Top 100 Pearl Jam Live Songs of The 2022 Tour Part 3 – 50-26

If you’re looking for a group of songs that defined the spirit of the 2022 tour, you aren’t going to get much better than these 25. Next week’s Top 25 will encapsulate the memories in the forefront of everyone’s minds, but the stories you are about to read aren’t stories of great Pearl Jam performances per se. They are stories of connections, grief, improvisations, celebrations of life, and standing up for what you believe in. We were very thankful to not just hear from fans who witnessed these moments, but people who helped influence them. We’ll hear from those who wrote in to the band to make a dedication to a loved one, to tell a little bit more about the story behind the story. Above and beyond all else, these are the moments that the band had been waiting for throughout an ugly pandemic that we can now cherish for an eternity.

From this point forward, don’t take the ranking too seriously. All of these moments can easily be considered a top moment for anyone, and the fact that a song made it this far means we should appreciate it for being as special as it is, whether its number 40 or number 4.

50. Black – September 16, Nashville, TN

The Nashville show from Bridgestone Arena provided fans with an opening sit-down set that was both powerful and surprising. Black makes an extremely rare appearance here in the 3 slot, only it’s 31st time in the top 5, sandwiched between the rare Gigaton song Buckle Up and the kick-down-the-chairs Present Tense. Black is one of those rare songs that has the versatility to be played literally anywhere in their set – even just 2 nights later in St. Louis, it was played in the encore. In Nashville, this performance was no exception to showcasing the power of this song. Even though their sit-down sets are not ‘unplugged’, this performance of Black starts off rather soft and ambient to stay in the sit-down spirit. But, as expected, the band can hardly contain themselves when the song builds. Eddie’s spinning to the back and facing Matt from time to time, and midway through, as fans are chanting along word for word, Eddie gestures in a whirling motion to the crowd ‘I’m spinning…” When Eddie reaches the ‘…all that I’ll be…” he soars the note and pumps up the crowd, maybe even a second longer than usual, and the crowd cheers wildly in adoration and energy. Mike fires off a stunning solo at the end that pierces through the crowd, resisting the urge to stand up out of his chair; he can hardly stay stationary as he wails away deeper into the song. Eddie gives him a few bows of praise watching every note. The performance drifts almost casually back into a soft landing like a parachute, everyone back motionless where the song began, and the wild ride is over. A tremendous segue into Present Tense, the 2 songs acting as waves that eventually come crashing into the main set, only the way a Pearl Jam show can pull off. – Jim Penna

49. I Am Mine – September 18, St. Louis, MO

One of the single most engaged and united crowds I’ve been a part of. After a scorching rendition of Who Ever Said, Ed takes a moment to mention long-term relationships, especially the nearly-40-year relationship of Stone and Jeff, noting their consistency and loyalty. He then dedicates the next song to a good friend, Grace, who has traveled all the way from Australia to be there: “…we love you for your sense of adventure,” leading into I Am Mine. Does any song better exemplify the middle albums than this? The lyrics convey so much, from appreciation to change and growth to strength from within oneself. It’s at once a relaxing song and an energizing one. It’s no wonder that it’s become an anthem of hope – and even self-identity – for so many. As the song builds, Ed belts out in earnest “…all the innocence lost at one time…” and we feel that vulnerability, then the strumming grows more urgent and we’re electrified as he returns to his central theme: “…we’re safe tonight.” In that moment, I feel that in my core: we’re all here, we’re together, we’re safe in this place tonight. – Aaron Redmond

48. Yellow Moon – September 6, Hamilton, ONT, CAN

Played third during the band’s sit-down warmup, following Oceans as an opener with Nothingman on its heels, we get the pleasure of this gorgeous and relatively rare mellow song right at the front of the set on this night. It’s the first time these guys have played Yellow Moon since the Ziggo Dome in 2018. They played the heck out of this song on the Lightning Bolt tour – usually opening the encore – but it’s been seen just a few times since then (4 times from 2015-2018 and 5 times in 2014). The crowd was very involved for the first two songs, making Ed happy. After a heartfelt cheer on the opening notes, they’re all ears and eyes for this sweet, soulful rendition. Ed’s got his eyes on everyone, taking measure of the crowd, including those in the back. Josh is in his nest adding texture with tambourine, maybe more. That mini Mike solo goes right into the heart, driving home the meaning of the song – loss. A song like Yellow Moon really brings us all together when we’re here to see these guys, making a large space intimate. What an amazing way to start the night. – Amy Wynn

