"Oceans"
audio: live from 7/8/95
"Oceans" has a special meaning to Five Horizons, as it was the first song PJ played at the July 8, 1995 show at Marcus Ampitheatre in Milwaukee, where most of the "horizons" first met. =) But wait, there's more....
As you probably remember, the Milwaukee shows were the first of three rescheduled dates after the band cancelled the '95 tour following the San Francisco show. Many people had planned on attending Milwaukee, and once the shows were rescheduled, many more decided to make the trek to Milwaukee. The PJ mailing list at the time (following the demise of Garden of Stone, through which all of us met) was called "Oceans." We knew that the band knew that we were there. Jean had brought a blank book with, for all of us to sign for PJ. Jean and her husband had FRONT ROW SEATS in front of McCready (%$#*!!!!!!) and were going to throw the book onstage. (They didn't; they found another way to get it to them, but that's another story.) Some memories, as posted to the 'Oceans' mailing list:Another memorable facet of the Summerfest shows was RESERVED SEATING. The Ten Club had reserved almost the entire front section for fan club members. There was *no* mosh pit, but I have never been in a PJ crowd that was that amazingly into the band's set. You could stand in front of your seat and jump around and sing and dance and scream and everyone around you was doing the exact same thing and you didn't have to worry about getting killed. The energy level was absolutely incredible, and was the ideal environment in which to see PJ. It's too bad there aren't more venues like it available to PJ; it would make the concert experience more enjoyable for everyone, including the band, and safer for us all.
So maybe, just maybe, the fact that the band chose to open with "Oceans" was a coincidence; but I will always, always, always believe that the activities of the mailing list members had something to do with it, until Eddie Vedder himself tells me otherwise. ;-> (Newspaper reviews of the show said that the band didn't have a setlist, but that's bullshit, because one of us saw it after the show.) For that reason, and for the reason above, and for friends, and for Pearl Jam, and for the wonder and magic of that 1995 tour, and the excitement and nervousness and anticipation that a PJ tour brings, we bring you July's song of the month: Oceans.
The Video
In 1997, we hosted "Oceans" in video format here because very few of us have had a chance to see it. It was screened only a few times on MTV over here, but was apparently widely circulated on MTV Europe. Later it was shown on MuchMusic once. That's a shame, because it is probably Pearl Jam's best video: beautiful, moving candid shots of the band members on vacation in Hawaii, interspersed with amazing live footage. It's absolutely fitting and perfectly evocative, gently suggestive without ruining your own personal interpretation of the song. I was living overseas at the time this video was released and saw it often; however, it cannot replace my own personal associations I have for the song; rather, it enhances my appreciation and love for it. That's what a video *should* do, but almost never manages to accomplish. It doesn't tell a story, like "Jeremy"; it's not straight live footage, like "Evenflow". They go a little further and take a little more creative license and the results are stunning.
We've removed the video clip as it has now been officially released on the Touring Band 2000 DVD that can be purchased here.
Audio
Photos from Summerfest For your listening pleasure, we also present the version from the 7/8/95 Summerfest show, the first Pearl Jam show that many of us had the opportunity to hear. A wonderful version with equally wonderful memories.
To hear "Oceans" live from 7/8/95, you'll need:
A copy of "Oceans" in MP3 format [mp3 - 2,614K]
For more info on the MP3 audio format, please visit our helper applications page, which includes specific assistance for MP3 players and downloading tips.Enjoy!!!!!
Thanks once again to Geoff Kleemola, digital video god and temporary listadmin with the sharpest axe in town, for encoding the "Oceans" video and for making the video captures from which this month's header graphic was created.
Copyright © 2004 Five Horizons