Friday, August 7, 2009

6,865 Days and Still No Pearl Jam





This is Lesha.  Lesha turned 18 years old this year.  He was born in Russia in 1991.  He has survived 18 St. Petersburg winters listening to bootlegged Pearl Jam concerts.  Never once has Pearl Jam played the Ice Palace.  Lesha’s not alone though.  Millions in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Prince Edward Island, and Mississippi are asking the same question as Lesha.  "Why, Pearl Jam, why won't you play here?"


Tomorrow is the first of twenty-nine Pearl Jam concerts in support of their upcoming album, Backspacer.  Pearl Jam fans, possibly remembering the angsty beginnings of their favorite band, are not a group who suffer in silence.  So, that begs the question, "who has the waited the longest since their last Pearl Jam experience?"  The question is a little silly given that if you look at this map, you'll see that whole continents have never seen Pearl Jam play.  Seriously guys, no shows in the Middle East?  Not even a USO show for the troops?  If Pearl Jam has never played your country, state, or province, your Pearl Jam drought has lasted a brutal 6,865 days.  In all likelihood, it will last over 7,000 days as it's unlikely that Pearl Jam will be hitting Pakistan, the Congo, or Alaska before the year's end.  Of course, technically, Pearl Jam played in Alaska on February 8th, 1992.



This application is created by interactive maps.

You can also have your visited countries map on your site.



If you see this message, you need to upgrade your flash player.

Make your visited countries map Flash charts


Does Pearl Jam dislike Vietnam, New Brunswick, and Delaware?  No, probably not.  Are there just not enough Pearl Jam fans in Mississippi or Indonesia to justify a performance?  What about those who haven't been completely missed, but have just been waiting a very, very long time:  Nebraska (6,502 days), Vermont (6,489 days), Finland (5,883 days, and China (5,279 days)?  I don't profess to have the answers.  I only profess to report the news.  
That being said, here is The Drought List, from shortest drought to longest drought.  It includes all U.S. states, all Canadian provinces, all countries in which Pearl Jam has played, the top twenty most populous countries, and a couple other countries I thought were interesting.  All numbers are in days, and I've also starred those lucky folks whose drought will end before 2010.  Congratulations, folks!  Your drought number is about to be Backspaced!


New York 403

Massachusetts 404 
Connecticut 407 
District of Columbia 412 
New Jersey 414 
Virginia 417 
South Carolina 418 
Tennessee 420 
Florida 422 
Illinois 734* 
Belgium 771 
Netherlands 772* 
Denmark 774 
Germany 775* 
United Kingdom 782* 
Austria 784 
Italy 785
Poland 787 
Spain 791 
Portugal 792 
Hawaii 973 
Australia 993* 
California 1021* 
Greece 1043 
Croatia 1047 
Czech Republic 1051 
Switzerland 1060 
France 1062 
Ireland 1081 
Ohio 1111 
Washington 1112* 
Oregon 1115* 
Nevada 1129 
Colorado 1132 
Wisconsin 1135 
Minnesota 1138 
Pennsylvania 1142* 
Michigan 1174 
Ontario 1186* 
Mexico 1337 
Brazil 1343 
Argentina 1351 
Chile 1354 
Newfoundland and Labrador 1413 
Nova Scotia 1416 
Quebec 1418 
Manitoba 1430 
Saskatchewan 1431 
Alberta 1433* 
British Columbia 1436* 
Montana 1440 
North Carolina 1767
Missouri 1768 
Indiana 2239 
North Dakota 2246 
Iowa 2248 
Kansas 2249 
Arkansas 2251 
Texas 2252* 
Arizona 2254 
Kentucky 2301 
Georgia 2303 
Alabama 2313 
Louisiana 2314 
Oklahoma 2319 
Japan 2347 
Idaho 3200 
New Mexico 3214 
Maryland 3260 
Norway 3327 
Sweden 3328 
Slovenia 3337 
South Dakota 4063 
Utah 4066* 
Turkey 4645 
Maine 4699 
Wyoming 5167 
New Zealand 5250*
Singapore 5272  
Thailand 5275 
Philippines 5277 
Taiwan, Province of China 5279 
Finland 5883 
Rhode Island 6478 
Vermont 6489 
Nebraska 6502 
Alaska 6865 
Delaware 6865 
Mississippi 6865 
New Brunswick 6865 
New Hampshire 6865 
Prince Edward Island 6865 
West Virginia 6865 
India 6865 
Indonesia 6865 
Bangladesh 6865 
Pakistan 6865 
Nigeria 6865 
Russia 6865 
Vietnam 6865 
Ethiopia 6865 
Egypt 6865 
Iran 6865 
Congo, Dem. Rep. of 6865 
Afghanistan 6865 
Iraq 6865 
South Africa 6865