After having a few days to process the experience while preparing this wrap-up of The Ride Festival, I must finally admit it. I never really was a Pearl Jam fan ... until Saturday night in Telluride, Colorado.
Talk about arriving late to the party. It's not that I disliked them. This might sound like a rationalization instead of a logical reason, but it was a case of so many bands, so little time. Let me explain:
A rock music fan since the early days of the Beatles and Beach Boys found comfort, joy and passion through records and concerts by my favorite bands and performers throughout puberty, high school, college, before and during a successful marriage, long after the births of my sons, etc., etc.
That obsession for loud, intense but innovative rock-hard hard rock was established 47 years ago this month. After missing out on live Cream, my brother John and I made up for it by witnessing a life-changing event -- the super grouping of Blind Faith's Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker and, well, Ric Grech, at the Chicago Amphitheater.
When information was difficult to access before the computer age, the search for truth, knowledge and group therapy was endless. There was a specific fixation for the Who, the Faces, Queen, Blue Oyster Cult, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, Todd Rundgren and Peter Frampton in the '70s; the Pretenders, Talking Heads, Blondie, Lone Justice, the Clash and X in the '80s.
By the time the '90s rolled around, when Pearl Jam was just getting started, I was approaching my 40s as a loving husband, somewhat responsible dad and a hard-working editor in the Sports department of a major metropolitan newspaper when competitors fought for circulation numbers and people still had attention spans. How could I devote more time to worship the Next Big Thing?
Like the loyal baseball fan who had followed the Baltimore Orioles win or lose since childhood -- even though I never spent a second in Baltimore until 1991 -- I continued to pledge allegiance to those bands and artists that personally were the most meaningful. The grunge era arrived and left without me.
I even borrowed the two-disc greatest hits album Rearviewmirror from a colleague just to refresh my memory about Pearl Jam tunes I heard on alternative rock radio or MTV back in the day when it actually played videos while running "Jeremy" into the crowd.
My own record collection is still intact alongside high stacks of CDs that never included anything by Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Nirvana. My loss, I know. If there was a Seattle crush, it began and ended with Ann and Nancy Wilson.
While seeing most of my favorite acts at least once through the years, I never did plan out an itinerary in advance to catch them in multiple cities during the same tour. I was not a dedicated Deadhead. Neither my pocketbook nor my wife would have allowed it. But I have regrets about missing some of the greats perform -- Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Mercury with Queen, David Bowie, Prince, B.B. King, Kurt Cobain.
So before we all get too old, that's why I finally decided to see Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron and Boom Gaspar on July 9, 2016, some 25-plus years after Pearl Jam was born. The opportunity to cover this event for the first time since 2013 (when David Byrne and St. Vincent delivered what seemed to be an impossible-to-top grand finale), was a Joy Ride.
Pearl Jam's performance was exhilarating in a majestic place where the setting sun created a colorful backdrop behind the massive video screen (above) that confirmed Vedder is larger than life. The brilliant orange hues seemed to flicker like the Northern Lights as he sang the lines from "Unthought Known":
Feel the sky blanket you / With gems and rhinestones
Whether he was drinking Italian wine (Cabot) straight from the bottle, tuning up the uke, making the brash punk of "Mind Your Manners" seem fresh again, singing dynamic covers of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" and Tom Petty's "Won't Back Down" or kicking out the jams on "Better Man" while executing mighty leaps and windmill guitar sweeps like the Who's Pete Townshend in his heyday, Vedder gave me plenty of reasons to believe. Even if early rumors of an epic four-set turned out to be just that.
For me, the first time Telluride and Vedder gloriously intersected was at the nationally renowned film festival there in 2007. Into the Wild, the story about a young adventurer who leaves his home to take on the Alaska wilderness, was written and directed by Sean Penn, who was in town for the premiere. The songs Vedder sang in the film, that landed on his first solo album, moved me deeply. It seemed fitting to hear him and his bandmates perform "Society" nine years later in the same town, different venue.
