BY MIKEY MIGO
I’ve never been a huge Pearl Jam fan. I’ve appreciated their work and have nothing really against them. They’re just a band that I’ve never really connected with. I can enjoy the occasional single on the radio and rock out to any random appearance they have. It’s just something I’ve never put myself too far into. I vaguely knew their back stories and was alert and alive through most of their career so I have a strong reference. I’ve heard for years that their live shows are amazing. I’d see them if the opportunity arose, but for some reason there’s just some sort of weird invisible wall that keeps me away from being a full on Pearl Jam fan. So with that casualness, this documentary painted a picture of the band that I really didn’t know. I knew they were a grunge band and I remember some of the bigger moments and the bigger singles. It’s the candid footage, the seamless story, and the honesty here that I was so taken back by. I knew the band was originally called “Mookie Baylock”, the ticketmaster stuff, and the tragedy in 2000. What I didn’t know what the relationship with Chris Cornell, the Nirvana stuff, and literally a trillion and a half little factoids. I enjoyed the in depth perspective that was provided by everyone in the band. The mentality, the struggle, the artistic rise, and just the overall experience are captured here. I can easily point to my favorite portion of documentary. It’s when Eddie Veddar snaps at a show. He seemed and came off so shy and a bit reserved up to a point. That point was when security was being dicks to the fans during a show. He got fed up with it and just snapped. You can literally see a look of craze hit the dude’s eyes. It was epically intense. That’ll stick with me for sure. You just have to trust Cameron Crowe with this type of thing. He made “Almost Famous” and has a big reputation for being a huge music nerd. His passion and love for it shines through on this documentary. It’s clearly a work of love documenting another work of love. It’s just really well done and probably one of the best two or three documentaries I’ve seen this year. If you’re a Pearl Jam fan casual or die hard, a fan of music, grunge, or just thriving artists then you really need to see this. I look forward to VH1 Classic playing this over and over in a few years. B+
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