And before the first notes of the first date, the band had recruited enough partners in the region to raise more than $11.5 million for the cause. Playing charity shows in their hometown is old hat for the band, but the Home Shows initiative to help combat the rising homelessness rate in Seattle propelling these two nights at Safeco was certainly more ambitious than usual. Their exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture was a highlight on the local news.Īt the heart of all of this was the cause behind it. Their logos were plastered in train stations, along sides of buildings and on posters around the city. Stepping through the gate at SeaTac, travelers were greeted by a giant banner trumpeting the concerts, just above directional signals to gate D7. There were already a number of Pearl Jam t-shirts present during my layover in Philadelphia. In that light, the city looked different. Through all these years of obsessively listening to Pearl Jam, collecting records and bootlegs and cataloging their every move as a band, this was an opportunity to see them on their home turf, in front of the crowd that saw them grow up and mark their name among the most successful bands to ever emerge from the United States. It was enough of a taste that I had an idea of what the neighborhoods were like, and where I could confidently spend my time in the mornings and afternoons on my own before meeting up with friends for the shows.īut this felt like a first trip in some ways. The first was simply a visit to explore one of the country’s great cities, the second a welcome weekend stopover en route back to Boston from Alaska. Musically, the city far out-punches its weight, and for that alone it’s always felt special.Īnd this was my third trip through Seattle. Seattle, and its nearby locales across Washington, have given the music world too many names to list here, but among them: Jimi Hendrix, Heart, the Sonics, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Alice in Chains, Bikini Kill, Tad, Mother Love Bone, Screaming Trees, 7 Year Bitch, Foo Fighters, Brandi Carlile, Death Cab for Cutie, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes and, obviously, Pearl Jam. “So I guess that must mean we’re at home,” he continued. And catching them in their hometown over two dates, with the proceeds designed to help several initiatives to combat the region’s growing homelessness problem, went beyond my most elaborate fantasies. Seeing them ply their trade as often as possible is always the edict, but certain venues and locations take precedent. Seeing this band in this city has long been present as a “must-do” item on my checklist. The rest was inspiring on a new, unexpected level. I initially made these plans to see friends and watch the band play two great shows. Maybe it was internal projection or simple delusion of not wanting to be disappointed, but I can’t remember seeing a city and a band work in concert together this well before. Seeing Pearl Jam in Seattle felt different, from touchdown to takeoff four days later. It’s not as though the concert setlists were the most varied ever - there were certainly a number of surprises, even while songs like “Porch,” “rearviewmirror,” “Alive” and “Yellow Ledbetter” occupied consistent slots each night. The lingering high that exists walking out of a Pearl Jam show is hard to explain to the uninitiated, but it’s especially strange when that walk out of a venue, after more than three hours of punishing, inspirational music, includes a funnel into Seattle’s Pioneer Square and ends with a beer at the Central Saloon, whose stage once hosted the likes of Green River and Mother Love Bone. This was as complete a takeover of a municipality by a musical artist as I’ve ever witness. Their songs blared out of bars, cars and pedicabs.
T-shirts clad fans - tourists and residents alike - flooded the streets. Band logos were plastered on every other building. So went Eddie Vedder’s introduction of the band, five songs into the first of two nights at Seattle’s Safeco Field, and after spending even a nominal amount of time in the city, nothing could have been more obvious. “We are Pearl Jam, we are from Seattle, Washington.” Pearl Jam teams with Seattle to bring its music home 'Nothing As It Seems' and the Story of Pearl Jam Sonic Reducer (with Mark Arm, Steve Turner and Kim Thayil) Search and Destroy (with Mark Arm, Steve Turner and Kim Thayil) Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town