Friday, December 30, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #1

 #1, EARTHLING


It was late 2021 when we first learned that Eddie Vedder had been working on a solo album.  Our first chance to hear "Earthling" was a song called Long Way, that called back to Tom Petty's sound (hardly a surprise after hearing Ed's cover of Wild Flowers on the 2017 Fan Club Single).  It was nearly Valentine's Day 2022 before it dropped, and, like Ed's two previous albums, it was a shocking departure from both Pearl Jam and his previous albums.

Ed let his influences from Petty, the Beatles, and Springsteen loose, pays tribute to his lost friends, and brings a host of guest stars to the table, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Ringo Star, and even his own, late father, Edward Severson Jr., through a recording passed down to Ed from a friend.  This may have been the truest Ed we've ever gotten even if he shared songwriting credits with his co-collaborators, Andrew Watt and Josh Klinghoffer.

The album was so amazing, we had to break our review into two parts.  Each time we hear from Ed, and Ed alone, we see slight shifts in the music of Pearl Jam, and since Stone Gossard tells us that they may be working on twelve album (possibly with Andrew Watt?), we may be in for some amazing things in the future.




Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #2

 #2, DAVE KRUSEN RETURNS TO PEARL JAM

Credit: PearlJam.com

This is not just a story about Dave Krusen.  This is a story about Matt Cameron, who came down with COVID-19 just before Pearl Jam's two shows in Oakland.  It's a story about Richard Stuverud, friend of Jeff Ament, who stepped in to play drums for three shows in Oakland and Fresno.  It's a story about Josh Klinghoffer, who also picked up drums, leading to a drum battle between he and Stuverud during the performance of W.M.A. on night two in Oakland.  It's a story about Josh Arroyo, who was just a fan in the audience wearing a shirt with the names off all the Pearl Jam drummers, which got him on stage to play drums for show closer, Yellow Ledbetter.

We love all of that and hope to see Josh back in 2023, but our particular highlight of the tour was having Dave Krusen back behind the set for all of our Ten-era favorites in Fresno.  If we can't have Matt Cameron, and we can't have Jimmy Shoaf, Dave Krusen is an amazing and exciting third choice.  For a brief window of time, we got to have Pearl Jam, as Pearl Jam was originally formed, and it couldn't have been a better show.

We could have had two more amazing shows, rumor had it that Jack Irons was trying to get to California, if COVID-19 had not spread further into the band, cutting them down before end of that leg of the tour.


Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #3

 #3, UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN


We got an amazing surprise in May when Jeff Ament announced that he was working with Josh Klinghoffer, long time friend, John Wicks, and Gigaton producer, Josh Evans to score the FX adaptation of John Krakauer's book, Under the Banner of Heaven.

The results were some of the most chilling, atmospheric, and experimental pieces we've heard since Master/Slave opened Ten.  Each episode of the show was closed with one of their creations, which quickly found their way onto YouTube.

If we're lucky, next year we'll be announcing a vinyl release so we can bring these amazing songs home with us.


Monday, December 26, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #4

 #4, THE "GIGATON" TOUR


Though it was filled with ups and downs, it's hard to be sad about Pearl Jam finally hitting the road for a proper tour in 2022.  Officially, this was the Gigaton Tour, but you'll find the band played a lot less of that album than you would expect from a supporting tour.  Since the album was already two years old when the tour started, that's understandable.  Still, given reception from fans, you can expect Dance of the ClairvoyantsWho Ever Said, and Quick Escape to be regular occurrences in playlists from here on out.

What a roller coaster!  The tour seemed held together with duct tape and wire though California while COVID swept through the band until it eventually forced cancellations.  The band came back together in Europe building up to some amazing shows in the UK before Ed wrecked his voice in France.  Do we comment on the fact that climate change destroyed the tour that was supporting an album themed around climate change?

Coming back to North America, Pearl Jam introduced a 5-song slow intro to their shows that blew fans' minds and dusted off rarities like Other Side, Yellow Moon, Wash, and Sleight of Hand.  They battled technical difficulties at a historic show at the Apollo in New York, and played a show outside Philadelphia that could have almost occurred in 1995, shaking off modern hits for a deep dive into the catalog.

