6/23/2023 0 Comments Pearl jam unplugged tape date![]() ![]() “Other members of the band look to him to make decisions,” confirms a confidential source at the band’s label, Epic. But sources close to the band say that Vedder is the group’s unquestioned leader and that while artistically, all five band mates contribute, the singer sets the agenda for the band’s extracurricular, anti-rock-industry crusades. Publicly, Pearl Jam have always described themselves as a democracy where all five members form a consensus on decision making. On the rare occasions when Vedder does talk to reporters, he uses the opportunity merely to bemoan, endlessly, the burdens of his fame and success. Fearful of reported death threats, hounded by fans who have gleaned his other address (in the city’s Capitol Hill district), the singer has surrounded himself with a handful of fellow rock celebrities who are unwilling to speak of him to journalists, even off the record. The house is patrolled by two bodyguards who check out even the Domino’s Pizza boy who delivers Vedder’s weekly small pepperoni and sausage pie. Shunning interviews, refusing to make videos and playing truncated tours because of his unwinnable war with Ticketmaster, he now keeps a low profile in the city, living in his large house in West Seattle, in an enclave of upper-middle-class homes on a tree-lined slope that overlooks Puget Sound. While the four other members of Pearl Jam are regularly spotted in Seattle’s nightclubs and restaurants, Vedder sightings are few and far between. Lately, it seems, Eddie Vedder is searching harder and harder for reasons to leave the house. “Well,” he says, before quitting the stage, “this was almost worth leaving the house for.” The versions of “Even Flow,” “Alive” and “Whipping” sound like the leaden workings of a cover band. “This is the part of the show we call the human jukebox,” he announces before Pearl Jam dip into the sure-fire crowd pleasers from Ten, Vs. Planted at the mike, he delivers the songs with a throwaway offhandedness that borders on contempt. And drummer Jack Irons keeps a steady, if downbeat, pace. Stone Gossard, who hasn’t bothered to remove his glasses for this gig, works away at his guitar with all the passion of a man digging a ditch. ![]() Lead guitarist Mike McCready tries a few flailing guitar-hero moves, but when his band mates fail to respond, he, too, sinks into a sullen torpor. Bassist Jeff Ament, famous for his flying leaps, stands rooted to his spot on the stage. Even when the band members kick into “Hail, Hail” ”“ the closest song to a classic Pearl Jam arena anthem on No Code ”“ they seem determined to thwart the song’s urgent, driving momentum. The muted start seems to confuse the audience of mosh-minded twentysomethings, who are pumped for some of Vedder’s girder-climbing theatrics. “Devote myself/My small self/Like a book amongst the many on a shelf.” “Seek my part,” Vedder sings, pushing out the lyrics in a pained rasp. “Well,” Vedder mumbles, “you’re about to hear it again.” With that, Pearl Jam edge into “Sometimes,” the fragile ballad that opens No Code. “Have you heard the new album?” he asks in his husky baritone. ![]() You’d never guess it from Vedder’s scowl. The scene is set, then, for a legendary show ”“ the band’s triumphant return. Apart from scattered dates on their abortive 1995 tour, Pearl Jam have not sustained a tour in more than two years. It’s a hand-picked crowd of the faithful who have waited a long time for this moment. Having long professed disdain for his arena-rock superstardom, he faces a crowd of just 800 or so locals in his adoptive hometown ”“ an audience from which journalists, low-level PR flacks, photographers and other industry hangers-on have been barred. This warm-up club gig should be Vedder’s ideal venue. 14, 1996, and Pearl Jam are preparing to launch the world tour for their new album, No Code. ![]() album-release party,” Eddie Vedder deadpans from the stage of Seattle’s Showbox theater ”“ “and the Pearl Jam reunion tour.” Written by John Colapinto with Eric Boehlert and Matt Hendrickson ![]()
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