤣 Talking to Ed in 2008, Meeting Mike…. Think before you say goodbye 😆

julieooliern · January 7

@CROJAM95 keep movin forward 🤘

PrezIntense · January 8

1. 1996 No Code Tour in Charlotte. I was a college freshman getting ready to vote for the first time (and seeing Pearl Jam for the first time) and everything about the show was incredible -- it resonated on so many levels. Gloria Steinem, the resistance to Jesse Helms, Ben Harper and the Fastbacks, anti-Ticketmaster, Bob Marley quote on the ticket stub. Amazing and transformative experience.

2. 2000 Binaural Tour in Virginia Beach. I was in a bad place mentally, physically, financially...and had moved home to get back on my feet. Binaural had just been released and a local radio station was giving away copies of the album and other goodies for callers who could answer PJ trivia. I called in and the question was "What is the real name of the singer of Pearl Jam?" I couldn't believe I got such an easy one! I proudly and confidently said "Edward Louis Severson III". They said "wrong" and hung up. I was devastated. I'm listening to the radio and they immediately realized they had messed up "oh shoot that guy was actually right. Caller if you're listening call back right away." So I called back and they gave me 2 GA tix to Virginia Beach! On top of that, I scored 2 GA tix from 10C. So my friends and I got to take a road trip to Virginia to see the show. Was good for me who needed something good to happen at that time.

3. 2024 Baltimore. The opening notes of Present Tense just triggered the slow waterworks...just thinking about my life and how much I've been through and how this band has been with me since I first saw the Alive video as a teenager. The lyrics hit differently when you've been with a band for three decades...songs that meant one thing then have sometimes very different meanings now. By the time "a wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw" came, I was full on bawling and singing...and it was so incredibly cathartic. Great first four sequence...Can't Keep, Present Tense, Given to Fly, Corduroy.

nautical_disaster · January 8

Great thread @SVRDhand13 ! I haven't seen them a bunch of times like some of you on here, but here goes:

1) Hearing the opening notes of "Of the Girl" in Mansfield for my first pearl jam show. Finally being at a pearl jam show after years of loving the band, but being too young and too far away to make it to the earlier shows. The moment where it actually hit me that i was going to see them was right after Sonic Youth left the stage. My best bud and I were looking at the stage and we stupidly said "Holy shit...that's Ed's guitar on the stand" lol. What an unforgettable 2 nights of music

2) My first and only GA experience in Quebec City 22. Brought a bunch of dear friends to the show - most of them for their first pj show ever. I know there's a lot of negativity on setlist threads for the veteran pearl jam show goers, but to see them that close, with my friends hearing songs like small town, corduroy and black for the first time? Awesome.

3) Much Music (my Canadian friends will know) 1992 - Seeing the Jeremy video and being instantly hooked by Jeff's bass line. The rest is history.

lastexitlondon · January 8

This has to be one of them for me . Getting to stand side of stage with all my friends on the rail waving and seeing the band from a place you can only dream of.
Long story but my girls got squashed and we got pulled out. Friends helped us and Rob from pj radio helped and we got some passes and a set list and a set of sticks. A bad experience turned great. Thanks to great people.

SVRDhand13 · January 8

nautical_disaster said:

Great thread @SVRDhand13 ! I haven't seen them a bunch of times like some of you on here, but here goes:

1) Hearing the opening notes of "Of the Girl" in Mansfield for my first pearl jam show. Finally being at a pearl jam show after years of loving the band, but being too young and too far away to make it to the earlier shows. The moment where it actually hit me that i was going to see them was right after Sonic Youth left the stage. My best bud and I were looking at the stage and we stupidly said "Holy shit...that's Ed's guitar on the stand" lol. What an unforgettable 2 nights of music

2) My first and only GA experience in Quebec City 22. Brought a bunch of dear friends to the show - most of them for their first pj show ever. I know there's a lot of negativity on setlist threads for the veteran pearl jam show goers, but to see them that close, with my friends hearing songs like small town, corduroy and black for the first time? Awesome.

3) Much Music (my Canadian friends will know) 1992 - Seeing the Jeremy video and being instantly hooked by Jeff's bass line. The rest is history.

That's what's beautiful about these discussions. Some people have seen them a handful of times, some over 100... we all have our special moments for us personally. Very happy I started this thread because it's the most enjoyable stuff I've read in a long time.

PureandEasy · January 8

SVRDhand13 said:

That's what's beautiful about these discussions. Some people have seen them a handful of times, some over 100... we all have our special moments for us personally. Very happy I started this thread because it's the most enjoyable stuff I've read in a long time.

