Pearl Jam may never again be that omnipresent, chart-topping band of rebellious rockers of the early 1990s. But they don't have to be mainstream rock superstars in order to produce some great music and embark on one memorable tour after another (every other year, on average). Pearl Jam have built a loyal fan base the world over, and whatever you think of their records post-Vitalogy, this band has always been an exciting and even legendary must-see live act.
Tours from earlier in this decade have been well chronicled on audio bootlegs and on a couple DVDs (see Amazon list below), so it was only a matter of time for Pearl Jam to pick out some highlights of their more recent 2005/2006 tours to sell their fans. First came the Live at the Gorge 05/06 audio box set, and now comes Immagine In Cornice, a concert film/documentary directed by the renowned filmmaker Danny Clinch (Dave Matthews, Bruce Springsteen's Devils & Dust).
Based on the band's five shows and weeklong stay in Italy in September of 2006, Clinch and his crew of cameramen give fans an intimate look at what the band does on-and-off stage, in the towns of Milan, Bologna, Pistoia, Torino and Verona.
As far as performances go, Pearl Jam was in peak form for most of these song selections; they had five shows worth to choose from for this film, after all. Fan favorite "State of Love and Trust" rocked at a faster and more furious pace than on the Singles soundtrack. "Evenflow" got the extended treatment; McCready's solos channeled Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Matt Cameron showed off his drum solo skills to the delight of the crowd in Torino.
Whether playing in an obscure town like Pistoia, the Forum in the beautiful city of Milan, or weathering the rain in Verona, Pearl Jam played for packed stadiums that had both home and international flavor; fans from as far away as Finland and Israel traveled to experience these shows. But it didn't matter where the audience came from or how new or old Pearl Jam's songs were; cameras caught fans passionately moving or jumping to and singing the words to everything from "Better Man" and "Comatose" to "State of Love and Trust" and "Alive."
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Article comments
1 - Einat
Very nice review! Described the live PJ feeling very well, I loved your "Mike McCready: a guitar virtuoso and man of the people." that about summs him up. You should know that it wasn't Jeff though playing porch, it was a group of queuing fans. Great you mentioned Israeli fans, my friends, yeah!
Can't wait till next tour dates, I reccomend everyone to see them at least once in a life time!
2 - Charlie
Thanks for your kind comments. It means a lot - I put quite a lot of time into reviews like this one. It's a labor of love for me, and I've done two Pearl Jam reviews for Blogcritics so far this year.
I totally agree that everyone should see PJ live at least once - I've seen them twice.
And by the way, it was a short clip on the DVD of some teenage-looking kid playing "Porch" on acoustic guitar, but I believe a Pearl Jam member like Jeff Ament - look at the picture inside the DVD cover of the two with acoustic guitars - was across from him, along with other fans like you said. Best part is, the kid actually sounded like he was playing the guitar part exactly right (or close to it anyway).
I know Pearl Jam fans have probably spent a lot this year on stuff like Eddie's Into the Wild soundtrack or the Live at the Gorge Box Set, but this DVD tops them both - based on quality and affordability - so I hope serious fans won't hesitate to buy it.
3 - Charlie
You know what, maybe I should've taken a closer look at that "Porch"-playing scene. The other older-looking person playing acoustic guitar along with the kid on that clip doesn't look like Jeff or any PJ member upon closer inspection. I stand corrected. Good call, Einat!