Pearl Jam

The D Man remembers rebounding for Brent Barry in a near-empty Marriott Center before Oregon State played a game in the Cougar Classic. Brent shot his free throws underhanded and as a young ball boy I thought he was some kind of skinny genius savant with a basketball. Brent shot 80% from the stripe in college but abandoned his father's signature style once he hit the NBA. The D Man believes Brent was forced to give it up by David Stern in exchange for an eventual spot in the slam dunk contest. Stern was concerned the old-school style would tarnish the league's progressive global appeal and used the dunk contest as bait. Brent fell for it and became the first "caucasian" to win the slam dunk contest, according to Wikipedia. The D Man still cries conspiracy and sell out.

Nevertheless, Brent totally redeemed himself for hooking Randy, Robbie, The D Man, and Greg Jacobsen up with tickets to the Pearl Jam show in Salt Lake City. I can now say that Brent got screwed and they should have called a foul on Derek Fisher. (Shut up, Charles.) And a special thanks to Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam's killer bassist and Brent's good friend, for being so gracious to provide the tickets and backstage passes. Jeff spent a few minutes with us before heading out to the stage and ripping it up. Many happy waves to both of you.

Backstage was more Scrabble than Motley Crue. But it was still awesome. Thanks to Nicole for being so lovely and informative and hanging out with us on the couch. Nicole is a member of the band's management group and was kind enough to answer all of Randy's inquiries concerning Pearl Jam's Target displays, album sales, and ticket price points. (Rip is always on his game). She also deserves a special mention for writing up "city reports" for the band and being a fan of Bon Iver and Grizzly Bear.

Legendary guitarist Stone Gossard wandered into our backstage room, opened a bottle of wine, and was gracious enough to chill with us for twenty minutes as we fawned over him. The D Man told Stone that Pearl Jam was the soundtrack to his entire hometown's junior high and high school years; the school even tried to use the band's songs for slow dances to mixed-results. (Now that's scope and relevance). Jeff came in next and we chatted about his love of basketball, the band's early days as Mookie Blaylock, and his home in Montana. Jeff was as cool as it gets.

Two other backstage highlights: Greg found the only Dr. Pepper deep in the ice chest. We are pretty certain that was Eddie Vedder's DP, cold and hidden and waiting to be opened after the performance. Later, when Greg left his cell phone backstage, he ran back and collided with Eddie as a few security guards made sure Greg wasn't going to pull a fast one. Thankfully, Greg didn't shake up Mr. Vedder and the frontman still put on a fantastic show.

Eddie Vedder was born to sing. And his bandmates were born to play heavy rock'n'roll. Eddie has one of the most distinctive voices in rock history (spawning a thousand imitators) and Pearl Jam is one of the greatest American rock bands of all time. It appears that Eddie is enjoying the ride more than ever; he was gracious, affable, and even allowed a local restaurant owner to take the mic and propose to his girlfriend. The genuine connection with his audience was palpable throughout the entire night.

The band really ripped things open with the "Fixer," a standout from the new album Backspacer. "Lowlight," from the highly underrated Yield, transported The D Man back to his senior year of high school and the band's concert at Wolf Mountain in Park City. Some of my same friends who were there over a decade ago were also at last night's show. (Again, that's scope and relevance). While backstage, we caught a glimpse of the holy of holies--the setlist--and knew that "Evenflow" was somewhere in the middle. (We just took a peek, as Nicole reminded us it would be like opening a Christmas gift early). When those recognizable buzzsaw guitars rang out, the place went appropriately apoplectic.

"Elderly Woman Behind A Counter In A Small Town" soared under the spell of Vedder's interpretation. "Given To Fly" sounded downright Zeppelin-esque as the band's sinewy and heavy build-up hit epic. "Amongst the Waves" was another new song that really stood out due to its strong melody. And "Do the Evolution" displayed, like several songs, the band's recent penchant for a kind of post-punk speed-core.

The D Man sang every obligatory word to "Daughter." During the second encore, the house lights came on and the band finished with a massive version of "Alive" and a communal jam of "Yellow Leadbetter." It was as if we were all just hanging out with the band as they played in their garage. Best part of the night.

Good company. Good tunes. Good times.