Archive for 2009
Meeting Pearl Jam
Monday, August 17 2009 | in Light, Camera, Personal
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After Caroline, I have two passions in life – photography and music.
If you’ve ever asked me about music, shared a car journey with me, or picked up my iPod by accident you’ll know that my absolute favourite band of all time is Pearl Jam. So far, it’s been sixteen years of albums, concerts and continued admiration and inspiration… If you’ve spoken with me in recent days or follow me on Facebook you’ll be aware that last week I was lucky enough to meet the band through a series of chance encounters in a hotel in Rotterdam. For me, it was the thrill of a lifetime. I wondered why Pearl Jam made, and continue to make, such an impression. Then I read Theo Epsteins fine words in Lance Mercers incredible photobook ‘Five Against One’… “When you’re first off on your own and ready to take on the world, you need something to play loud, something reckless, something you can believe in and hold on to. You find it in a new band, one that knocks you on your ass. Energy, truth and anger. The more you listen, the more personal it gets. You carry the songs in your head, and you swear you start to feel a little bit freer. It’s just what you need, so you turn it all the way up, and you believe in your new favourite band. Years later, when the working life has you slipping into the boredom of routine, you yearn to see the band play, hoping to feel firsthand the energy you’ve heard on their bootlegs. But nothing’s routine for them now, not even a show. Loyal only to their fans and their conscience, they take on the silent enemies of the day: institutions and corporations, ignorance and apathy. Republicans. Tension is everywhere – even in the music – but the connection with the band grows stronger. They finally get to play and you’re there: it’s loud, it’s right, and you smile because you know you’re wide awake again. Later still, when you know its time to find your place in life but you don’t know where, you see that your favourite band has figured it out. They’ve been through a lot by now, more than enough to justify telling us all to fuck off. But they don’t, of course, and instead carve an identity as admirable as it is unique. No principles sacrificed. No one left behind. Just enough space for the music and the fans. Their place is big enough to make a real difference but small enough to hide. You admire it from afar, put on your headphones, and go off to find your own place just the same size. And recently, after life has placed you up on a small stage of your own, you get to meet the band you’ve admired for so long. You expect it to be awkward, like when you struggle to make conversation with strangers at work. But the band is genuine, warm, fun, and disarming; somehow, they make you feel like you’ve been around the whole time. You should have known that’s the way these guys would be. The show is about to start, so you take a seat off to the side. As the lights go down and the first notes ring out, you shake your head and appreciate one more lesson from this amazing band: how to treat strangers like friends, whether onstage or off.” |
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