Betterman
In 2008, Pearl Jam played at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. I was there. So was Metallica. Chris Rock. My Morning Jacket. Kanye West (who pissed off just about everyone for failing to start his set until like 4 am because, allegedly, he wanted to be the only one performing. Very on-brand for Kanye). It was an interesting mix of people. Oh, there were also about 50,000,000 mosquitos and 104% humidity. My sweat was sweaty. Our campsite was close enough to the main stage that we could hear everything perfectly from the comfort of our tent. But there were a lot of performances we wanted to see up close. The #1 act for me was Pearl Jam.
I’d never seen PJ live before. By the time I could go to concerts they were waging their war on Ticketmaster. Any venues they played at were too far to get my folks to drive me. So when I got the chance to see them, at a huge music festival (something that was a bit rarer than nowadays) I leaped. My generation was raised on the mystique of Woodstock. And we tried many times, with varying degrees of success, to have our own “Woodstock Moment”. Sometimes it went well. Sometimes it didn’t. Bonnaroo was as good as it got at the time.
Pearl Jam was a bit of a banner carrier in 2008. They were one of the last “grunge” bands left. Most others had either broken up, died, or both. PJ did rock the “right” way. Not like some of the bands that were popular in 2008. They were still a huge draw, have been since 1991, so it made sense for them to headline. It was the thing I looked forward to the most.
The night was dusky when they took the stage and quickly, the darkness settled in around us. There’s a big carnival area with bright neon lights and a huge Ferris wheel. Their glow illuminated the evening sky, enhanced by the wafting drifts of smoke that lingered over the crowd. It was hot, still very humid, but we had a decent view of the stage, owing to our VIP tickets that we sprung for. Hey, if you’re gonna do something big, do it big.
I don’t remember the setlist or what songs played when. We stayed for the whole set, including 3 (?) encores. But one moment I do remember was their performance of “Betterman”. As you’ll see in the video below, there is a magical thing that can happen during a live performance. In spite of all the differences, we have between us, there is a cosmic thing that connects us. We feel art in our blood, our bones, and our hearts. And we all have those in common. Remember, this is not a Pearl Jam concert. It’s a festival so not everyone there is looking for them. The crowd of 70,000+ stretched back for what felt like football fields. And during “Betterman” something special happened. Enjoy.
Have an awesome weekend.