Pearl Jam seemed like an odd fit to co-headline Jay-Z's Made In America Festival this fall in Philadelphia, but they were excited about the prospect of playing the same festival as Jay-Z, Santigold, and Odd Future. After a great set of hits and rockers, Jay-Z stepped onto the stage, and Matt Cameron's bass began to ring out. Next thing you know, Pearl Jam was a backing band for Jay-Z's 99 Problems.
Pearl Jam once performed with Cypress Hill on The Real Thing for 1993's Judgement Night soundtrack, but since Stone's Loosegroves Records folded in the late nineties, we haven't seen the band collaborate with rappers very often, but they didn't miss a step. The song was possibly the best performance from the band this year.
"Matt [Cameron] absolutely killed it," Ament says. "['99 Problems'] sounds like a really simple song, but there are a lot of holes in it and Matt nailed all of those. Someone also showed me a quick two-minute clip of everything afterwards and I was really happy with the lighting, too."If forced to find a downside, it's that we can't buy the bootleg. Is it coming? Maybe, but we might have to wait for Ron Howard's Made In America documentary.
