One thing that rang true, however, were the words of the US Justice Department Antitrust Division head of the hearing panel which summarised that when “art gets big, it becomes a business”. I guess after all that, it was ironic to have actually bought my first ever Pearl Jam ticket from Ticketmaster to see them in Manchester during the Binaural tour like 5 years later. And of course, the film touched on Roskilde. At that time, I had only seen them live barely a month prior to the Danish rock fest that saw the deaths of nine fans. The agony on Vedder’s face (which was projected at the screen onstage) at that moment was palpable, and the band moved on to what they described as the post-Roskilde phase of Pearl Jam in their second decade together.

Most of the live footage were taken from the European leg of the ‘Avocado album’ tour (at the time of Danny Clinch’s Immagine in Cornice) and some of the more in depth interview with Vedder was taken during the Single Video Theory sessions.

As I sat during the end credits, I felt relieved that I was glad that I am a fan. I cherish the excitement shared with like-minded fans, from my mates in the early days of jamming in Sheffield and Birmingham, to those from around the world that I met in the long Ten Club queue waiting to see the band live in 2006, which affirms that the latter half of my life thus far has not been wasted with the music from this band – may it be learning to play a song or listening to them on my travels. I may not have seen them 97 times or take time off work to follow them on the tour trail (yet), but I can assure you this ain’t some fad. I will still be listening to these guys for some time!

Coming Together from PJ20 on Vimeo.

And a final word, if I may. Grunge, shcrunge. Pearl Jam is a rock band, period.

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