As far as fans go, I’d say I’m a pretty big one.  But I have no Pearl Jam tatoos and in 15 years I’ve been to 15 shows, traveled to five other states to see them.  This past Labor Day weekend, I was lucky enough to make it to their 20 year birthday party at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin.

I didn’t want to have expectations for this gig.  Though Pearl Jam has been so good at delivering way beyond my expectations, it was hard.  I went with lawn seats the first night and reserved, fanclub seats the second night.

September in Wisconsin, I knew the weather might be a wildcard.  So it was.  Rainy off and on for Saturday, absolutely beautiful, breezy cool day for Sunday.

All in all, I had a great time.  I just let the day take where it would.  Alpine Valley was a good choice for this type of event.  The main building had indoor bathrooms and plenty of places to sit to get out of the weather.  On Sunday it was chilly breezy and cool and we were really needing something hot to drink.  Coffee would have been great, none being served.  We begged and smiled and after a dozen AV employees, we found someone who cared, waited 40 mins, but was the best cup of appreciation I ever drank.

Saturday’s show was good, from the lawn for us, the moisture and temperature in the air definitely had an impact on the equipment and general atmosphere.  Still, being in Wisconsin, knowing that Pearl Jam was playing, I wasn’t going anywhere.  Pearl Jam was there, playing their hearts out, jamming with the bands and singers that weren’t having their own birthday party, and just having rocking fun.

This lighthearted atmosphere carried over to Sunday, and the sun was definitely shining.  Seemed like everyone got their early to walk through the PJ Muesum.  That was a great idea.  Original, old PJ items like banged up guitars, old composition books, costumes, posters anything the band used as a staple in building the legacy of Pearl Jam.  It was interesting to see THIER history; THEIR box of PJ relics from the mid 90’s.

Spent most of Sunday walking around, meeting people of all origins and beliefs.  Different PJ members made it to the alternate stages to have a song or two with bands THEY believed in and thought enough to have them there.  Very refreshing to see and feel.  PJ’s way of “giving back” to their own musical community.  It was kind of mysterious and exciting, wondering where they would pop up next.

Pearl Jam on stage from fourth row is…relieving, heartfelt, enlightening…it’s just hard to describe.  The set list wasn’t much that was “easy to follow”.  They definitely kneaded in some obscure, but core tunes that probably meant alot to the band.  All the songs met something to me.  Later in the sets, they asked the lead singers of various bands to sing along even more unusual songs.  One of the guests was Chris Cornell, and when he came out on stage with Pearl Jam, my heart skipped a beat, and I jumped with joy!  Wow, I never thought I would see that, like the long lost brother of the band.

I’ve read alot of reviews, both good an bad.  There are a fair amount of reviews from die-hard fans, that expected more “total Pearl Jam” than the blend that offered.  I wasn’t disappointed.  This is what they wanted for their 20 year anniversary.  It’s not a small thing to pull off, not everyone could be there.  For what it was, it was great!  It was their birthday party and THEY had a great time and I’m glad they shared it with me.

Santa God- this is a song that harkens back to when we were children and Santa was THE man.  It was an innocent time.

Someday at Christmas- A very good cover of the song made famous by The Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder

Let Me Sleep- One of my favorite songs, not just for Christmas.  This song is pure and beautiful.  Brings me to tears when I listen to it.  Remember how magic Christmas was when we were kids?

Don’t Believe in Christmas- A rockin cover of The Sonics song. 

Jingle Bells- A shredding version, rocked out by the mighty Mike McCready and the boys. 

Eddie Vedder, for the few who don’t know, is the lead singer of the band Pearl Jam.  He has a voice that will reach into your soul and let you feel what you didn’t know was possible.  He is responsible, partially, for who I have evolved into, as Pearl Jam has played the soundtrack to my life for the last seventeen years.  He is an unassuming rock hero, I wouldn’t call him a rock star because he doesn’t hold himself like one.  He lives a normal life and tries to help others.  It’s very rare in today’s society to see people of power actually do good and not try to keep the spotlight on themselves.  Eddie is one of those rarities and it’s what makes me so proud to be a fan. 

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday Eddie Vedder
Happy Birthday to YOU! 

The question was: Why are humans killing the world, instead of any other creature? And the answer is more simple than you think. Nature has given us the power above every thing in the planet, because we received the Conscience, which means that we can THINK (obviously not always for a good reason..), so we don’t have to do everything by instinct.

And that is the answer! While all the creatures have to evolute in order to survive (some examples are the neck of the giraffe, the spines of the porcupine, etc) we make the world evolute in order to maintain satisfied our necessities (like air conditioned systems, weapons, etc).

Another aspect of our lives that we have been satisfying for hundred of years is the “necessity” of doing light work: While our grand parents used to work 14 hours a day carrying heavy bags for kilometers, we invented the car (which is one of the most polluting invent) so that we don’t get tired. Also we build giant polluting factories in order to work as less as we can.

The point is that if we continue living like that, it will end up with the death of our planet, or a lot of problems that you can not figure.

So, there are two ways to stay in a perfect harmony with the Earth:

• Taking conscience about what we do, and what we should do. So we can start doing something for the natural life,
• Or stay like we do, and suffer the consequences of our actions.

Here you have a great video: Do the evolution – Pearl Jam