pearl jam

Went and saw these guys last night and they put on a great show, it's something I've been hoping to have the chance to do for several years. It's obvious they love being up on stage, something the younger indie bands could learn from.

Mike McCready was a madman on guitar, romping around the stage, doing the "Alive" solo with what looked like his teeth. They even did an unplugged set where Eddie Vedder's voice was able to really shine.

Two things that struck me at the show were the availability of bootlegs and the number of teens and tweens. Maybe I'm late to the game on the bootleg idea, but it's brilliant -- direct fans to a website where they can download an mp3 of the show in a couple of days. I remember seeing shows growing up and just hoping that the band would release a live album from THAT venue and date, but thankfully the record companies lost that battle.

The generation-span of Pearl Jam was pretty apparent, as a lot of "grups" were there as old as 50, along with an army of 12-15 year-olds. Some of them looked like they weren't born until after the release of "Vs." in 1993, so it looks like they are set to become a Neil Young/U2-esque group that most rock fans enjoy, something that would have been hard to see coming based on their angst-ridden early years.

The band is also doing all the right things in the new media world to be relevant to the younger generation, from recording Sessions @ AOL to releasing the "Life Wasted" video with a Creative Commons license. And check out this satire of the band's willingness to play nice with Ticketmaster.