Pearl Jam kicks off tour in Missoula

Patrick Douglas

05/22/2003
Great Falls Tribune
Page 6T
(c) Copyright 2003, Great Falls Tribune. All Rights Reserved.

By PATRICK DOUGLAS Tribune Staff Writer

In 1998, Pearl Jam kicked off their "Yield" tour by playing to a crowd of music-starved Montanans.

It was more than just people gathering to hear a band play. It was history.

The Seattle alt-rock legends have had a good relationship with Montana and left that evening, promising to return, giving hope to those who wanted more.

They are finally back, playing a sold-out show Wednesday, May 28, at the University of Montana's Adams Event Center. It's their first gig on the second leg of their current U.S. tour.

The Scottish band, Idlewild, opens for Pearl Jam's shows on the second leg. Missoula is the first show where the two bands share the stage.

Known by the masses for their 1991 grunge breakout album "Ten," which has sold more than 11 million copies, Pearl Jam scored with hits like "Alive," "Evenflow" and "Jeremy." Shunning the video and radio industries, the band went a different direction shortly after their freshman release.

Now, 12 years later, they are celebrating the release of their seventh studio album "Riot Act." In between, they released "Vs." "Vitalogy," "No Code," "Yield" and "Binaural." In the past two years, Pearl Jam also managed to put out nearly 150 official double-CD live albums, more than any band in history.

With each new show the band performs, the number of official bootlegs goes up. Fans can purchase official and completely uncut recordings of every Pearl Jam concert on the 2003 tour, just by going to www.pearljambootlegs.com. They go for $14.98 a pop.

If you didn't get tickets to the Missoula show and you are curious, or if you're going and you want to relive it through your CD player, the bootlegs are just a mouse click away. Patrons who purchase the album are able to download MP3s of the show the day after the concert, and will receive their professionally produced album five to seven days after the event.

It's not a bad deal, considering that the band is known to play up to 30 songs in a concert, often throwing in surprise covers.

Pearl Jam is fronted by vocalist Eddie Vedder, guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, bassist Jeff Ament and former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron. The group has had a month off in between legs of their 2003 tour.

Ament is a Montana native. Born in Havre, he spent his younger years in Big Sandy. He attended UM and still spends a lot of time in Missoula where he owns a home.

In contrast to their last stop in Montana, this sold-out Missoula concert will have the smallest crowd on the band's U.S. tour. Only about 7,000 tickets were available.

All the better for those lucky enough to have already lined up tickets to the intimate gig. The '98 concert is still the largest single concert in Montana history. More than 22,000 people packed a sold-out Washington-Grizzly Stadium, with more camping out on the mountainside overlooking the venue.

This year's stop was moved to the cozy, weatherproof confines of the Adams Center due to the season's potential for bad weather.

Twelve years ago, the world was introduced to Seattle grunge music. Time has passed and Pearl Jam is the last band still standing from that time and that scene.

Wednesday's concert in Missoula starts at 7 p.m.

Seattle rock band Pearl Jam performs Wednesday, May 28, at the University of Montana's Adams Center. The show is sold out.