Even as they show signs of age with shorter sets, there was enough innovation this year to keep us salivating for a 2023 Tour!

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #5

 #5, 3RD SECRET


In April, we found out that Matt Cameron had been working with former Nirvana bassist, Krist Novoselić, Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, guitarist Bobba Dupree of Void, Jillian Raye of Giants in the Trees, and Jennifer Johnson to form the band 3rd Secret.  Their debut album has, to date, only been available via streaming sources, but it's been an amazing demonstration of where "grunge" artists find themselves today.


Thursday, December 22, 2022

Happy Birthday, Eddie Vedder!

 

Credit: Steve Sherman

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #6

 #6, PAINTED SHIELD 2

We got our first taste of Painted Shield's sophomore effort back in the summer of 2021, but it wasn't until May this year that the full album got to us.  With Mason Jennings on vocals their music sounds nothing like Pearl Jam, and with the elevation of Brittany Davis to vocals on nearly half of this album, Painted Shield blew our minds this year more than ever.

We can't wait to see them live in March at SXSW!




Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #7

 #7, REARVIEWMIRROR AND LIVE ON TWO LEGS


This year we were excited to get two Pearl Jam compilations reissued.  First, and possibly most exciting, Live on Two Legs got a Record Store Day release on clear vinyl.  This was the first time that album was available on vinyl in almost 25 years.  If you can find a copy in your local record store bins, don't hesitate, it contains some of the greatest Pearl Jam performances to date.

The other reissue was a new release of Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003.  Previously release in 2004 as a 4-LP set, the album has now been split into two volumes, Volume 1 (the "Up" side), with fast paced rockers, and Volume 2 (the "Down" side), with slower songs.  Both volumes are still available as Walmart exclusives on either black vinyl or with a colored vinyl option.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #8

 #8, VIC THEATRE ON VINYL


A tough decision to include in our list, since this was one of the first Vault releases Pearl Jam ever offered, but when they offered it back in 2012, you could only get it on CD or via digital download.  Pearl Jam seems to be reaching back and trying to fill holes in their collection.  And so, in 2022, they made the Vic Threatre from August 2007 available on vinyl for the first time.

Even though we've seen this one before, it's definitely exciting to have it on vinyl (or, at least, we will when it eventually ships).  Here's hoping 2023 brings us Vault #12.

Monday, December 19, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #9

 #9, LONG ROAD BY STEVEN HYDEN


Just as most of us were coming off of the high of following Pearl Jam's tour around the world, music journalist, Steven Hyden, was there with his new book Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation, chronicling for us exactly how Pearl Jam shaped our lives and why were are still packing venues where they play.

Whether you are new to Pearl Jam or you've had bootleg tapes since the 90's, we recommend reading our review of the book and picking up a copy for yourself or for a Christmas gift.

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Top Ten Pearl Jam Moments of 2022, #10

 #10, TOUR CANCELLATIONS

It appears as though Pearl Jam ceased sales of their custom masks a little to early.  Though it wasn't all caused by COVID, and it wasn't as extensive as 2020, show cancellation continued to plague Pearl Jam in 2022.

Problems started with Sacramento and Las Vegas when Jeff Ament came down with COVID-19 during the first leg of Pearl Jam's North American Tour.  They had already been using fill in drummers (more on that later), but the loss of a bassist was too much.

Then, air pollution from wildfires in France damaged Eddie's vocal cords, leading to the loss of three shows in a row from the European leg, Vienna, Prague, and one of the Amsterdam shows.

Although leg two of the North American tour stayed intact, Eddie and Painted Shield were forced to cancel the Encore weekend of the Ohana Festival due to lack of interest.

2022 was definitely the return of the Pearl Jam Tour, but it was also a year of what could have been.


Thursday, December 15, 2022

Stip Returns to State of Love and Trust


It is time to head back over to the State of Love and Trust podcast so you can hear our author, stip, chat with Jason and Paul about the best songwriting duo in the band.  You can download the latest version on their website or using your favorite source via their linktree.
Jason and Paul welcome Stip from The Sky I Scrape / Red Mosquito and artist, Brad Klausen, back to the show to answer the question: what is the best songwriting duo? That and the Lyric and Live Cut of the Week - Angel.

