Pearl Jamband: Is Pearl Jam a Modern Grateful Dead?

What made The Dead great was improvisational music where each show was unique. Does Pearl Jam do improv? If not I don't think it's a fair comparison.

Pearl Jam is not even in the same league as The Grateful Dead. The GD is TRUE American music. Pearl Jam is just decent rock and roll, that happened to come about when MTV was around to help them get listeners. And....PJs vocals suck.

As a big fan of both bands (though, due to reasonable spatio-temporal considerations, I've sadly never actually been to a Dead show; and have been "only" to 7 PJ shows to date), I feel almost obligated to post a comment. I'll try and be brief.

The whole community-group-hug-energyflow thing at shows is probably quite similar between both bands. However, I'm pretty sure it's the same with Phish, for instance. So though that is a definite similarity, it doesn't quite grasp a specific connection between the Dead and PJ.
Concert-wise, despite setlist variety and such, I think Phish are definitely more Dead-like than PJ, both in style/spirit (musical influences, long jams, etc.) and in length (though PJ shows could reach 3 hours, Phish shows are usually longer, and are built - basically - as two main sets and one encore, like Dead shows used to be). So the shows themselves are not quite THE connecting factor between the two bands.

I think that there are, as the article clearly demonstrates, explicit similarities that run through the two bands. However, I think that's what all those are: similarities. GD were GD because that's who they were; same with PJ. I think that trying to categorize PJ as a modern GD doesn't do justice both to any of the bands nor to any of the two bands' fans. Both bands are terrific and special-experience originating. But they're also extremely different; and that's the whole beauty of it, isn't it?

You forgot the most important similarity!

The Grateful Dead's last show was Soldier Field - July 9, 1995.

They left the stage set up for the next band to use as a little friendship between the mgmt companies had developed.

That next band was Pearl Jam July 11, 1995.

The torch was passed THAT night.

Ed claims he found joints everywhere.

Yeah, but that's not a real similarity, though, is it? It's a connection, it's an event that CAN be given a passing-of-the-torch, but it can also be just what it is: a gesture between two management companies.
Again, comparisons are inevitable, but I think PJ are NOT a modern GD, and I really believe that to be a good thing.

sure, both bands have highly dedicated fans, but so do a lot of bands. what makes the comparison interesting is they both build community through live shows and trading live recordings.

so we have one uninteresting parallel and one interesting one. and might that be where the parallels stop?

even though not many bands are as well known for fostering this type of community, it's still a bit like comparing two cuisines on the basis that they both use the same utensils. now there's slightly more to it, because a particular ethos is also reflected in encouraging such community, but that's about it.

if you actually look at PJ's career itself, rather than just reaching for similarities, you would likely conclude they owe much more to neil young as a forebear than the grateful dead (both musically and otherwise). while this article is well-intentioned and not a bad read, it's ultimately a weak sell of an ill-conceived idea. clearly, neil is your missing link!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think the comparisons here are not accurate.

Both bands have a long fan base, like a LOT of bands.

But most importantly, Pearl Jam DIDN'T create a Gender, like GD. And they DON'T jam. Like GD.

Pearl Jam, maybe, it's like Dave Matthews Band. But that's also trying to find similarities where they doesn't even exist.

See ya

July 11, 1995

"... and by the way, we're gonna play as long as they did..." Eddie Vedder Soldier Field Chicago, IL

it is by no means melodramatic to express how much of a life changing event that weekend in chicago was. the last two dead shows and then pj at soldier field. the synergy is definitely there. still, ironically enough it was that experience that led me to phish. i'll always love both the dead and pj, but nothing compares to the phish....

Yes, the Grateful Dead were to San Francisco what Pearl Jam is to Seattle. The Grateful Dead played Kesey's Acid Tests and Pearl Jam fought the evil Ticketmaster at Congressional hearings.I am 49 years old and have seen the Grateful Dead 192 times but the honesty and truth that Pearl Jam exudes makes me feel like a kid all over again. Pearl Jam is the real deal don't let the corporate media jade you. I know they don't play 4 hours with only one break, Big Deal! They pack enough punch into their shows where I leave satisfied. We all miss Jerry very much but by the 1990s' he had chased the dragon so many times that he had lost his edge.

i want to say something about the pj fans i know. some of them are really cool and normal people. but some are too much, they are fanatic and obbsesd, to my opinion, in a very problematic way.
so not all of us pj fans are like that.
the hardcore fans iv seen are people that should think about what they do, cause it seems they need a little help.