I've been back several times since to this southwest Colorado haven, but was especially psyched to be along for this Ride. Even if it did require a 5 1/2-hour drive each way, dealing with the loss of electricity in my Mountain Village hotel room the day after the show, then a dead car battery the day after that during a stop in Montrose.
Having experienced over and over again the invigorating sensation that music provides, I get the fanatical fervor of legions who sing along to every song, who reminisce about the various shows they've seen over the years, who understand the significance of "Angel" being performed for the first time in 22 years, who revel in every magnificent McCready solo like they're hearing them for the first time, who stand for hours in the front row, proudly wearing a Chicago Cubs jersey with the name "VEDDER" (left) stitched on the back.
I've been there -- just not with them. But after cautiously entering their world as a stranger in a strange land, I'm 24 hours closer to comfortably feeling like I belong in Pearl Jammies. And while I'm not quite ready to make the trip to Fenway Park or Wrigley Field in August, I'm determined to see PJ again, especially if they take the Ride into Telluride next year.
So speaking of that ...
Here are a few words from the festival director
In a brief email interview, Todd Creel, the man responsible for running the Ride Festival, responded this week to a series of questions, including the one on the minds of most satisfied customers: Has Pearl Jam been invited back?
"Of course," he said. "We are told they had a truly unique and positive experience and would like to return. How soon will depend on their other touring plans, but we are hopeful we will see them again in the not-too-distant future."
Though Pearl Jam never had performed in Telluride until Saturday, there was no magic trick that finally lured them to the festival after five years of trying.
"We kept asking," Creel said. "We believe in our venue and are willing to provide the artists the things they need to make the decision to add our event to their tour schedule. We are hopeful the word will continue to spread throughout the close-knit community of agents, managers and musicians that we take good care of them and offer a different and special experience."
According to Creel, since Pearl Jam has played four-hour-plus shows in the past, including the last time they visited Denver, the festival decided to block out time on the schedule "to allow them to play as long as they wanted. In the end, they played nearly three hours with a set list (right) that pleased both the hardcore fans and the festival patrons who may have been less familiar with them as a band. Performing at 9,000 feet presents special challenges (Vedder mentioned they should have arrived a week earlier "to get acclimated"), but they rocked the entire night and we feel pretty certain everyone left satisfied."
Asked how this festival stacked up against his previous Rides, Creel said, "From our perspective, this was the best year ever. We have been learning each year and our production crew was more prepared and efficient than ever. Due to the requirements from Pearl Jam, we brought in a professional video team and two HD screens (a first for Telluride) and Rat Sound provided the best sound system we have ever heard in the Telluride Town Park. The combination of lights from Brown Note and the extensive lights PJ brought on their trucks rounded out the highest quality overall production the fans have experienced in our venue. The new stage built by the Town made it all possible."
Though there seemed to be a lot fewer folks at the Ride after Pearl Jam departed, Creel reported that attendance figures were around 8,700 on Saturday and 8,200 on Sunday. Instead of closing the festival with Pearl Jam, he offered, "We thought Saturday would be best for those fans who had to drive home the next day. We recognize that access to Telluride is not easy and we wanted people to have the opportunity to see the show and make it home for work on Monday."
The numbers were up considerably from three years ago, when Creel cited attendance figures of 4,300 on Saturday and 5,000 on Sunday, with 500 VIPs each day, but with an approved cap in the park of 11,500 (including around 1,500 volunteers, artists and comps), Creel said, "We did not sell out, probably due to a combination of remoteness, ticket price and limited lodging."
Addressing the lack of female-fronted acts this year, Creel concluded, "We like to bring balance to the lineup and tried for Chrissie Hynde among others. With a limited number of main stage slots, we tried to bring the best bands we could find, regardless of gender." Regarding my favorite rocking sister act, he added, "Larkin Poe could definitely be in the running next year."
