September 05, 2024
Lisa Webb/Special for The Republic
Eddie Vedder (above) and the rest of Pearl Jam played the final shows at the Spectrum arena almost 15 years ago. The concerts coincided with two Phillies World Series games and Halloween.
Pearl Jam may be most associated with Seattle, the birthplace of the band and grunge itself, but the rockers became Philly legends almost 15 years ago when they closed down the Spectrum arena.
People who were there remember this run of shows with a certain amount of reverence. It wasn't just the fact that the Phillies were facing the Yankees in their 2009 World Series run at the same time across the street, or that these were the last concerts the Spectrum held before it was reduced to rubble. It was the fact that Pearl Jam, which returns to town for a pair of shows Saturday and Monday at the Wells Fargo Center, was leading the wake.
"It's well known throughout the Pearl Jam community that Philadelphia is extremely special to Pearl Jam," said Matt Cord, host of WMGK's weekday morning show. "I kind of liken them to a sports team, and ... Philadelphia fans, we're passionate."
The band played four concerts at the Spectrum between Oct. 27-31, 2009, arriving just days after Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band bade the historic arena farewell. Each Pearl Jam concert opened with a montage of great moments in the venue's history, from the Flyers winning the Stanley Cup to a much younger Springsteen and the Grateful Dead playing the stage. (Sixers legend Julius Erving also dominated the footage.) The band then entered to the familiar strains of "Gonna Fly Now" from "Rocky." Lead singer Eddie Vedder even hoisted red boxing gloves over his head before tearing into "Why Go" on the final show.
These weren't the only nods to the city outside the Spectrum's walls. Two of the concerts lined up with Games 1 and 3 of the World Series, including the latter which was at Citizens Bank Park, and Pearl Jam declared its allegiance early through song dedications to the Phillies' lineup. "Save You" went out to Brad Lidge, "Given to Fly" to Shane Victorino and "Wishlist" to Raul Ibanez, "one of the best guys in baseball." To help fans keep track of the games, the band also hired a Vegas-style ring girl to carry a scorecard — though her appearances depended on who was up.
"If the Phils were down, we weren't getting score updates," recalled Nick McIlwain, another WMMR host who attended all four shows. The Phillies won Game 1 but lost Game 3 and eventually the series.
Over the course of their lengthy shows at the Spectrum — the band ripped through 41 songs in a single concert — Pearl Jam paused to lament the arena's closing, make more baseball references and riff with some of their fans. The rockers also brought up Charlie DiFabio, an 89-year-old stagehand at the Spectrum who had worked at the arena since it opened in 1967. According to the Inquirer, he encouraged everyone to enjoy the show and left to a boisterous ovation.
The date of the final show, which was on Halloween, inspired Pearl Jam to sport several costumes. Bassist Jeff Ament changed into Wilt Chamberlain's 76ers jersey to perform "Sweet Lew," a song about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, while Vedder dribbled a basketball around the stage. Later, the entire band returned to the stage in bright yellow jumpsuits for a second encore that included a cover of Devo's "Whip It" — red plastic hats and whip included.
Playing the final shows of an arena was not a new feat for Pearl Jam in 2009; the band had also closed down the Chicago Stadium in 1994. But there was something special about those last Spectrum shows. Pearl Jam pulled out songs rarely, if ever, performed, arranging the set lists so each audience would get a totally unique show. Confetti and balloons poured from the ceiling on the final night, as the ring girl returned to the stage to rock out with the rest of the band.
"It might be too late to save this place, so let's just f---ing celebrate it while we're here and burn it down," Vedder said during one of the shows.
McIlwain and Cord — who attended not just those four concerts, but another 70-plus Pearl Jam shows over the years — have some theories on why Pearl Jam resonates so strongly with the city of Philadelphia. Cord thinks the group understands Philly as a "blue-collar band," and generally vibes with the Northeast, despite its Pacific Northwestern roots. The band members have even implied to him, he says, that the Philly market is bigger for them than Seattle in terms of concert and record sales.
"I'm friends with this guy Rob Bleetstein, he runs the Pearl Jam channel on Sirius XM," Cord said. "And every time I talk to Rob, (who) lives out in San Fran, he's like, dude, I'll never miss a Philly show. Rob, he can go to any show he wants. ... And he goes, you don't miss Philly shows. They're special. The crowds are special."
McIlwain added: "I think that this is true for Boston, New York, Chicago, Philly — and I don't mean to regionalize it, but I think people smell bulls--t pretty quickly. And so if it's disingenuous or, phoned in or fake ... I just think that it's hard to fool people from our area. So when people are the opposite of that, when they're completely genuine, Philadelphians pick up on that, too. And I just always felt like the band is who they purport to be."
Whatever the reason, the rockers clearly never forgot their four-night run in the Spectrum. Pearl Jam keeps chairs commemorating the concerts in the band's clubhouse in Seattle, a mecca to baseball that includes collectibles from all of the MLB's teams — including the Phillies.
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