English
It’s difficult not to think of the American band Pearl Jam, who will give two concerts in the brand new Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam on June 26 and 27 http://www.ziggodome.nl as true survivors. They are, after all, one of the very few bands dubbedSeattle sound from the first half of the 90s that remain active.
Along with Nirvana they were leaders of the grunge movement, although they were polarized by the media into a rivalry similar to that seen between the Rolling Stones and the Beatles in the 60s. Unlike the latter, however, members of Pearl Jam sent signals of believing that they were the antagonists of Nirvana, who achieved great press quickly, despite the many points of contacts between the two groups, and were catapulted into massive stardom in a surprising and unfortunate way which for a significant part of a whole generation was converted into little more than a lifestyle.
It was only after the suicide of Kurt Cobain in 1994, who was unable to cope with the fact that his group had become the most objectified and popular band worldwide or to live with the fact that the existential angst and anti-system anger of his most memorable songs had been transformed into a spectacle and a sought-after object of consumption, that Eddie Vedder, the singer and charismatic leader of Pearl Jam, seemed to realize the absurdity of having contributed in some way to the above-mentioned confrontation with someone who was actually a friend with common interests and a similar history of marginalization.
The tragic death of Cobain made it impossible to know which direction his music would have taken in the future, either as part of Nirvana, alone or embarking on other adventures. Just before he died he had planned on making an album with REM lead singer Michael Stipe, who was a sort of soul mate. Against all odds, Pearl Jam has endured and continued releasing an album every three or four years since that fateful date. Their discs have confirmed each time more and more that despite the jeans, plaid shirts, and other distinctive “slacker” attributes, they were apart from the other grunge bands of the time. Their music is classic hard rock. The unforgettable voice of Vedder, which has often been compared to Jim Morrison, and the splendid guitars by Mike McCready, which is one difference between them and Nirvana, despite the undoubted debt to groups like the Pixies, has helped them achieve a truly unique sound.
It seems that even the songs of Pearl Jam have gained a sense of space, and they haven´t lost that original spirit. Rent apartments in Amsterdam so that you can hear this legendary band live.
