It’s been ages since I wrote anything here. Two website redesigns (one day job one side job) has pretty much taken all my keyboard energy lately.
Earlier tonight while working on side job site I had a 2nd window going with bootleg video I stumbled upon of one of my favorite concert experiences of all time: Pearl Jam at SummerFest in Milwaukee, July 8, 1995. It’s a horribly shaky and jerky video recording but decent sound given the circumstances. This is of course before everyone had a portable movie studio on their smartphone after all. I can only imagine this guy somehow sneaking in some honkingly large camcorder into the venue.
There were a couple memorable songs that night. First time I’d heard “I’ve Got ID” and a killer performance of “Immortality” that I’ll never forget. And even an encore duet with Milwaukee Neil Diamond impersonator and wife combo Lightning and Thunder joining Eddie on a toe-tapping version of “Forever in Blue Jeans.”
Summer of ’95 I’d be heading into my senior year of college. I remember that Pearl Jam tour had its issues with on-again-off-again shows, and for a while it looked bleak that the whole tour was going to be cancelled. But the band got it together to play two shows in Milwaukee during SummerFest and one show in Chicago at Soldier Field. I tried desperately to get the Soldier Field show, but came up empty there. I was able, however, to get fan club tickets to a show in Milwaukee.
The previous school year I had broken up with a girlfriend that I was pretty nuts for at the time, and didn’t take it well. Then one day out of the blue, she calls me up and says she has tickets for Soldier Field and would I want to go (just for the show, not to get back together, that was clear). Ok, I said, I’ll go to Soldier Field if you go to Milwaukee with me. I think I might have been pushing my luck with the situation, but she agreed.
The SummerFest show we made a day out of it. We got up there mid-afternoon, enjoyed walking the SummerFest grounds and catching some other music and comedy acts before heading to the Marcus Amphitheater for the Frogs and Bad Religion opening for Pearl Jam.
I remember not knowing from the ticket stub where exactly our tickets would be, so we asked an usher who guided us down toward the stage. And kept going. And going. Until we were in the fifth row center. Unbelievable seats.
She even caught a guitar pick (don’t remember if it was McCready or Stone). You’re welcome.
A few days later we were back catching the band again, although in Soldier Field our seats were closer to Gary, Indiana than the stage this time. But I didn’t care, it was a great show. There’s a bootleg of that one out there too. I think I had it on VHS back in the day.
