Pearl Jam and the moving embrace to the European fans
Seeing Pearl Jam live this summer proved more difficult than expected. First, because they rationed out their European dates, selecting only seven cities (in just five countries) across Europe. A series of unforeseen events related to unspecified health conditions then led the Seattle band to cancel first the London date, then both shows scheduled for Dublin. That’s why the Spanish dates, including the headliner at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, became an even more precious opportunity to see Eddie Vedder and company again.
In the meantime, the most important question: how are they? And the most reassuring answer: apparently well, very well. Our guys not only immediately appear to be in great shape, but they also show off a joy in being on stage that is at times overflowing, certainly contagious. This already makes the tens of thousands of people who came to the Madrid festival breathe a sigh of relief. Eddie has a smile that seems drawn and an almost childish enthusiasm that on the one hand softens (perhaps even a little too much) his tones, on the other it makes you breathe that air of a magical evening that you desperately hope for every time you go to see a band of this caliber.
When you choose to go see Pearl Jam live, in addition to the financial investment tied to the cost of the ticket – which is increasingly in sharp contrast with the group’s historic battles to have reasonable or even popular prices for their fans – you also find yourself in the uncomfortable position of having a significant emotional investment on your back.
It all has to be calibrated based on the involvement you have with Pearl Jam’s music, obviously, but if we’re not talking about a simple old rocker pose, then it will be clear what we’re talking about. Let’s add that the PJ fanbase has become increasingly bitter over the years, also creating a sort of internal competition that even the most aggressive fans would envy, a short circuit that is almost unique in the world of music. Here, in light of all this: a Pearl Jam concert is demanding, especially for the heart.
The very good news is that already from “Lukin” – the first song on the setlist, among the most unusual – the heat that envelops Madrid at sunset brings with it the awareness that that investment is about to be repaid, with interest. The bad news is that unfortunately for the first time in this edition of the festival the show starts late and with sounds that are at least initially terrible. Ironic, huh? Of all people, them. Ironic but perhaps also inevitable, without necessarily bringing esoteric issues into play. The blame could also be partially attributed to the strong wind, which arrives forcefully to disrupt the perfect mechanism of Mad Cool, which in these first seven years of history has accustomed its patrons very well, with the typical care of an event that aims at excellence and international attendance.
It will take a few songs to bring the volumes and mixing back to the usual standards, but in the meantime we find a band that has chosen to show its most smiling, bright and reassuring face on stage.
There is even a moment that should be crystallized and jealously guarded among the most beautiful memories of Mad Cool, of the summer, of 2024 and so on: a hug between Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready, the kind that you would see on the cover of a special edition. Eddie wraps his arms around Mike’s neck, closing his eyes. Head to head, Pearl Jam’s voice and lead guitar momentarily sweep away all the caustic and recurring doubts about the health of the band’s internal bonds. Even the smiles of Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Matt Cameron speak clearly: despite the difficulties, the unexpected, the constant criticism and expectations impossible to meet, Pearl Jam still love playing together and doing it for their fans.
“Dark Matter”, their latest studio album, was received generally positively by critics, but tepidly by the public. Yet the courage of a band that should have nothing left to prove allows for a setlist with six new songs, three of which are even played in sequence. And guess what? The new material sounds magnificent. All the songs, none excluded. In fact, paradoxically Eddie’s voice comes closer to his vintage version during “React, Respond” and “Wreckage”, than with the great classics. He sings well, skipping just a few lines with a pinch of cunning but makes up for it in interpretation. Considering that many feared that Pearl Jam’s European summer was over a few weeks ago, this is a blessing.
The rest of the setlist doesn’t stand out much and follows the festival model, except for “Unthought Known” at the debut of this tour and dedicated to Javier Bardem, a friend of the band and notoriously one of the most ardent fans among the illustrious. There is no shortage of bottles of wine, short monologues in the local language – which, as always, seem to be the funniest and most tiring test sustained by Vedder in the evening – and moments of pure emotion.
“Black”, needless to say, and its long coda of choruses that every single time makes the doors of time tremble.
But also “Daughter”, “Better Man” – dedicated to the Spanish rocker Miguel Rios – the liberating effect of that generational anthem that is “Alive”. The inevitable cover of “Rockin’ in the Free World” and the conclusive “Yellow Ledbetter” shatter the beautiful synthetic grass of Mad Cool and further strengthen the positions of those who think that it is still important to make some sacrifices and follow Vedder, McCready, Gossard, Ament and Cameron on this journey that has now lasted thirty-four years.
It’s a date that recalibrates the energies of the universe. With Pearl Jam you often have the feeling that, silently and with a great underlying misunderstanding, the band must always return to contain some dark forces, ready to spread in their absence. It seems that in spite of themselves they have this task and that all in all they also manage to complete it, always, without ever complaining about it. So let’s remember that being a Pearl Jam fan is not mandatory, even for those who lived (directly or thanks to its powerful echo) that dazzling golden age of Seattle in the Nineties. If someone wanted to get off the wagon and make room for those who are more happy to be there, why not do it? After all, even Oasis suggested it to us, not to put our life in the hands of a rock and roll band. Even if in this rare case, perhaps, we could take the risk knowing that Pearl Jam, at least they, would not throw it away.