It's a very cool thread, good to see some positive experiences shared online.

nooram · January 8

Seeing them at Mural Amphitheater in August of 1991, knowing they emanated from MLB, but little else
Seeing them at First Avenue in March of 1992. Taking the brunt of Eddie's weight as he "fell" from the second floor railing.
Seeing them in New Zealand in November of 2024. Beautiful country and wonderful shows.

darwinstheory · January 8

#3 Winding up 2nd row in GA for Vancouver 2 in 2024

#2 Wrigley 2013

#1 Standing behind the 3rd base dugout at Progressive Field celebrating as Ed was celebrating on the field with/right in front of us - 2016

Vedd Hedd · January 9

Eddie giving me wine AND touching Mikes Guitar during Porch in Toronto (2016?)

Last show at the Spectrum.

Taking my kids to their first shows (Wrigley 2018, St Louis 2022)

Shout out to first show, Alpine 1998. Also, what really fueled my fandom was missing out on Chicago 94 and 95.

rival9500 · January 9

1. 8/25/98. Pittsburgh. First time seeing them and feeling like I belonged somewhere for the first time. Opening with Release and seeing No Way the first time they ever played it. That experience and the Yield album changed everything for me.

2. The Riot act tour started my days as a touring fan and met some great friends along the way. Pittsburgh, State College, Columbus, Bristow, and Hershey.

3. Meeting the band in 2006 in Philly and seeing another 5 or 6 shows that tour.

Too many others over the years. Spectrum, Ohana, listening to Alright as I waited to be called in for my daughter’s birth, getting together with friends for every show are all up there.

SVRDhand13 · January 10

Thanks for the shoutout in the newsletter Ten Club!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021252/uploads/editor/ct/1go7yg40jkdl.png

Porchsitter · January 10

Here's my 3:

October 19th, 1993: What was a normal Tuesday morning for everybody else, I chose to skip school and drive to the nearest music shop to buy Vs. on CD. I spent the rest of the day driving around my town, listening to the album on repeat (sadly, that CD would be stolen a few months later when my friends and I went to the video store and one of them left my door unlocked. Somebody opened the door and took my CD player.....and now I'm realizing this whole story is like the most early 90s story because I touched up a music shop, a CD, a CD player, and video store. I was probably wearing flannel at the time as well.)
April 16th, 2016: I get to relive that "normal October Tuesday in 1993" all over again by watching the band I love play that same album in its entirety unannounced and still cannot believe I got to witness it live in a small South Carolina town.
April 19th, 2003: Getting to see them play Crown of Thorns live for the third time ever with a Chloe Dancer piano intro assist by Brendan O'Brien.

100 Pacer · January 10

SVRDhand13 said:

Thanks for the shoutout in the newsletter Ten Club!

It’s great to see positive engagement highlighted.

SVRDhand13 · January 10

100 Pacer said:

SVRDhand13 said:

Thanks for the shoutout in the newsletter Ten Club!

It’s great to see positive engagement highlighted.

Agreed! Everyone's comments here has me doing another deep dive into the bootlegs too, which is fun.

Loujoe · January 10

SVRDhand13 said:

100 Pacer said:

SVRDhand13 said:

Thanks for the shoutout in the newsletter Ten Club!

It’s great to see positive engagement highlighted.

Agreed! Everyone's comments here has me doing another deep dive into the bootlegs too, which is fun.

DM282158 · January 10

Love this thread. It’s fun reading everyone’s experiences, etc.

URthekey · January 11

Lots of amazing experiences to choose from…so hard to narrow it down to just 3 but here goes:

1. 10/22/13 Wachovia Center, Philadelphia PA.
This was the first tour PJ had a GA pit and I got rail right in front of Ed. He recognized me from the Spectrum Halloween show and made a very special dedication for me that was so insightful it helped me correct my life’s path. It had come after a particularly dark year where my neighbor intentionally shot and killed my dog, my nephew died of a fentanyl overdose, and I had made some very poor decisions that hurt a lot of people I love. The lyrics of Parachutes ‘..I don’t want to know your past, but together share the dawn’ cleansed my sole, helped me heal and move past all that noise to become a better version of myself.

