Meet The Peterborough Dentist Who Travels Around The World To See Pearl Jam
/Peterborough dentist Edward Segura has to be one of the biggest Pearl Jam fans on the planet. Segura, who owns every Pearl Jam album ever made, has been to about 40 Pearl Jam concerts around the world.
"I clearly remember the day in 1991 when I first heard Pearl Jam," Ed tells PTBOCanada. "My then-girlfriend and current wife Christine and I were hanging out at my parents’ home in Toronto after spending a day record shopping on Yonge Street. I had purchased this band Pearl Jam’s debut record, Ten, as it was being touted as an incredible record from a young angry band with great music and social integrity. I had heard 'Alive' on the radio as it was on regular radio play at the time. As soon as the needle hit the record….well that was the beginning of a lifelong affair for me with this unparalleled band."
Ed with his son Aidan in Prague to see Pearl Jam in 2012
Segura travels around the world, often with his wife and two boys, Aidan and Liam, to go to Pearl Jam concerts—working his vacation schedule around them, and getting front row seats as much as possible.
"A live show by Pearl Jam must be experienced to truly appreciate just how good this band is," he says. "They never play the same set twice, and play on average 2:45-3 hours a night in a world where most big bands will play on average 1.5 hours!"
Seeing Pearl Jam in New Orleans in 2013
The first time Ed saw Pearl Jam perform live was at Lolapalooza on August 5th, 1992 at Barrie’s Molson Park—an unbelievable experience for a self-described "19-year-old grunge pissed-off kid."
"The energy is one I will never forget," Ed tells PTBOCanada. "The crowds during the '90s grunge era were very aggressive and there was a lot of crowd-surfing and slam dancing. You had your ripped jeans or jean shorts, a T-shirt under your flannel shirt, long hair, and Doc Martens with wool socks. That was the uniform. As I have gotten older, I have noticed: (1) crowds are older, as is the band obviously; (2) that youthful aggression and disdain for everything no longer exists but the excitement of seeing them perform live is alive and well; and (3) the crowds are familial."
The Pearl Jam tour shirts Ed has collected over the years
After Lolapalooza, Ed would see them perform anywhere near/in Toronto, where he was living at the time, and over the years things have snowballed since moving to Peterborough.
"I have been guilty of planning family trips around Pearl Jam tours," Ed tells PTBOCanada. "In 2012, my son Aidan and I saw them twice in Berlin and in Prague."
Ed's son Aidan with the tambourine Eddie Vedder gave him at Berlin concert
Indeed, an amazing moment with Eddie Vedder happened at one of the Berlin shows. "I managed to get Aidan, who was 10 at the time, front row seats, and Eddie Vedder gave him his tambourine at the end of the show—which was an unforgettable event for both of us."
"We stayed at the Four Seasons Prague and didn’t realize the band was also staying there (we missed them)," Ed adds. "That family trip was awesome, and seeing them perform in Europe was the icing on the cake."
Wristband tickets Ed scored in 2014 for Detroit concert
Ed (to the left) of Eddie Vedder rocking out in Detroit, 2014
Ed has travelled to various Canadian and U.S. cities to watch them over the years: Hamilton, Ottawa, Halifax, Toronto, New Orleans, New York, Detroit, Chicago, and somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin for their 20th anniversary shows.
Seeing Pearl Jam in Halifax, 2009
Seeing Bono and Eddie, 2005, Toronto
Over the past week alone, Ed's family went to Ottawa to watch them perform—then saw them twice in Toronto. "All three sets were three hours long and vastly different," Ed says. "Any hardcore fan will tell you that there are no two PJ shows that are alike, and that is the beauty of this band."
Ed with his son Aidan seeing Pearl Jam in Ottawa, 2016.
Rocking out to Pearl Jam in Toronto, 2016
Another concert pic from Ed at Pearl Jam's Toronto show, 2016
Ed is such a huge Pearl Jam fan that he plays their songs as part of this grunge/classic rock cover band, the Jobbers, he's in in Peterborough with four other local fortysomething guys. He also loves discussing Pearl Jam with his patients, and has been known to play their music during his operatories.
He also has a collection of 40 guitars in his basement, and would love to get one signed by members of Pearl Jam some day.
Seeing Eddie in Halifax, 2005