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Eddie Vedder Performs U2's Elevevation at the Kennedy Center Honors


Sunday night, the band U2 was honored by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for a lifetime of artistic contribution.  As part of program, Eddie Vedder took the stage to cover the band's song, "Elevation," from All That You Can't Leave Behind, and "One," from Actung Baby.

Credit: Paul Morigi

Credit: Paul Morigi


Friday, November 18, 2022

Eddie Vedder Live Streaming Event / EBRP: Venture Into Cures


Today Pearl Jam announced that Eddie Vedder and his family will be part of a virtual event in support of EB Research Partnerships this coming Sunday at 4pm ET.  This is their third annual Venture Into Cures event.  The event will also feature a huge list of artists.

You can watch the event for free via YouTube, but you have to RSVP here.

Join Eddie Vedder and his family for EB Research Partnerships' third annual Venture Into Cures virtual event to raise funds and awareness for Epidermolysis Bullosa. Joining the Vedder's includes celebrity friends, Broken Social Scene, Jonathan Brown, Dana Carvey, Billie Eilish, Will Ferrell, FINNEAS, Jennifer Garner, Jack Harlow, Tom Holland, John Legend, Joe Jonas, Kermit the Frog, Lamorne Morris, Joy Oladokun, Chris Pratt, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Olivia Rodrigo, Molly Shannon, Hannah Simone, David Spade, Lauren Spencer-Smith, and Venus Williams – with more to come!

Monday, November 7, 2022

Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation


A THESKYISCRAPE RECOMMENDATION

Good books about bands are hard to write.  If they are based on a tangible relationship with the band, they tend to be too self-referential.  The same is true of books that lean into the writer’s personal opinions and preferences. They easily bleed into vanity projects, more appropriate for, say, message board posting than publication. And in our post internet/post Wikipedia world, it is hard for a straight factual accounting to add much value when the same information is just a Google search away.

However, I am happy to report that Steven Hyden’s new book manages to avoid all the traps above, and Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation is genuinely excellent. Informed by his own lifetime fandom (which has had its peaks and valleys, obsessive and ambivalent periods), the book is remarkably insightful, reflective, and revisits the bands history through several conceptual lenses.  He unpacks just how steeped both Pearl Jam and its fan base is in a nineties cultural orientation that profoundly influenced how the band was understood in its time and remembered outside of it.  He highlights their endurance as an important part of their legacy, no small thing given how self-destructive the grunge era proved to be.  He understands the arc of their career as a journey and does admirable work guiding the reader through its different phases with a critical distance that remembers what it was like in the moment. He gets that Pearl Jam the studio band and Pearl Jam the live band are discrete but equally integral parts of their identity. He gets what it means to be a Pearl Jam fan, then and now.

While we wait for the next major event in Pearl Jam country, I highly recommend picking this up.   Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation is well worth the fandom’s time.

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Stip on State of Love & Trust Podcast


 Our very own Stip is joining the hosts of the State of Love and Trust Podcast this week for Episode 131: What if Matt Cameron Left Pearl Jam?
Jason and Paul are joined by The Sky I Scrape's Stip to discuss the very scary hypothetical of Matt Cameron leaving Pearl Jam. That and the Lyric and Live Cut of the Week - Cropduster.
You can grab the latest episode here and have a listen.

Friday, October 28, 2022

New BRAD Album in the Works for 2023


Shawn Smith's family dropped a new song ["one of many"] via his Facebook page and announced that work is underway for the release of a new BRAD album in 2023.

Check out the new Shawn Smith song, The Happiness I Need, on Distrokid.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Eddie Vedder Announced for Innings Fest in Arizona, February 2023


Eddie Vedder just announced via Twitter that he will be appearing at the Innings Festival on February 26th.  Other acts include Green Day, Weezer, The Black Crowes, The Offspring, and Marcus Mumford.  

Tickets are available tomorrow HERE.


