Pearl Jam’s Top Moments In St. Louis, Missouri

Curtis Hames Shares the Band’s Best Moments in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is not a ‘core’ city for Pearl Jam, as unfortunately, being relatively close to Chicago has its downsides. It has been neglected a little in recent years, as touring has slowed for the band – this month will only be the third show there since the 2004 Vote for Change Tour. That said, it certainly has experienced some special Pearl Jam moments throughout the years. Let’s take a look.

3/15/1994 – Corduroy Debuts

‘Do you want to hear something we just wrote?’ Hell yes we do, Ed. The introduction of the song that really needs no introduction. Since this performance, Corduroy has been played over 600 times and has appeared at over 80 percent of the shows since this one. You could easily argue that this song is the best Pearl Jam song (and I absolutely have). St. Louis was part of history on this night. 

10/11/2000 – Given To Sign

Before Given to Fly, Ed draws attention to the sign language interpreter, Kim Schaefer. He jokes that what she is doing is more interesting than anything happening on the stage, short of Matt Cameron’s drumming. Kim has a wonderful, fun energy that Ed eventually joins in on – they dance together during the outro of the song. Tragically, she passed away back in 2015. 

4/22/2003 – I Wanna Go

In this extended intro to Rearviewmirror, we get to see something totally unique. This improv is called ‘I Wanna Go’ by the Pearl Jam official YouTube page, but this is absolutely an extension of the RVM that comes after it. Some creative vocalizing by Ed, as well as a driving bassline by Jeff give this one-of-a-kind moment its spark. 

5/4/2010 – No Way In Or Out

This performance is a lot like this show itself – not historical and not often considered as one of the all-time shows. But, like the show itself, this song is a very solid, considered performance. The band is dialed in, and gives a high quality rendition of a hardcore fan favorite. Insanely enough, In Hiding has only been played 27 more times since this show over 12 years ago.

10/3/2014 – Dreams Like This Must Die

Every Crown of Thorns performance is special. Pearl Jam has only played it 32 times since its debut in 2000 and only four times since this night eight years ago. But, when they want to add something extra to Crown, they add the medley/intro track to it – Chloe Dancer. Only the twelfth time this one has been performed. Both songs are extremely powerful in a special moment for the St. Louis fans.