I don't want to hear from those who know

Guess what I did last night. Nevermind, don't bother. Because if you don't already know, you'll never guess.

I went to a Pearl Jam concert! J is perhaps the world's most enormous PJ fan (and by that I mean he loves them a lot, not that he's enormous). He has been a Ten Club member [that's the PJ fan club] since forever. Ten Club members get the first crack at pre-sale tickets based on their seniority as members (with a bit of a lottery thrown in also -- it's complicated), and J got seats in the 12th row, center! It was pretty amazing, not gonna lie. On this chart, we were on the floor about midway between Sections 101 and 118, or thereabouts, with the stage across the end of the floor in front of Sections 119-126, basically right in front of us!

We started out the evening at Maggie O'Briens. (Shouldn't it be Maggie O'Brien's? Maybe they just think it looks funny with two apostrophes.) They had a pre-party, collecting canned goods for charity and raffling off PJ posters, shirts, etc. I got there after that was over, but J and I stayed there at the bar for a little bit. Special thanks to K for the ride! Even though we almost died. Twice.

After a break at the bar, J and I took a walk to Scottrade in time to see some of the opening act, which was called Band of Horses. They were pretty good, but I didn't know any of their music at all. I especially liked that the lead singer was wearing a cowboy hat even though they're a rock band. Also they're from Seattle, as is PJ.

Then the real fun started. As I have never been to a Pearl Jam show before, I feel a little bit underqualified to comment on the quality of the show vis a vis previous tours. (For what it's worth, J seemed quite satisfied with the show, especially since they played some songs that are rarely played live. The critical review was good also.) I can say, however, that the music was rockin' (there were about 1000 speakers hanging from the ceiling) and there was crazy crowd energy. The band played a long set, and two encores (one of which included Baba O'Riley)!

Now, something you should know about me is that I know the words to approximately one Pearl Jam song, which is consequently my favorite Pearl Jam song. Which they played! Woohoo! I could even sing along. (Rearviewmirror, thank you for asking, which you can experience either live or in studio - studio version is shorter, of course.) I recognized probably 6 or 7 other songs, and maybe knew some of the words from their refrains (Jeremy, Daughter, Even Flow, a few others).

Pearl Jam's new album is called Backspacer. They were on Saturday Night Live a couple months back, and did two of their new songs: Unthought Known and Just Breathe. I liked Just Breathe the first time I heard it. For those who don't know, much of their music is what I would call angry (J would call it passionate. Whichever). Anyway, Just Breathe is much more ballad-y, and it's awesome. In fact, I think it has joined Rearviewmirror in my list of top two favorite Pearl Jam songs ever. And I'm even learning the lyrics. Well, last night at the show, they played both of the SNL songs. So far I'm batting 1.000 when it comes to hearing my favorite songs live!

A problem with hearing songs that you don't know is that it's hard to distinguish them from one another. Obviously all of Pearl Jam's music has similar musical qualities. That's what gives continuity to a band's output (and makes it possible for Pandora/the Music Genome Project to predict songs that you've never heard but are likely to enjoy). Unfortunately, my lack of familiarity with much of PJ's music meant that I was unable to identify the distinguishing characteristics in a number of the songs they played. It's not that they weren't there; it's just that I don't know them. J, however, more than made up for my deficiencies by acting out practically every song played, hand motions and all. Such was his level of excitement, and it was matched by most everyone seated near us.

All in all, I'd say it was a good show. And I'd go again, if Ten Club pre-sale tickets are available :-)