47. Immortality – May 13, Oakland, CA

Second only to Eddie Vedder’s voice issues late in the European leg of 2022, the Oakland shows provided some of the most pivotal and uncertain situations of the tour, as Matt Cameron was taken down with COVID. With the trio of replacement drummers Josh Klinghoffer, Richard Stuverud, and special guest 17-year-old Kai Neukermans, the band soldiers on in Oakland. Even with some of the uncertainty settled from the previous night, Eddie grows more emotional and pissed off as the night progresses. A culmination of events past and present are resurfacing for him – obviously agitated about the loss of Matt on the shows, but a deeper, more philosophical Eddie emerges before launching into the haunting and familiar opening riffs of Immortality. He starts by apologizing for his emotional temper from the previous songs, “…now I’m just mad at me,” going on to explain the stressful time during the COVID uncertainty: “We are all anxious to be fucking done with it” and that “I’m still mad we were not united at the beginning of it, rather we were divided. FUCK YOU FOR DIVIDING US, FUCK YOU, FOR POLITICS, FUCK YOU!” He was not leaving here tonight without laying his thoughts on the table for all to see and hear. With Josh on drums for this one, they pour everything they have into it, Eddie singing the opening verses in almost a trance, shadow boxing his strumming hand from time to time to emphasize the meaning of the words. Mike contributes a piercing mystical solo that rings and echoes from the arena rafters, appropriately adding to the emotional layers of the night, lifting everyone’s spirits up and supporting Eddie’s proclamation that “we will get through this together.” – Jim Penna

46. Fatal – June 28, Frankfurt, DEU

What to say about Fatal in Frankfurt? It came in at song number 8 of an already unique and mostly surprising set that had a different feel compared to the earlier Europe shows; a perfect Inside Job opener into one raging song after another. At song number 8, Fatal was the first opportunity the band gave the audience to catch their breath with a slower track. However, I think we all just held our breath because it was Fatal! A Stone Gossard-penned song of beauty that had only been played 8 times before in its 2 decades of existence. We knew how rare this moment was and it dawned on me that the song choice and intensity at which they were playing was likely to make Frankfurt one of the year’s standout shows. The performance itself was tight too…noticeably electric sounding, with the grittier 2022 guitar tones, and very dynamic with the band fully leaning into it. A special performance within a very special concert. – CR Warne

45. Release – September 11, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Although you could pick a handful of songs to open any set, there was absolutely no other way to open this show. The wait, the city, the venue, the date. The moment they walked out and took their seats, there was no debate. Just that palpable feeling in The Garden. An emotional Release set the tone from the beginning of what would be a night to remember. The band could’ve posted hours beforehand that Release would open the show and it wouldn’t have impacted the power or emotion. Ed starting out the last verse with “Oh dear friends…” just added to that special feeling of the show. And then, as nearly 20,000 of his friends would do at the World’s Most Famous Arena, they all sang back with the power of a million church choirs. For a night where the crowd was the number one story, they provided the theme from the minute the first note hit. – Dakota Duvall

44. Footsteps – September 10, The Apollo Theater, New York, NY

The build up and anticipation leading up to the Apollo show was like nothing I have ever witnessed. Winning tickets, standing in line to get in, walking through the entrance, even heading to our seats: it was all surreal. You could feel the energy growing in the room as show time neared. It was the perfect scene: a small and intimate venue with Footsteps setting the stage for the seated portion of the show. It’s a hauntingly beautiful version with Boom’s piano playing towards the end giving the song a real boost. Even though Footsteps was when we first realized that there was a PA issue that would end up having to be fixed after a few more songs, nothing could put a damper on the show. – Brian Horwitz

43. Daughter – July 8, Hyde Park, London, UK

Daughter had a particular resonance in the summer of 2022 after Roe v. Wade was overturned. The beginning of the song was quite conventional, but the band surprised the crowd by starting the tag section with Good Woman from Cat Power, a first for Daughter. The tag then extended into W.M.A., but Eddie altered the lyrics by singing “…government stopped my daughter again.” Music-wise, the dual drumming of Matt and Josh supplemented by Mike atmospheric guitar textures foreshadowed the full rendition of W.M.A. that would be played later in the tour in Amsterdam. – Aurelien Moureaux

