Eddie and the jets
By Bob Gordon
IT'S like walking into a big bowl of air at the Burswood Dome, especially in the middle of the afternoon when there's no one inside it. No one, that is, apart from 50 or so black-clad roadies, the guys who get to work in rock'n'roll doing the kind of hours no one else wants to do. A bunch of media types strolling in gets no reaction from this army, they've got a Pearl Jam show to assemble.
Assorted drum rolls test the levels, as snatches of guitar wash into the ceiling. The real sound check is for later and it is for this reason that Eddie Vedder exits stage right, walking by silent, yet attentive.
Later he will refer to The Dome jokingly as "the Hindenburg", but for now he's not talking, saving his attention for the several notebooks clutched seriously in his left hand.
Not that anyone's feeling too serious. "It's always great to play down here," drummer Matt Cameron says in the band's dressing room. "It's almost like summer vacation."
"And the response has been great," echoes guitarist Stone Gossard. "We've probably sold as many tickets as we ever have, if not more. That's a pretty amazing thing, but Australia still seems to be pretty interested in the band. The fans always seem excited about it."
Indeed they are. From show announcement to concert performance the idea of Pearl Jam coming to town draws a thick anticipation wherever they go. Sunday's concert, the last of the recent Australian tour, was the biggest of the run, with 14,000 fans ready to rock. Clearly, people revere this band and it is starkly obvious in the singalongs, cigarette lighters and tears of joy that greet the band once the first downbeat has been struck.
"Whatever's been happening, from the band's perspective, it's just due to our dedication to wanting to write good songs together and playing with our hearts," Gossard says.
"A lot of people had a musical revelation with bands like us or Nirvana or Soundgarden (of whom Cameron was a member) and a lot of Seattle bands. I think we're a band that represents something to a lot of people in terms of their youth or their exposure to music that was dedicated to more than selling records. Music that wanted to say something or be exceptional."
Later that night as the show rains down upon the faithful, Gossard's words ring true. The gently uplifting Long Road may not be the opening rush of blood to the head that some may physically want, but the audience seem to understand that this band is about passion as much as power. Songs such as a God's Dice, Corduroy and a brilliantly thundering Even Flow inspire good natured mayhem, while the soul-soaring likes of Given To Fly, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In A Small Town, I Am Mine, Wishlist - in which Vedder won hearts by ad-libbing "I wish I was Australian" - and Daughter inspire a different energy, though an equally fervent response, among mirrorball lighting and a haze of blues and reds.
Though it annoys many other music buffs, Pearl Jam's fans perhaps feel for them so deeply because this is a group that bears its burdens very publicly.
The group's infamous 1995 pricing battle with the US giant Ticketmaster ended when the US Department of Justice ruled in favour of the ticketing agency. In June 2000, nine fans were killed when a crowd surge occurred during Pearl Jam's set at Denmark's Roskilde Festival. The ensuing media frenzy focused as much on the band as it did the tragedy.
"Maybe this band's been under the microscope more than others, just for past stances on things," considers Cameron. "When the Roskilde thing did happen there were some initial false reports that were kind of pointing fingers at us, whereas it was more just a . . . situation. That's kind of the downside for standing up for what you believe in."
"That's just life," Gossard says. "If you're in a band and you're committed to it and you're doing it for a long time then you're gonna go through times that are not going to be pleasant. Nobody's immune to that."
While the Burswood show featured a good selection of songs from their current LP, Riot Act, both the crowd and Pearl Jam revel in the band's dig-deep approach to their catalogue, which means a new set-list every night from a current batch of more than 50 songs. God's Dice, MFC, Crop Duster, Jeremy, Insignificance, Don't Go and Evolution spread it out wide over 11 years of albums and B-sides. This night's show is already available as an official bootleg at a reduced price through the band's link on the Sony Music Australia website.
"We've become comfortable not knowing songs in front of stadium crowds," Gossard laughs. "I'm proud of that. It is, for us, so much more entertaining and the fans have ended up really appreciating it as well."
Throughout these songs there are sentiments too. Vedder speaks of the Ningaloo Reef cause, imploring the crowd to let Geoff Gallop know about the right thing to do. He dedicates Small Town to "anyone from Yallingup" and passes his clearly beloved bottle of red wine to the front rows.
While politics played a part in the east coast shows, the Perth finale seemed more about peo
ple. "Be safe," the singer stated simply near the end, but not before the band created some special memories for the Dome audience.
Vedder was joined by ex-Hunters & Collectors mainman Mark Seymour for a roll through the classic Throw Your Arms Around Me. They made the crowd's night by offering the band's rarely aired debut hit, Alive. And then they brought in support artist, ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, for a rockingly provocative version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's Fortunate Son.
The house lights went up a few songs back and the band and fans good-naturedly battled the venue right until the edge of the 11pm curfew. And it was all in the moment.
"To me it's not all about not trying," Gossard stated prior to the show, "but just being present and aware. Good things can happen if you let it."
And as the last goodbye was finally said, and as the members of Pearl Jam walk off accompanied by a joyous Johnny Marr, Eddie Vedder kneels down by his microphone stand and takes way too long in doing whatever it is he thinks he's doing. He eventually arises and exits stage right. He walks off seriously clutching his notebooks firmly in his left hand, grinning magnanimously.