Friday, October 21, 2022

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Mike McCready to Perform at Bowie Tribute

This week, the Ten Club announced the Mike McCready would be joining Corin Tucker, Ben Gibbard, Britney Davis, and other performers at the SMASH Benefit: A Tribute to David Bowie at The Moore Theatre in Sattle, Washington on November 20th.

You can get tickets here.
 

Monday, October 10, 2022

Matt Cameron at Seahawks vs. Cardinals Game


 Matt Cameron announced via Instagram that he will be performing a couple of Soundgarden hits with the Blue Thunder Drumline at the Seattle Seahawks game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field this week (October 16th).  Tune in for some amazing drumming.

Thursday, October 6, 2022

Jeff Ament on The Big Score Podcast

Variety is reporting that a new podcast by Hollywood Records called The Big Score is launching this week and will be discussing the creation of music for movies and television.  In their episode launching today, Jeff Ament talks about how he, Josh Klinghoffer, and Josh Evans made the music for the Hulu series, "Under the Banner of Heaven" in a custom-built room in his house and what inspired their work

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Pearl Jam Donates "Porch" for Abortion Access


Pearl Jam announced via Twitter today that they are donating a recording of "Porch" from their Frankfurt show on June 28, 2022 to a compilation benefitting abortion access, Good Music to Ensure Safe Abortion Access to All.  Pluralone is also donating music.  The digital compilation, featuring unreleased music from 50 different artists, will be available at Bandcamp for October 7th only.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Pearl Jam in St. Louis



Pearl Jam's 2022 Halloween Shirt


This week, Pearl Jam released their annual Halloween shirt.  Because TSIS was in Camden, we're late on the reporting end, but you still have 4 days to get your order in.  Get yours here for $35 (+ $6.89 domestic S&H).  Shirts get printed on the 22nd, but no promises from the Ten Club that they'll arrive by Halloween.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

Pearl Jam in Nashville



The TSIS Review: Camden, 9/14/22

Yesterday's Camden show was my first Pearl Jam concert since the Brooklyn Shows in 2013.  It’s been nine years, which is crazy since I had been a three shows a tour guy since 1998. Life just got in the way.  I had small kids and felt bad about traveling.  Work was stressful and money was maybe a little tight. I got shut out of a few shows, and I was at a place in my life where moving heaven and earth to go see Pearl Jam just didn’t seem necessary.  I wanted to go, and the shows have always been among the highlight of my year, but missing them didn’t seem like a big deal anymore. There would always be next time.

COVID put ‘there will always be a next time’ into perspective, as did the realization that in my nine year absence the guys in the band somehow kept aging and are now pushing sixty. I can’t count on next time.  So when my Baltimore show was cancelled and I didn’t get into the Camden pre-sale, I decided to try my luck with general admission.  It felt important to be there again, even without privileged seats. It’s been nine years, but I am fortunate to still be able to see my favorite band.  Pearl Jam has endured.   Not everyone has.

I am so glad I went.  The show was incredible. I forgot how astonishingly good they are at this, and how much I had taken it for granted. There is an encompassing resonance to Eddie’s voice live that no album (and certainly no concert bootleg) has ever been able to capture.  Mike is one of the last great guitar gods, and he plays with an emotional, improvisational fury that rarely appears on the more carefully crafted studio solos.  Jeff was a beast, and his bass playing regularly pushed through the wall of sound.  Matt and Stone are machines, somehow keeping everything grounded and moving forward, the sturdy support that lets the others shine – at one point Eddie described Stone as the guy who creates the waves that Mike gets to surf. That feels right.  Just incredible performances all around, somehow magnified by their incomprehensible humility and gratitude. They play like a band who remembers every performance, and every connection, even though there have been about a thousand shows.  Somehow every show is special to them, because they know how special it is for the people who are there, and they care so much about honoring the commitment the audience has made to them.

It was a pleasure to be reminded of all this after my long absence, and how little the set list bullshit I used to obsess over matters. The truth is that when you’re there, it doesn’t really matter what was played, so long as they are playing.  The live experience can make MFC and Inside Job feel like the most important songs in the world because they play them like they are, and so the audience experiences them the same way.