42. Corduroy – May 6, The Forum, Los Angeles, CA

The band eased into things for night 1 in LA, opening with an excellent version of Of The Girl, followed by Small Town and then picking things up with Superblood Wolfmoon. But it was the 4th song of the set that really kicked things into high gear. The band went into a unique and ominous riff that they only did a few times on the tour, which had the crowd wondering what was coming next. Then the unfamiliar gave way to the signature euphoric opening notes of Corduroy and the crowd really came alive. After waiting 2 years to see them, singing “the waiting drove me mad” along with Ed felt so cathartic, tapping into how everyone in the building felt. Corduroy was the vehicle for those in attendance at the Forum to finally release that pent-up energy. Ed fumbles the last line of the first verse, but recovers quickly and finishes the second verse strong, changing the lyrics to “I’m already cut up and fucking dead,” singing with defiance and power. Stone ratchets up the energy with Mike quickly following suit. Ed skips the call and response section and it allows Stone and Mike to build momentum in the lead up to “everything has chains” to give us a tease of what was about to come. The end of the last verse leads us into Mike’s solo as he takes his first big moment of the night. Mike is on fire for this solo and the whole band feeds off of it in a big way. The interplay between Mike, Stone and Matt in particular is fantastic, leading to a powerful conclusion that ignites the crowd. – Jason Weiss

41. Nothing As It Seems – July 25, Amsterdam, NED

After three canceled shows, the excitement and anticipation were high in the Ziggo Dome. The band went on stage with lots of cheers for Eddie. His first lines were a relief for the fans and most likely for himself. His voice was lower than usual, but the pace and the tone of the song perfectly matched his singing. As always with this song, Mike shone during the solo sections, embellishing Jeff’s songwriting abilities. A perfect start for an incredible show that would set a new format for the shows to come. – Aurelien Moureaux

40. Purple Rain – July 25, Amsterdam, NED

Going through this show without any issue must have been a relief for the band. Having seen Jeff, Stone, Mike, and Matt on vocal duties, there was no surprise in seeing Josh approaching the mic. At that point of the show, a rendition of Purple Rain was in the mind of most of the fans that follow the band, but it was most likely not the case for casual fans. With a glittering jacket, Eddie took the first verse and chorus before leaving Josh to take the lead. What really stood out in the venue was how loud the crowd was singing. There were way more fans singing for this song compared to the previous ones. Performance-wise, another highlight was Mike, who was able to tap into the best of his skills to give justice to the ultimate Prince ballad. – Aurelien Moureaux

39. Alone – September 20, Oklahoma City, OK

For the penultimate show of 2022, the band decided to play a couple songs that hadn’t been performed at all during the year. After a main set that included four Gigaton songs, some hits, a handful of fan favorite deep cuts, and even a performance to the back of the stage, the boys returned for an energetic encore. After a raucous Go, Eddie mentioned that the next one would be one that they hadn’t played in a while and they were “dusting it off” tonight. This led to the one and only performance of Alone of the tour, and only the second time it had been played since 2016. You wouldn’t have known it had been so long, Mike’s solo was top notch and Stone was grooving along, head bobbing and all. Eddie put a lot of emotion into the lyrics, even singing the entire first verse again in a slow and somber manner during the outro. When a song only gets played once for the whole year, you hope for it to be an excellent version. This did not disappoint as it was a highlight of the night and really the full tour. – Bradley Piasecki

38. Rearviewmirror – July 14, Krakow, POL

One of the most egregious errors that the band made on this tour was leaving RVM off of sets for a stretch of 13 shows. This is extremely uncommon for the past two decades, as the song has been a very important staple of Pearl Jam shows. The last time they went through that kind of drought was between 2003 and 2004. It felt like we needed one of those signs you see at factories counting how many days since the last injury. As a matter of fact, we put Rearviewmirror out on a milk carton and nearly sent out a search party. Maybe it was because of Ed’s voice that they weren’t playing it? Who knows. One of the most powerful live songs that they have was nowhere to be found, but thankfully the band came to their senses and finally played it in Krakow. If you look at their faces during this, you can tell they missed this too. Ed was strumming as hard as he could, Jeff was bouncing all over the stage as the song revved up. While Ed laid off the most climactic moment of the song, perhaps showing some vocal fatigue, it didn’t prevent the band from going into their patented big drive to finish out. In hindsight, this was perhaps the best opportunity to play it before they ended up canceling three shows at the end of the leg. They’d go on to do it three more times in September, and things were finally back to normal.

