Pearl Jam Tickets

Pearl Jam are hitting the road again for a world tour this summer. Tickets to "Pearl Jam made me happy again," said one recent happy fan. Pearl Jam are touring in support of their ninth studio album, "Backspacer." And fans are still loving this last of the grunge survivors. The band is happy too. "Backspacer" is their first chart topper in over a decade. To celebrate, Pearl Jam is in the U.S. to rock. Venues like Madison Square Garden in New York City, The Scottrade Center in St. Louis, the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, TD Garden in Boston, and Newark's Prudential Center in New Jersey are looking forward to having some true blue fun and thoughtful rockers back in town. In Europe, Pearl Jam will hit some great festivals, including the Heineken Jammin' Festival in Venice, Spain's BBK Festival in Bilbao, the Werchter Festival in Belgium, and the Heineken Open'er Festival in Poland. They will also play a concert in a place Eddie Vedder loves: London's Hyde Park, a place where some of his literary heroes roamed.

The main strength on tour is being highlighted. Classics like "Corduroy," "Jeremy," "Rats," and "Evenflow" are interspersing with new songs like "Got Some," "Johnny Guitar," "Supersonic," and "Gonna See My Friend." Pearl Jam likes to spice up their set with covers (and they play the whole tune, not just snippets: ahem, U2). Recent songs played were Neil Young's "Keep On Rockin' in the Free World," Devo's "Whip It," and a glorious version of the Stooges' "Search and Destroy." If the encore is ever a cover, The Who's "Baba O'Riley" is also a distinct possibility.

Pearl Jam has always been a politically conscious band and is involved in various activist causes. In March 2010, the band announced that they plan to mitigate the carbon emissions from their tour buy planting 33 acres of trees and other plants around Puget Sound in their native Washington state. The band is also either involved with or supports the All-Ages Music Project, Doctors Without Borders, the National Hunger Relief Program, Habitat for Humanity, Artists for Peace & Justice, and various Haitian Earthquake Relief organizations. So you would be helping with those causes too, indirectly, if you purchase a ticket to their show.

Pearl Jam are: Eddie Vedder on guitar (yeah!) and vocals; Mike McCready on very lead guitar, Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar, Jeff Ament on slippery bass, and Matt Cameron is on the dangerous Spinal Tap drums. The band evolved out of Seattle's legendary true grunge band Mother Love Bone in 1990. Pearl Jam's first album, "Ten" was an instant hit, propelled by the song and video "Jeremy." (And, the fact that all the lyrics and all the music were the best stuff people had heard in years.) Seeing Pearl Jam when they first came out, changed lives. In Milwaukee, drunk rock darlings 13, went to see Pearl Jam at Marquette University. After the show, Ken Kehoe disbanded 13 on the grounds someone was already accomplishing the only sound worth getting.

Pearl Jam has a wild album history following their debut, but their concerts have been getting better every year, every show, without fail. Buy concert tickets and see for yourself. They play the most diverse setlist since the Grateful Dead. And they have very strong material and great albums from which to choose. Their second album, 1993's "Vs" was number one on the Billboard charts for five weeks, selling over 7 million copies. (The band instigated a bit of controversy by their refusal to make any music videos for the album's singles.) And that is the cool thing about Pearl Jam. They only say yes to things in which they believe. The lyrics on "Vitalogy," Pearl Jam's third album are all about that struggle. "No Code," "Yield," "Binaural," and Pearl Jam's official "Bootleg" Live Recordings offer every proof at how deeply good this America band has been, can be, and still is. Pearl Jam breaks the record for being able to endure, rock, and "Riot Act" when they need. On stage it's a wild show and Pearl Jam has got the goods: buy the ticket; take the ride.

Reports from the tour are beyond positive. Pearl Jam are on the top of their game and rocking with the fury of caged cats. Controlled chaos floods off the stage, as Eddie Vedder's stage presence hasn't dimmed one iota. He is playing a lot of guitar lately. It is helping with the dynamic of the band, making the music flow, ebbing just a bit longer with everyone jamming together. He takes to the guitar spins, Pete Townshend style windmills, and adds riffs with aplomb. Pearl Jam were never much like their grunge peers Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mudhoney, playing it more quietly disgruntled than the former bands extra-heavy angry-sarcastic styles. Musically, they were always more melodic, more in a classic rock vein than a heavy metal one, or even a grunge one. And the new album showcases this fact.