Touring Van 20

“This is not for you…”

Unless, of course, you were just unhinged enough to drop everything, cram into a beat-up old van, and follow Pearl Jam across Canada (and eventually the world) back in 2005. In that case, yeah—this was for you.

The Beginning

Twenty years ago, on September 1, 2005, we rolled down to the breathtaking Gorge Amphitheatre for an epic warm-up show ahead of Pearl Jam’s first ever Canadian tour.

Jason, Stefan, Tak, Brad, Lester, and Jacinta—the original six—kicked off what was supposed to be an innocent little road trip to see some concerts. What happened instead was a gas-powered odyssey, transforming a rusty old van into something far greater: a vessel of friendship, chaos, and the kind of magic only music can spark.

The Touring Van. Part steel and wheels, but mostly heart and a lot of hockey tape.

Why The 2005 Canadian Tour Was So Special

When Pearl Jam announced their cross-Canada tour—from Vancouver to St. John’s—most fans circled a city or two. We circled the entire map.

Three things made this tour unforgettable:

1. No new album pressure.
This wasn’t tied to a new album (the Avocado record wouldn’t drop until 2006), which gave the band total freedom in choosing songs. It felt more like the Lost Dogs (released the prior year in 2004) tour—deep cuts, rare b-sides, and songs we’d never dreamed of hearing live became regulars on the setlist.

2. The Ten Club ticketing breakthrough.
For the first time, Ten Club allowed members to buy tickets to more than two shows. One click later and we had 17 shows in our baskets. Just like that, the map became our itinerary.

3. True Ten Club seating.
Assigned seating by Ten Club seniority changed everything. Gone were the hours waiting in line for the best seats within our block (Riot Act tour). Instead, we could stroll in minutes before showtime with our seats already allocated. And thanks to Jason and Stefan’s nearly identical seniority numbers, we had 4 seats together on most nights.

But more than logistics, this tour mattered because it was a road trip across Canada. St. John’s or bust! So we bought a beat-up ’89 Dodge Ram van from a friend, tossed our gear inside, and aimed east with no plan beyond catching every single show.

17 Shows. 10 Provinces. 10,000 Kilometers.

What followed was a poutine overloaded diet, some flat tires, an empty gas tank, and a rotating cast of fans from across the globe who would became lifelong friends. People even gave us food and offered us places to stay. These were complete strangers being nice to us for no reason other than the fact that we were all Pearl Jam fans.

Oh yeah, and there was some music in there somewhere. In fact, these were some of the best concerts we’ve witnessed in recent times. The band brought an energy not seen in nearly a decade, as if newly reborn just a few years after rumours of a potential breakup. And we were lucky enough to witness it.

We did our best to take it all in. The music, the sights and most importantly, the people.

And it was in this chaos that Jason first met his future wife Sophie at the end of the trip. Proof, maybe, that the Touring Van wasn’t just carrying us—it was carrying our stories.

20 Years Later

Two decades on, the Touring Van is more than a road trip. Even if Mike McCready jokingly called it a crappy van. It’s a symbol of what happens when you follow passion blindly and boldly:

You find your strangest tribe.
You gather stories no one else would believe.
You build memories that echo louder than any encore.

And sometimes, the best shows happen outside the arena.

While there have been many other Pearl Jam fans, before and after, who have followed this band to no end, we tried our best to document and share this experience through videos and eventually a book, in an age before social media existed. Those artifacts live on as proof that this adventure really happened, even if the kilometers blur together.

Touring Van on the ferry to Newfoundland

Still Rolling?

The Touring Van may be parked (we may fire it up soon again), but its spirit is alive in every spontaneous road trip, every Pearl Jam fan meetup, and every moment someone says, “Screw it, I’m going.”

So to everyone who’s been part of this ride—thank you. Whether you were in the van, shared a laugh or a drink with us, or picked up the story years later, this all encompassing trip belongs to you all.

Here’s to the next 20. See you on the road.