2. 11/22 -24/05 Halifax, St John, Canada
This was the first time I had a random encounter with a band member, (MM) and Halifax was my first shows with my own fan club # tickets.
I was pregnant with my second child when PJ announced their Canadian tour. I wanted to catch a few shows but was due to give birth in that same time frame so I decided to try to deliver the baby via VBAC (to speed recovery) but it went horribly wrong when I had a uterine rupture, went into shock, and almost lost the baby. About 7 weeks later, when we’d both recovered, I decided live music was exactly what I needed; so I enlisted my niece, who was 19 at the time, to join us to provide child care while I went to the shows. The first show was amazing- (if you haven’t heard the Halifax boot you should give it a listen!) I ended up with 11th row seats right in front of Stone, and got a pick from him, and everything was grand!
Then it was on to St Johns for two more shows…
There was a night off between the two cities and my niece wanted to go to the bar in the hotel since she was legal to drink in Canada but not in the U.S., so I agreed. She ended up meeting some locals, going downtown, getting shit faced, and staying out til 4am while I lay awake worrying she was dead.
The next morning came way too soon for all of us when both kids woke up screaming with ear aches from the pressurized air of the flights. To give her some space I packed up the kids, one in a stroller and the other in a bjorn, and walked all over the city in the wind and rain while my niece slept off her binge. When show time came she was still in pretty bad shape and didn’t want to watch the kids. I was pissed. So we agreed that I would just run down to the venue last minute and she could call me if she couldn’t deal. She blew up my phone the entire show, causing me to leave early and was still ill the next day. I was not about to let her stupidity ruin the 2nd nights show - we’d come 2000 miles and she had one job - so I took both kids down to the lobby with books and toys and tried occupying them while she slept. Like 3 hrs into it the kids were cranky and wanted a change so I head out to a little cafe across the street. As we’re eating I look out the window and spot Mike walking with his wife and a few other folks. He had bright red hair at the time and was impossible to miss. I asked a waitresses to watch my 2yr old and me and the baby ran across 6 lanes of traffic to talk to him on the street. I don’t even remember what I said but he asked my name, was very nice and wished me well. Later, back at the hotel I saw him again and he came up to me, calling me by name and we spoke for a bit longer and he signed my ticket stub from the night before. Later that evening he spotted me in the crowd and pointed to me and did a little ‘ rock the baby’ thing with his arms then proceeded to melt my face while looking directly into my eyes during Black.
I again had to leave the show early b/c by this point the niece and both kids were all crying to me over the phone, but I didn’t care, I was on cloud nine.

3. 4/06/94 Springfield MA
This was where it all began. The local record store had a promotion that if you bought the Vs. album you were entered into a drawing to win a spot on their ‘tour bus’ which was two tickets to the Springfield show and a ride there & back on a Coach bus. I won and me & my friend baked a batch of ‘adults only’ brownies and giggled all the way to Massachusetts. When we got into the show our seats were killer - 3rd row aisle seats side stage right off the floor. As soon as the band hit the first chords of RVM the floor erupted and we realized we didn’t want to be in seats anymore. During Whipping we went over the barricade into the pit straight into the lions den, getting jostled around in the crowd, fully absorbed in the music, loving every minute.

From that point forward I never looked back.

Honorable mentions:

6/20/95 - Red Rocks Amphitheater CO - best venue ever, amazing setlist, all around 10/10.

5/3/10 - Kansas City MO - best show after the show. The Gas & Lights district had a huge indoor mall right across from the venue and they were showing the 7/8/03 Live at the Garden DVD on a giant screen in the courtyard. It seemed like the whole crowd just left the show and migrated here and the party continued into the wee hours.

7/2/2012 Prague, CZ - Was on the guest list and went backstage after the show. Oh, and they opened the 1st encore w/Of The Girl.

10/2/21 Ohana, Dana Point CA
If you watch the video you can see that during Unthought Known Ed is totally locked in to someone in the crowd > yeah, that was me. I swear his eyes pierced my brain and our thoughts at that moment were shared telepathically.

10/4/08 Brooklyn NY - drank Heinekens at the Warsaw Bar w/Stone at his ‘Dig It’ after party.

julieooliern · January 11

URthekey said:

Lots of amazing experiences to choose from…so hard to narrow it down to just 3 but here goes:

1. 10/22/13 Wachovia Center, Philadelphia PA.
This was the first tour PJ had a GA pit and I got rail right in front of Ed. He recognized me from the Spectrum Halloween show and made a very special dedication for me that was so insightful it helped me correct my life’s path. It had come after a particularly dark year where my neighbor intentionally shot and killed my dog, my nephew died of a fentanyl overdose, and I had made some very poor decisions that hurt a lot of people I love. The lyrics of Parachutes ‘..I don’t want to know your past, but together share the dawn’ cleansed my sole, helped me heal and move past all that noise to become a better version of myself.