Having said that – it was a special show. The two people I was with have each seen Pearl Jam 3 times over the past twenty years. Not their first show, but hardly regulars.  They songs they wanted most were Wash and State of Love and Trust, and they got them.  Knowing the history, getting Breath and Leash in the same night was incredible, and they played the hell out of the both. The new songs sounded great. The classics sounded fresh. I was a little bummed I wasn’t going to get Alive, since I figured Breath took that spot. But Pearl Jam kept going, and there it was.

 Alive is my favorite song.  And it is invariably my concert highlight.  But I had an emotional reaction I didn’t really expect (it’s not like I haven’t gotten it 15 other times).    Maybe it was the time away. Maybe it was the storm and stress of the last two years.  But it felt earned, like a victory, in a way I’m not sure it ever had before, even though that’s literally the core message of the song.  Pearl Jam concerts are quasi-spiritual experiences for me – vaguely out of body and otherworldly.  I am an atheist, this is much church, and I was so grateful for the chance to take communion with tens of thousands of other believers – even out there on the lawn, where I felt a powerful connection to the three huge, intoxicated men dancing and singing their heart out to every song, embracing the moment and taking advantage of the space given to them while respecting the boundaries of those around them. Or the stranger who had to high five me twice, he was just so overcome.  I didn’t know these people.  But their joy brought me joy.  And half way through Alive I started to cry just a little bit.

We’ve all come through a lot together, and every time we put something down there is more waiting to be carried. We are none of us through the trauma of the past two years, and more awaits us. But for a few hours I was fortunate enough to watch my favorite band go out there and be the best band in the world.   While they were playing none of that other stuff mattered, and when they were done, it mattered just a little less.

God I fucking love Pearl Jam.

Okay – some thoughts about the show:

The four-song slow start was interesting – it wasn’t an acoustic set, so it didn’t feel differentiated from the main show, but it was a good way to warm up the band (I’m guessing that’s the point?).   All the performances were great, and Hard to Imagine was an excellent transition into the explosive main set.  I generally prefer the studio takes of almost all Pearl Jam songs (the live performances are about the experience more than preferring the sound of them live), but Hard to Imagine really comes into its own live – so much more immediate, the outro more transformative.

The run from Animal through Quick Escape was ferocious.  I’m not sure if I could pick a highlight, but I was impressed with how intense Mind Your Manners was, and Quick Escape sounds incredible – the live version takes all the best elements of the album version and doubles down on them.

Retrograde was interesting.  The main block of the song had a grandeur and importance that the studio version wants to have but couldn’t quite pull off.   And Eddie clearly wants to find a way to translate the transcendent outro into a live setting, but we couldn’t’ quite get there. The band sounded great, but Eddie was really looking for the audience to lift the ‘hear the sound’ part, and it’s probably just too soon.  A tour of Eddie going for broke during that sequence might create an organic audience call and response, but it won’t work right out the gate.  It’s too new to generate that kind of emotional investment in the audience.

  Who Ever Said sounded great – as did Why Go and Porch (and Eruption was fun).  The main set was pretty relentless once it got going. Retrograde was the only real cool down moment (maybe the Modern Girl tag).  And everyone was into everything.  Why Go may have been the highlight of the back end of the set, though MFC had an edge I didn’t expect, and it was nice to hear the Untitled improv. It had been a long time.

The encore was one surprise after another. Inside Job had an unexpected sweep to it, though if I remember it was also more impressive live than on the record back when I heard it on the 06 tour. Getting Breath and Leash (and the stories behind the requests) in one night was incredible. Crazy Mary had a great Boom solo, Alive was the cathartic triumph it always is, and they went hard on Rocking in the Free World. Looks like that was an audible from Yellow Ledbetter, and that was the right call.  This wasn’t an audience that needed a cool down.  The band left everything on the stage, and we stayed with them right until the end.

Amazing show.  I also got to finally meet B, who is a lovely young man.    

Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Pearl Jam in Camden

Credit: Karen Loria

 


Mike McCready on Osbourne's "Immortal"


This week, Ozzy Osbourne released a visualizer video for his single, "Immortal," from the album Patient Number 9, which includes Mike McCready on lead guitar.



Patient Number 9 is available for purchase at OzzyOsbourne.com.