Pearl Jam Twenty on PBS

[Mizzougrad96]

I know I've been fortunate enough to have been at some of the more famous or infamous PJ shows.

One of the ones I saw was the Bridge Street Benefit that PJ was playing with Neil Young. Vedder was having voice problems and only played a handful of songs... The crowd was not happy and Vedder didn't understand what the big deal was since Neil Young was still there. I think we got our money back.

 

[spikechiquet]

I am 1:35 into the doc and am starting to figure I don't care to see the rest of it...but momma didn't raise no quitter, so I will soldier on later this evening.

The beginning was good, but yeah, it turned into a music video pretty much. I want more talking, more depth.

 

[Iron_chet]

Agree that it seemed to run out of steam and turn more into a video however I still really enjoyed it.

I saw PJ play with Neil Young at an outdoor festival called Sunfest that no longer exists.

The show seemed to match the crowd in that there were not a lot of crows controls in place and the audience in the field was somewhat nuts.

The band seemed to feed off it and it was one of the few shows I have attended where I thought something bad may happen.

 

[vonnegutnaked2]

Huge Pearl Jam fan...seen the band 15+ times. Can't remember exact count. Just saw them last month in Toronto. Great show...Neil Young hopping on stage.

Watched the movie on pay per view late last month. I DVR'd it the other night, but haven't finished the second viewing. I'm a fanatic, so I loved it...even if I didn't necessarily "learn" anything from it. Still, just seeing that old vault footage was fascinating. Plus, Stone Gossard was pretty forking funny. "Our guy can sing, too" and finding the Grammy in the basement were highlights.

Definitely glossed or nearly ignored some big things that I would have wanted to see: Mike's struggles with drugs, nearly breaking up/power struggle with Ed taking control from Stone/Jeff, and obviously the drummer saga (most notably Dave A. getting fired).

 

[Gator]

Huge Pearl Jam fan...seen the band 15+ times. Can't remember exact count. Just saw them last month in Toronto. Great show...Neil Young hopping on stage.

Watched the movie on pay per view late last month. I DVR'd it the other night, but haven't finished the second viewing. I'm a fanatic, so I loved it...even if I didn't necessarily "learn" anything from it. Still, just seeing that old vault footage was fascinating. Plus, Stone Gossard was pretty forking funny. "Our guy can sing, too" and finding the Grammy in the basement were highlights.

Definitely glossed or nearly ignored some big things that I would have wanted to see: Mike's struggles with drugs, nearly breaking up/power struggle with Ed taking control from Stone/Jeff, and obviously the drummer saga (most notably Dave A. getting fired).

That last paragraph nailed it ... it went so much into the rift between Ed and Dave A. in the book "Five Against One" and it doesn't even mention it in this "documentary." At the time, it was the mid-90s and being "grunge" meant being jaded, so Ed hated the fact he was getting famous. Dave A. was completely on board with the band taking off, mostly because he was simply riding coattails. Just goes to show how much the entire band has grown.

Another highlight was the Singles MTV Movie party where everyone is wasted and they're playing "State of Love and Trust." Ed is rolling around on the floor.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

At the show where they brought Vedder out wrapped in a rug, Abbruzzese was in the lobby signing autographs before the show. I had also gotten his autograph at a show a few years earlier. I know he was a mediocre drummer, but he was a heck of a good guy.

Pearl Jam is the only band I've ever seen on back-to-back nights.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I'm about 30 minutes in and it's incredible.

 

[holy bull]

And getting back on the subject of the thread title, the supposed PBS "doc," I just watched it, and as a huge Pearl Jam fan I loved all two hours of it, but as a so-called documentary, it was just a two-hour music video with just some loose context here and there.

Typical Cameron Crowe. It was all quick-flash video bursts interspersed with music, a soundtrack wondering (or not giving a shirt) if some coherent story-telling would actually happen. Best example was "The Drummer" sequence in which Crowe LITERALLY compares the drummer situation to Spinal Tap, and does it in less than two minutes of a two-hour production.

fork Cameron Crowe. But bless him for producing this, for I am a fan of the band. Sounds contradictory. But fork him.

How is what you described "typical Cameron Crowe"?

It was typical insofar as it was just another vehicle to show off his love affair with his own personal cool record collection. And in this case, his cool favorite band.

I subsequently learned from my sister (for whom Pearl Jam remains her alltime favorite band) the backstory behind the drummer situation, and it only reinforces what a total fanboi endeavor this was. But I loved it and would love to watch it again.

 

[holy bull]

Huge Pearl Jam fan...seen the band 15+ times. Can't remember exact count. Just saw them last month in Toronto. Great show...Neil Young hopping on stage.

Watched the movie on pay per view late last month. I DVR'd it the other night, but haven't finished the second viewing. I'm a fanatic, so I loved it...even if I didn't necessarily "learn" anything from it. Still, just seeing that old vault footage was fascinating. Plus, Stone Gossard was pretty forking funny. "Our guy can sing, too" and finding the Grammy in the basement were highlights.

Definitely glossed or nearly ignored some big things that I would have wanted to see: Mike's struggles with drugs, nearly breaking up/power struggle with Ed taking control from Stone/Jeff, and obviously the drummer saga (most notably Dave A. getting fired).

Agree on Stone Gossard. He was easily the star of the whole thing. My favorite line was "That was the birth of 'no'."

I don't believe that the Grammy scene was staged, but it seemed like it was.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I'm about halfway through it. That's just the way I usually have to watch things. I have little kids and if one wants to watch Phineas and Ferb while I'm watching a documentary, then I'm going to let them have their wish.

I don't know if there is another band I could get this nostalgic about. I haven't really followed them much the last 7-8 years, but from 1991 to 2003, I went to see them just about any chance I had. I think PJ is the only band I've ever seen on back-to-back nights. I've seen them as an opening act. I've seen them in clubs. I've caught Vedder when he dove off the balcony. I remember what a pain in the ass it was to get tickets the summer when they fought Ticketmaster. I've seen them headline shows at football stadiums.

It also makes me feel very old.

I'm probably right at the point where most of you said it gets boring. If that happens, I'm not there yet.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Watching them sing Crown of Thorns gave me chills. I've never seen them perform that live.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Finally finished it. Loved every second of it.