Five more festival faves
For anyone who's checked out previous articles here, it's no secret that my favorite duo in recent years is HoneyHoney. They were my top act of 2015, the year I got a double dose of the band by interviewing Ben Jaffe (left) and Suzanne Santo at a downtown Denver restaurant, then watching their high-energy show hours later at the Bluebird Theater.
Getting a chance to see them twice in three days was another reason to make the trip to Telluride, even if I already saw their February return to the Bluebird. Alas, I missed the Sunday set when the loss of electricity in the Mountain Village prevented me from meeting my self-imposed deadline to post my first Pearl Jam submission before Day 2's acts hit the Town Park stage.
The Friday NightRide set at the historic Sheridan Opera House delivered the goods, though. Just when you thought it was impossible to love Santo (above) more, she strapped on an Eastman electric guitar -- and didn't even make a fuss about it.
In an email, Jaffe said, "She just got it before this tour; she used to play acoustic on all those songs but has brought in the electric to up the rock factor."
My only concern -- was this going to replace her trademark fiddle forever? Fortunately, my fears were allayed when it appeared out of nowhere near the end of the sweaty 90-minute set, and she, Jaffe and touring drummer Conor Meehan rocked almost to midnight, their furious finish capped by a rousing version of "Come on Home."
"I saw both of their sets," Creel said. "They were amazing! Very talented artists and all around awesome people. Good songwriting, too. ... Would definitely have them back. I love how you can't really name a genre for their sound."
After watching 10 of the festival's 13 artists on the main stage, here are the best of the rest among acts I saw for the first time:
The five-man UK outfit of lead singer Phil Campbell, bassist Nick Fyffe, guitarists Paul Sayer and Matt White, and drummer Damon Wilson will be back next year, Creel announced, making it their third year in a row. "Their level of passion and their raw sound were appreciated by everyone in (Town) Park," Creel said. (From left: Nick Fyffe, Phil Campbell, Damon Wilson.)
The Dirty Knobs
As lead guitarist of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mike Campbell formed the "Dirtiest Band in the Land" as an under-the-radar side project that "rocked the stage a little more than anyone expected," Creel said. John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" was a classy cover but they revealed their true down-and-dirty selves with "Don't Wait Up on the Shrimpboat." Watching the Knobs from the wings with Eddie Vedder, Creel shared what Pearl Jam's frontman told him: "Campbell's voice sounded a lot like Tom Petty." (From left: drummer Matt Lang, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, bassist Lance Morrison, guitarist Jason Sinay.)
Big Something
The young, energetic six-piece ensemble from the Southeast -- including Nick MacDaniels (guitar, vocals), Doug Marshall (bass), Jesse Hensley (lead guitar), Josh Kagel (keys, synths, trumpet), Casey Cranford (sax, EWI) and Ben Vinograd (drums) -- plays rock, funk, pop and soul in the tradition of Galactic, and their rendition of David Bowie's "Fame" was one of the festival's best covers. They also will return next year. "Don't like to do a lot of repeats but they (and the Temperance Movement) are worthy," Creel said. (From left: Nick MacDaniels, Ben Vinograd, Jesse Hensley.)
Little Hurricane
The performance of knockout drummer Celeste "C.C." Spina, playing in her bare feet, boots in full view in front of the drum kit, and lead singer/guitarist Anthony "Tone" Catalano (above) "was a surprise to many with their high energy duet," Creel said. "They are quickly gaining renown."
Pearl Jam set list photo courtesy of Cara Pallone. All other photos by Michael Bialas. See more from the 2016 Ride Festival, featuring HoneyHoney, Band of Heathens, Little Hurricane, the Dirty Knobs, Highly Suspect, the Sheepdogs, Big Something, Jerry Joseph & the Jackmormons, the Temperance Movement and Cage the Elephant. Check them out, and you just might find some answers.