Photo Gallery: Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field • Chicago
Pearl Jam
Wrigley Field
Chicago, IL
Recap and photos by Curt Baran
“I was talking with Bruce Springsteen…ah…sorry, Paul McCartney told me not to drop names.” Eddie Vedder laughed but continued to explain that when he spoke with his friends, who are also musicians, they all deduced that This was one of their favorite places to play.
This, of course, is Wrigley Field.
Vedder, lead singer of the Seattle-based band Pearl Jam, has made his love of the Cubs and their iconic ballpark well known. So an often visibly emotional Vedder led his band through a rousing evening of music during their first two nights at the “Friendly Confines.” Pearl Jam currently finds itself in a late-career, creative resurgence. Their most recent album (Dark Matter) contains some of their most consistent songwriting in years. Completely void of “let’s grab a beer” moments, the newest material was the highlight of a setlist that contained numerous zeniths.
The band threw themselves into the new songs. Drummer Matt Cameron’s muscular intro fueled the album’s title track into post-punk terrain, and his effortless vibe shift helped the live version of “Wreckage” achieve a previously unfelt swing.
The quintet deftly maneuvered through its massive catalog of crowd pleasers (“Given To Fly”), rock radio staples (“Alive,” “Even Flow,” and “Daughter”), and even some deep cuts (“Down” and “You”) to help keep the most hardcore of fans sated.
But at its core, the band connects best because of their emotional connection to both the material and how the fans respond to it. It’s a sort of unwritten social contract that feeds the intensity of the band’s performance and drives the audience’s seemingly insatiable appetite for consumption of that agreement. That emotional transaction was displayed during the first two nights at Wrigley.
Category: Featured
