Let's Play Two

Let's get this out of the way, I LOVE this band. I have loved this band since the day Ten starred at me from a new release CD rack at Tower Records and I took it home having NO earthly idea who or what it was. I was hooked. 

So I was there in 2013 when Pearl Jam first played Wrigley Field, with the lightning storm, the three-hour delay, and Eddie and Ernie Banks singing "All The Way" a moment I might never forget. Which meant when Pearl Jam returned to Wrigley in 2016 Aug 20th and 22nd I was going back. 

Over a year later Pearl Jam has released the documentary that captures those two nights and weaves them together with the Cubs amazing run to win the World Series and there are some really magical moments in this film. I have been captivated by the band's foresight to record literally everything from when the band formed to present day because it allows you to see things that most bands didn't grab back then. The ability to see the band playing the Metro before Ten was released juxtaposed with the same song at Wrigley 25 years later is the sort of fan treatment one comes to expect from Pearl Jam.

The film spans two nights and tops out around 2 hours long with the 17 songs on the soundtrack along with 2 or 3 from the rooftop practice at Murphy's - it is most certainly a concert film with the backdrop of Eddie's love of the Cubs on their road to the World Series. The film culminates with a Cubs victory and the last song they played (Got A Feeling), the first night they played in Chicago back in 1991, which seemed like the perfect ending of what felt like a perfect year. 

But if there is one thing I always love about Pearl Jam events, it is the fans, they never disappoint and tonight was no different. Great energy that made for a great experience and after a week like this I am sure I enjoyed this more than I would if it were a "normal" week but I find as of late taking more moments to soak in what is happening around me and enjoy them for what they are. Which for me captures my connection with the past 25 years of Pearl Jam's music - the ability to be in the moment and enjoying the fragile and fleeting nature of the time we get to spend together. 

So if the weather is great today, maybe we should play two. 

-Eric