PEARL JAM: IMMAGINE IN CORNICE

This stunning concert film shows why the band still matters.

I have to admit that Pearl Jam is a band that I've taken for granted for many years; after all, they are local boys made good, and it seems that if I really wanted to check them out live, it would just be a matter of waiting. I saw them back in 1992 during the big heyday of the Seattle scene, but though I enjoyed their music, it was YEARS until it occured to me that they were a band that I should make a point of seeing again. It wasn't until 2002 when I got around to catching one of their sold-out benefit shows that I was blown away by what an outstanding live band they had become. Heck, they made me cry during their set more than once, most notably with their rousing crowd-participation rendition of "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town".

So it comes as no surprise that this concert documentary Immagine in Cornice is pretty darn great. The film follows Pearl Jam's 2006 one-week tour of Italy, treating us to some behind-the scenes peeks at the band as well as a full-set's worth of live songs. The chit-chat is rather minimal. You get to see Eddie Vedder (who I'm not ashamed to say is hunky in kind of mountain-man way these days) mulling over set lists, arranging and rearranging songs based on the "feel" of the town or the crowd, and going over with a translator how exactly to convey his greetings and anti-war messages to the crowd in their native Italian. That Eddie! You can't deny him extra points for going out of his way for his fans! Mike McCready explains some of his tattoos, and makes a point to sign autographs out on the street (citing his own experience of the thrill of getting an autograph from the singer of the Scorpions when he was a teen). Jeff Ament tends to wander off when he can, toting his skateboard for his own style of downtime.

But this IS a concert film, so performances from the band's various concerts in Italy make up the bulk of the movie. The set list includes old favorites, like "Better Man", "Corduroy", and "Even Flow" (for those of us who haven't kept up) as well as many of their newer songs like "Severed Hand" and "Life Wasted". Alas, no "Elderly Woman"... but that can be forgiven for including (as an extra on the DVD), Eddie Vedder doing a solo acoustic version of Hunters & Collectors' "Throw Your Arms Around Me".

Immagine in Cornice will please die-hard fans, as well as old fans (like me) that haven't exactly been keeping up with the band. Several times the camera pans over the audience, looking towards the stage—the sound is perfect, and the effect is breathtaking on a big screen. Though their albums haven't achieved the stratospheric commercial success of their debut Ten, this concert film shows why the band still matters. Screw the record labels and the expectations of the marketers... Pearl Jam is now the people's band, and as long as they continue to play as well as they do, they will always matter.