2. 11/22 -24/05 Halifax, St John, Canada
This was the first time I had a random encounter with a band member, (MM) and Halifax was my first shows with my own fan club # tickets.
I was pregnant with my second child when PJ announced their Canadian tour. I wanted to catch a few shows but was due to give birth in that same time frame so I decided to try to deliver the baby via VBAC (to speed recovery) but it went horribly wrong when I had a uterine rupture, went into shock, and almost lost the baby. About 7 weeks later, when we’d both recovered, I decided live music was exactly what I needed; so I enlisted my niece, who was 19 at the time, to join us to provide child care while I went to the shows. The first show was amazing- (if you haven’t heard the Halifax boot you should give it a listen!) I ended up with 11th row seats right in front of Stone, and got a pick from him, and everything was grand!
Then it was on to St Johns for two more shows…
There was a night off between the two cities and my niece wanted to go to the bar in the hotel since she was legal to drink in Canada but not in the U.S., so I agreed. She ended up meeting some locals, going downtown, getting shit faced, and staying out til 4am while I lay awake worrying she was dead.
The next morning came way too soon for all of us when both kids woke up screaming with ear aches from the pressurized air of the flights. To give her some space I packed up the kids, one in a stroller and the other in a bjorn, and walked all over the city in the wind and rain while my niece slept off her binge. When show time came she was still in pretty bad shape and didn’t want to watch the kids. I was pissed. So we agreed that I would just run down to the venue last minute and she could call me if she couldn’t deal. She blew up my phone the entire show, causing me to leave early and was still ill the next day. I was not about to let her stupidity ruin the 2nd nights show - we’d come 2000 miles and she had one job - so I took both kids down to the lobby with books and toys and tried occupying them while she slept. Like 3 hrs into it the kids were cranky and wanted a change so I head out to a little cafe across the street. As we’re eating I look out the window and spot Mike walking with his wife and a few other folks. He had bright red hair at the time and was impossible to miss. I asked a waitresses to watch my 2yr old and me and the baby ran across 6 lanes of traffic to talk to him on the street. I don’t even remember what I said but he asked my name, was very nice and wished me well. Later, back at the hotel I saw him again and he came up to me, calling me by name and we spoke for a bit longer and he signed my ticket stub from the night before. Later that evening he spotted me in the crowd and pointed to me and did a little ‘ rock the baby’ thing with his arms then proceeded to melt my face while looking directly into my eyes during Black.
I again had to leave the show early b/c by this point the niece and both kids were all crying to me over the phone, but I didn’t care, I was on cloud nine.

3. 4/06/94 Springfield MA
This was where it all began. The local record store had a promotion that if you bought the Vs. album you were entered into a drawing to win a spot on their ‘tour bus’ which was two tickets to the Springfield show and a ride there & back on a Coach bus. I won and me & my friend baked a batch of ‘adults only’ brownies and giggled all the way to Massachusetts. When we got into the show our seats were killer - 3rd row aisle seats side stage right off the floor. As soon as the band hit the first chords of RVM the floor erupted and we realized we didn’t want to be in seats anymore. During Whipping we went over the barricade into the pit straight into the lions den, getting jostled around in the crowd, fully absorbed in the music, loving every minute.
From that point forward I never looked back.

Honorable mentions:

6/20/95 - Red Rocks Amphitheater CO - best venue ever, amazing setlist, all around 10/10.

5/3/10 - Kansas City MO - best show after the show. The Gas & Lights district had a huge indoor mall right across from the venue and they were showing the 7/8/03 Live at the Garden DVD on a giant screen in the courtyard. It seemed like the whole crowd just left the show and migrated here and the party continued into the wee hours.

7/2/2012 Prague, CZ - Was on the guest list and went backstage after the show. Oh, and they opened the 1st encore w/Of The Girl.

10/2/21 Ohana, Dana Point CA
If you watch the video you can see that during Unthought Known Ed is totally locked in to someone in the crowd > yeah, that was me. I swear his eyes pierced my brain and our thoughts at that moment were shared telepathically.

10/4/08 Brooklyn NY - drank Heinekens at the Warsaw Bar w/Stone at his ‘Dig It’ after party.

Hi! My name’s Julie, if I DM you my info will you be my friend? 😂😂😂
Great share!!!

sunspots24 · January 11

So of course this is the tough one:

1) I was a casual fan for a long time but the tide started to turn around 2006-2008. I was in a relationship with a beautiful woman and she was one of the first people I knew that had an Ipod. Anyways one time I woke up and "Go" came on on her Ipod and I was like holy shit this song is awesome. I remember looking over and she was asleep and there was just a moment where everything connected. To this day whenever I hear that song, I still remember that moment.

2) Phoenix 2013- I had floor seats and it was on my Mom's birthday and it was her final birthday before she passed. They played for 3 hours including "Alone", "Bee Girl" and "Around The Bend." I remember singing along to every song and ended up losing my voice and getting really sick. (Totally worth it.)

3) Denver 2022- I had been exploring downtown Denver all day including going to a Rockies game and of course included day drinking. I stopped at Union Station for one last beer and this dude sat next to me who just flew in from Stl. Louis for the concert. One thing led to another and ended up drinking 3 shots of whiskey in 45 minutes with him, the bartender and some random lady. Didn't pay for any of it and never saw any of them again. They proceeded to play "Present Tense" and "Thin Air" which were on my song list. I may have teared up a little bit and it wasn't from drinking all day.

Your Top 3 Moments of Being a Fan

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