My Pearl Jam Anniversary and a New Live Album

It's hard to process that it's been nearly 20 years since I first clutched Pearl Jam's Ten album. At age 15, those tracks were a life ring, buoying me to the surface of an entire new world of music and culture that just so happened to surround me in my dreary, rainy hometown of Seattle.

I still remember the date precisely: January 17, 1992. That was the first time I ever saw Pearl Jam live, at the Moore Theatre. My new stepsister had bought me Ten for Christmas, and also hooked me up with tickets to that show. So off we went, my best friend and I and my stepsister and her dude, crammed in the back of a rocker-era Celica.

Pearl Jam came out to the wordless "Master/Slave," took the stage, and proceeded to rock me to my core through their blistering set. They played nearly every song off Ten (their only full album) plus a couple of covers including The Who's "Baba O'Riley." The energy was intoxicating - especially as Eddie Vedder climbed the rafters and swung from the balcony right in front of us.

A camera crew recorded the night, and later that spring I shrieked as I saw the video for "Even Flow." (If I look closely during the end of that video, I can still point out where we stood.)

To this day, my love for Pearl Jam continues to burn. Last night - January 17 - was the release party for PJ's newest live album, Live on Ten Legs. It was an apt way to celebrate my two-decades-long love affair with the band. I pine for the old, freer, younger days (don't we all). But I love that, despite the passing of two decades, a live Pearl Jam set is just as dynamic as ever. I picked up the vinyl copy of the album on the way out, and now I'm itching to get home from work tonight to spin that black circle.

Per the Ten Club fansite, here's a listing of the tracks on Live on Ten Legs:

"Live on Ten Legs" Tracklisting:

1. Arms Aloft

2. World Wide Suicide

3. Animal

4. Got Some

5. State of Love And Trust

6. I Am Mine

7. Unthought Known

8. Rearview Mirror

9. The Fixer

10. Nothing As It Seems

11. In Hiding

12. Just Breathe

13. Jeremy

14. Public Image

15. Spin the Black Circle

16. Porch

17. Alive

18. Yellow Ledbetter