Episode 35: Hartford, CT – 5/15/2010

If I were to wager a bet, I’d take a guess that not every American citizen, or American Pearl Jam fan, would be able to locate Hartford, Connecticut on a map or be able to give one distinction about the city that sets it apart from others. Hartford? Well, if you know your US capitals you may certainly know it. Remember the Hartford Whalers? Breakfasts come and go but The Whale only beats Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime. Outside of that, there’s really not much else that distinguishes this random New England city from its counterparts.

So why would we cover a Hartford show before we cover cities enriched in music history including the band’s hometown of Seattle or London, England? It’s this simple – when the band comes to town, it feels like the biggest city in the world. There’s a very special reason for that that I can’t reveal in writing, you’re just gonna have to listen and find out.

Sure, I lived in Hartford County for nine years but when the band came to town back in 2010, I thought they’d treat this like any other random city without a professional sports franchise. Maybe no rare songs, no special crowd moments. Basically play the hits and peace out. But boy was I wrong. I was so wrong that the band on multiple occasions talked about how much they loved the XL Center and how much they were feeling the crowd. The crowd on this night was so special that they’d get to hear a song that would be played one time, one time only (until their return 3 years later) just because they had a good feeling about it. Their cover of Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” on that night is living proof that if a crowd is gonna give the band all they got, the band is going to give you that much more in return.

So I guess Hartford doesn’t seem so random anymore, does it?