Pearl Jam Doing It All For You

(Note: If you are a Pearl Jam superfan and belong to the Ten Club, this review is not for you. Though it is entirely positive, the ignorance displayed here will likely anger you and I encourage you to stop reading.)

There are bands you grow up with who you think you might want to see once in your life. For me, Pearl Jam were always one of those bands. I admit with little to no shame that I enjoyed most of the band's work in the '90s (No Code being a huge exception), though I have since sold all their records and (blasphemy!) never owned Ten. Before the show, however, I was regretting the decision to go.

Pearl Jam are The Tragically Hip for people outside of the area between Ottawa and London, Ontario (and the more worldly equivalent for those inside those lines). Their fans are diehards, the band's songs are all anthems and despite the fact that they haven't released a decent record since 1998, they are more famous now than ever. After My Morning Jacket played a superb set of songs from their latest release, Z, and a number of their early hits, the band of the hour took the stage with not an empty seat to be seen.

That's quite literal. The stage had no backdrop, so all the seating behind the stage was filled. Pearl Jam didn't quite play in the round, but they played sideways frequently enough that I figure if you were in the back, you probably got your money's worth (assuming the tickets weren't the same price as the ones in front of the stage).

But enough jibber-jabber. The main question this set would answer is, "Why are Pearl Jam more famous now than ever and why would Chart contributor Shaun Gibson go see them at every city between Vancouver and Quebec City last year?" The reason is that, simply put, they are incredible. It's not just that few bands perform with the kind of passion Pearl Jam do. It's that they give every single ounce of strength they have — plus everything onstage with a value of less than $75 — to their fans.

Even starting with a number of tracks from their lacklustre new self-titled record couldn't dull the atmosphere. Eventually, Yield's "Given To Fly" gave way to the inevitable hit parade, which, if you were a casual fan attending on this night, was simply outstanding. "Corduroy," "Better Man" and "Not For You" represented Vitalogy in the main set. Vs. was mostly ignored, with the exception of "Daughter."

Ten, on the other hand, was the theme of the evening. All the record's singles somehow sounded as vital as they did 15 years ago (that's a chilling thought: Ten is 15 years old) and Eddie Vedder belted out lyrics to songs like "Jeremy" as furiously as he did when he was a young, young man. Vedder and Mike McCready were, in particular, stellar to watch. Both gave so much to the crowd in front of them and seemed to get stronger throughout the two-and-a-half hour set feeding off the love they got in return.

The first encore included "Do The Evolution" and "Alive," while the second had mainstays "Rockin' In The Free World" and "Yellow Ledbetter." During both, Vedder, McCready and Stone Gossard tossed out hundreds of guitar picks, and Gossard at one point threw out a pile of the band's clothing.

And that's what Pearl Jam are really about. They'll even give the clothes off their back to send their fans home happy. Even if you're not a diehard fan who knows the words to every song, you have to appreciate a spectacle like that. On this night, I actually felt bad to be a casual fan.

To view more of Richard Beland's photos from Pearl Jam's appearance at Air Canada Centre, click here.