Pearl Jam in Chicago - Concert Review

August 2, 2007.

The opportunity to see Pearl Jam at the Vic Theatre (capacity 1300) in Chicago is not an everyday occurrence. Last week the band announced they would play the fanclub only show (as a Lollapalooza warmup) and I lucked out and got 2 of the scarce fanclub tickets that were available.

For starters, Pearl Jam is obviously one of my favorite bands if I am willing to travel to Chicago to see them, so the review will be less than objective. That being said, here we go (with ancillary environmental commentary):

As our cab turned the corner to reveal the tiny and aged Vic Theater, it became apparent that 'hard core Pearl Jam fan' was probably something I could never achieve. There before our eyes, 4.5 hours before the band took the stage, were about 600 people lined up to get into the concert (note the passing 'el' train in the photo). The logistics of the show were weird. No tickets were handed out, only wristbands based on whether your name was on 'the list'. Each person on the list had paid for 2 tickets (for a total of $150) and was granted the right to have a 'guest.' So I lined up with my guest and waited for the wristband guy to show up....he did, and we got our magical orange wristbands without incident. Because of the weird logistics, it made it almost impossible to scalp the tickets (although a pair was sold on EBay for $4000), and that yield about 2 dozen 'folks' begging for tickets with signs like "Will ____ for your guest ticket". Needless to say, most of those signs were held by 30 something dudes, who weren't successful in their quest.

The next decision seemed hard, but wasn't: stand in the sun for 4 hours to get into a general admission, floor only concert? For us, the answer was no, let's go to the hotel, relax, eat a good meal and head back. Walking back onto the same street around 7:00, we had to walk 2 blocks to find the end of the line (doors opened at 7:00). Once we did, we were tossed into the classic Annie Hall movie line situation unavoidably eavesdropping on our adjacent linemates. The two guys behind us were, by my puritan account, both high and drunk, and in their late 40's. One guy had been to more than 200 PJ concerts and the other was only up to 157. They were talking opening songs and rarities with another guy who'd seen them 22 times before (for the record, my count is 8, including this concert). Mr. 200 must have said "Oh, that was a killer show" at least 200 times, and I wondered aloud how long that conversation could have gone on.

Once we got near the door, everyone was barking at us to hold our arms up to reveal the wristbands. A guy in front of me had pirated one in the 3 hours between the doors opening and the wristbands being distributed, so I got the Jason Bourne treatment on the authenticity of my wristband. Now in the theater, we joined the 'merch' scrum to get a t-shirt and a coveted original silkscreen poster for the show (they make one for each concert, and I have the one for each show I've been to). Leaving my guest to that task, I headed into the tiny venue to stake out a spot. The liner-uppers were already filling the front part, so I claimed a decent perch about 30 feet away.

As 8:00 neared, Eddie Vedder's wife, Jill McCormick, and daughter, Olivia filed into the box just to our left and we got ready. Vedder himself was the opening act, and he sang several acoustic songs, including Cat Stevens' "Trouble" and Tom Waits' "Picture in a Frame," plus Pearl Jam's "Dead Man Walking" and a made-up song about the Chicago Cubs, a dedication that drew equal parts cheers and boos from supporters and White Sox fans. Watching just Eddie and a guitar in a small venue is about as good as it gets for me and concerts.

At 9:00 the whole band took the stage. The setlist was dominated by rarities but featured several of my favorites, including "In Hiding", "Off He Goes" and "Indifference." The full set list is as follows: All Or None, Education, Sad, In Hiding, Parachutes, I'm Open, Wishlist, Down, Undone, Off He Goes, Hard To Imagine, Gods' Dice, World Wide Suicide, Rats, Gone, Why Go
Encore 1 No More (new song), Inside Job, Low Light, Love Reign O'er Me
Encore 2 Comatose, Black Diamond (Kiss cover, Matt Cameron on vocals), Sonic Reducer
Encore 3 Indifference (with Ben Harper). (The Tenclub website has the coolest setlist/concert archive I've ever seen. http://www.tenclub.net/tour/shows.php . You can find the setlist from each concert they have played, and each song is hyperlinked to reveal a 'song page' showing each show where that song has been played. Its worth a visit.)

The mood was light considering that it was mostly a family show with only fanclub members and invited guests in the house. The band is amazingly tight and can seemingly play any song from their entire catalogue at a moment's notice. A great experience.