Anyone in Seattle or close to the internet no doubt knows that hometown favorites Pearl Jam played the first of two big “Home Shows” at Safeco Field on Wednesday night.
Cruising through the Twitter, Instagram and Facebook feeds of friends and strangers all day on Thursday was a fine way to experience what others saw, as the longtime rockers played in front of a Seattle crowd for the first time in five years.
Photos and videos — many shot from a distance in the sprawling baseball stadium — captured lead singer Eddie Vedder and his mates running through no less than 31 songs in the concert put on as a benefit to fight homelessness. The fact that the stage was positioned in center field didn’t help, from a photographic/technical standpoint for the majority of fans, seated far back or high up in the stands, presumably shooting with their smartphones.
PREVIOUSLY: 30 years after his iconic photos captured the rise of grunge, Charles Peterson turns his eye to Instagram
Two professional photographers who have pointed their cameras at Pearl Jam as much as anyone managed to steal the social media show, and are worth following if you don’t already (Pearl Jam plays again Friday night).
Charles Peterson is a Seattle legend when it comes to the documentation of the city’s grunge scene in the late 1980s into the 1990s. Decades ago he captured the rise of Pearl Jam at small clubs and big venues. His 1992 images of the band from the “Drop in the Park” concert at Magnuson Park in Seattle are, alongside images of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, some of his most recognizable. And he’s even offering select, limited edition prints from that show as part of a special promotion tied to “The Homes Shows.”
Calling Wednesday night’s show “rock and roll at its finest,” “amazing” and “epic” in assorted color and black-and-white posts on Instagram and Facebook, Peterson trained his eye on both the band, the scenic venue and the fans in attendance.
Elsewhere in that pit in center field in front of the stage, Danny Clinch was working his own magic. The longtime pro — who has shot music legends and their album and magazine covers and videos for years — is the go-to guy for Pearl Jam.
On Instagram, @dannybones64 shared a few select images from Wednesday night and from the days preceding the concert.
From backstage, he even managed, yet again, to capture Vedder catching air. It’s just not something you can do with an iPhone from the 300 level at Safeco.
