It's no big mystery to those who listen to music that Pearl Jam is one of the defining bands of the past twenty years. Along with several other acts, Pearl Jam took the music world by storm in the early 90's and has continued kickin' ass and taking names ever since. Chances are, most everyone in my age group owns (or owned) something Pearl Jam in their music collection, and I'm no different. You can read about the band and their influences just about anywhere, and I'm not in the business of writing about music, since chances are I'll say something stupid if I make even an attempt at it. But I do like to write about experiences I've had, and the Pearl Jam shows over past few days are a fitting end to such a cool summer.
Through "friends of friends" I became friends with Mike McCready, one of the members of Pearl Jam during my time in Seattle. In addition to sharing some common friends, Mike and I share some unique attributes, which has made it easy to relate to each other, and his perspective on life (and our shared situation) has inspired me to step over and around the crap that can get in the way of living life to its fullest. He personifies what it means to kick ass and take names on many levels...
Despite my admiration for Pearl Jam's music, I hadn't seen them in concert and over the past two nights I was lucky enough to see the band and hang around with Mike when he wasn't piercing the ear drums of folks at the United Center. The music was amazing, and to see an iconic band perform many of the songs I'd grown up with brought back some feelings of nostalgia, but also a great appreciation for their ability to continue turning out great music. But more than any specific song, there were a number of thoughts and experiences that came into mind over the past few days, so here's a few (beginning with Sunday)
-I've never been on a "guest list" for anything like a concert and had no idea what to do. I literally had to ask Mike how to pick up the tickets and was scared shitless that something would go haywire when my sister and I showed up on Sunday night. Sure enough, we show up to the box office window and no tickets were there. Eventually, someone from the band spoke to someone in the box office so the crisis was averted. Or so we thought....
-Once we got to our seats, we found the actual seats didn't exist. The row went to seat # 14, and our seats were numbers 15 and 16. We returned to the box office, got new tickets, and literally got to our new seats as the house lights went down.
-My sister and I have been to some great shit together at the United Center, and this was another super cool one. Our last time there was in 1997 when Steve Kerr hit a championship-clinching jump shot to win game 6 of the NBA Finals.
-It was funny seeing Mike on stage; mainly because I'm used to him being a pretty calm, at ease sort of guy. Those who have seen him on stage know that is not the case when the music starts flowing.
-As Mike closed down Sunday's show with a Jimi Hendrix (esque) rendition of the National Anthem, I felt proud to know a guy who is able to bring joy to so many people's lives. Mike hasn't had a cake walk in life, and to see him succeed despite those difficulties, with millions of eyeballs on him gave me a great appreciation for him as a man, more than a musician. I don't know if I'd be OK having to live up to such lofty expectations as part of my everyday job.
-Much like the "guest list" virginity, I've also never been back stage after a concert and had no idea what to expect. Marissa and I headed back there for about a half an hour and it was chaos. But it was very cool walking around in the bowels of the United Center!
-Tuesday night I brought by buddies Sierra and Charlie, and much less drama in the ticket department. Our seats were located behind a few of the Cubs, and we got a chance to chat with Koyie Hill, the Cubs #2 catcher, since he too was a "guest of the band." Certain teammates of Koyie left early, who will remain nameless, but I'm sure they'll get shit when Ed visits in the clubhouse later today and finds out they took off. Let's hope they went to Wrigley for some late night batting practice.
-After the show it was very relaxed compared to the prior evening; and Sierra, Charlie and I hung out while waiting for Mike to come out and say hi. Eventually he did, and it was fun chatting with him after the show, and despite it feeling extremely awkward for me to ask for it, he took a picture with the three of us that'll make a nice screen saver, and a lifelong memory.
-The ride home gave me a chance to think about how great the year has been, and how fitting it was that a band from Seattle (albeit a big band) put the final stamp on what has been an unreal summer. I've accomplished what I set out to achieve back in May, and have had a chance to do tons of fun things along the way, which may make 2009 one of those years I look back on fondly when I'm old and gray. But I'm a long way from there, and plenty of more fun stuff coming in my direction...glad you all are along for the ride!
Oh, and if you're interested in more photos from the evening, here's a link to many more.
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