Pearl Jam’s Touring Future Looks Bleak
It looks like Pearl Jam‘s touring days are over for now. Although the band has rescheduled four dates from its recently canceled tour and plans to do the same with three more, manager Kelly Curtis claims touring through an agency other than Ticketmaster is impossible. “We’ll continue to do about 30 shows a year,” says Curtis, “but as far as going out for six months straight, that’s not going to happen anymore.”
The group’s decision came after a recent Justice Department investigation determined that there is no monopoly in the ticketing industry, allowing Ticketmaster, which has exclusive contracts with most major venues, to continue to dominate the market. Pearl Jam attempted to mount a tour with the alternative ticket agency ETM Entertainment Network but found it too difficult to secure prime spots in most cities. The band was forced to halt the tour halfway through when vocalist Eddie Vedder contracted a stomach flu. The re-scheduled shows are in Phoenix; Las Cruces, N.M.; Austin, Texas; and New Orleans.
This story is from the September 7th, 1995 issue of Rolling Stone.