Pearl Jam will play Tuesday in the University of New Orleans’ Lakefront Arena following its biggest controversy since its disagreement with Ticketmaster in the mid ’90s.
In Pearl Jam’s U.S. tour opener in Denver last Tuesday, lead singer Ed Vedder made a bold anti-war statement that rivals Michael Moore’s rant at the Oscars.
During the encore of the set, Vedder impaled a mask of George Bush on his microphone stand and expressed his dissent with the country’s current situation as well as the importance of free speech. Despite rumors circulating, the band has denied that booing and a walkout occurred.
“It’s possible two dozen left during the encore, but it was not noticeable amongst the 11,976 who were loudly applauding and enjoying the evening’s music,” the band said in a recent statement.
Longtime fans have come to expect, accept and respect this attitude from the band.
“Ed Vedder has always been one to speak his mind,” said Scott McCoy, a philosophy freshman. “You can either love it or hate it, but it’s his genuine opinion, and you can always count on him for that.”
Pearl Jam has based many career decisions on its brave “stand strongly behind what you believe” attitude. Refusing interviews, stopping production of videos and battling the major ticket monopoly are not part of the entertainment industry’s formula for success, but they have benefited the band in certain ways.
“They still have a base of loyal fans in cities around the world,” said Gordon Kuehl, an ISDS junior. “With the decisions they’ve made, they’ve weeded out the fair-weather fans, and the devoted fans feel a tighter relationship with the band because of that.”
The band’s survival is one testament to the non-conformist attitude being successful. No other “grunge” band has survived long enough to make it through a full record deal, while Pearl Jam is in complete control of the direction of its career and on the brink of a new record deal.
Within the band, control over its career has helped the band achieve the pure process it has desired since its conception.
“We’ve stopped doing all the things we felt we were obliged to do,” said guitarist Stone Gossard in the band’s documentary of the “Yield” sessions, “Single Video Theory.” “We started basing decisions on whether we wanted to do stuff. It had its ups and downs, and it ultimately left us faced with ourselves.”
Pearl Jam’s concert Tuesday in New Orleans will be its fifth U.S. tour date. The nearly three-hour shows provide a balance of old and new material, as well as a few unreleased rarities such as “Driftin'” and “Crazy Mary.”
Fans who know the radio hits as well as those who know every note to “No Code” will not be disappointed Tuesday. Pearl Jam will do what it wants — a great rock ‘n’ roll show.
General admission tickets still are available at all Ticketmaster outlets for $35.