37. Deep – May 16, Fresno, CA

One of the definite standouts of an amazing show was the tour premiere of Deep, the first performance of the song since 2018. With Dave Krusen continuing to mesmerize the band, Ed mentioned that hearing him do some of the things he was doing on the snare transported him back into the basement they practiced in in 1990-91. Ed then proceeded to tell the origin story of Deep, where on a rare sunny day in Seattle, he looked up above while feeding a parking meter and saw a guy sitting on an open window sill a couple of floors above. Ed thought this guy was just loving life, sitting there with a beautiful view on a perfect day. Ed saw that the guy had something in his hand that was reflecting the sunlight and realized that the guy was shooting up on the window sill and got nervous that once he shot up, he would nod out and either fall forward out the window or fall back into the apartment. He stood by a mailbox acting like he was busy, but then thought “it’s not like I could catch him or anything, what was I thinking?” Sure enough, the guy did start nodding off and fell backwards into the apartment as Ed said, “never to be seen again, but I sing about him often.” It was a great prelude to Jeff’s heavy bass and Mike’s immediate assault leading into one of the highlights of a special night. – Jason Weiss

36. Long Road – May 3, San Diego, CA

San Diego is usually a city where Ed likes to tell stories, he and Matt spent a good part of their youth growing up there, and a lot of their family still live in the area. Ed has often said that a show in San Diego is a “family show.” He had gotten a song request from a fan who lost his brother in an accident, and Ed remembered him and mentioned they took some photos together. Being a family show, he lets the crowd know his own brothers and his mom and uncle are all in the building (as usual in this venue) and that he can relate to the loss of a brother – he himself lost his own brother. Ed explains that his brother used to work in this very arena doing rigging work, and recalls the show here in 2013 where he could see his brother’s unique silhouette up above, and afterwards his brother told him he could have pissed on him a few times. He must have been loved, Ed says with a wistful smile, because there’s a plaque with his name in the rafters. “This is for Chris Mueller,” he says before starting the first chord of Long Road. As for the song itself, Ed was noticeably more emotional than usual, and the mix both in the venue and on the boot, especially in the beginning, seemed to favor the vocals louder than the instruments. What followed was a powerful version of a Pearl Jam classic, perhaps with the most meaning it has had for the band. Oh, and as for the fan who made that request? That was me. My brother Stan was one of the biggest Pearl Jam fans you could ever meet, and was one of the original members of the Ten Club back in 1991. He had an accident in 2013 and was in a wheelchair. Still, he demanded we make it to Viejas Arena for the Pearl Jam show (with GA tickets), that very same building as the 2013 show. It’s the last thing he ever did, the last time he was outside of the house except for the doctors, and we would lose him in early 2014 due to complications from the accident. Thank you, Eddie. Words cannot express the gift you gave me and how much Stan would have gotten a kick out of his hero giving him a eulogy in his hometown. – Mike Cribier

35. Not For You – May 6, The Forum, Los Angeles, CA

It didn’t take long for Ed to address the topic of abortion, taking the opportunity on night 2 of the tour and the first of two nights in Los Angeles. It would be the first, but certainly not the last. Preceded by the pleasant surprise of Faithfull, things got kicked up a notch with Not For You. Before the last verse, Ed addresses the women in the audience, telling them “I think if you’re a woman or a girl out there and the guy you’re going out with, or starting to go out with or thinking about maybe going all the way with…I think if that guy is not pro-choice, that he shouldn’t be allowed to fuck you.” The LA crowd roared with approval and Ed then went right into the final verse and the song was elevated to another level, becoming very intense and charged by the anger that makes Not For You soar. Ed changed the line singing with purpose, “With no power, we got a whole lot to do!!!” The entire band then converges, completely in sync and in a groove reaching a fiery crescendo that then dovetails into a cooldown with the Modern Girl tag to put the cherry on top. – Jason Weiss

34. Porch – June 21, Berlin, DEU

You could see it in Roland’s eyes before the show. How much he enjoyed meeting friends again with whom he danced and laughed at many concerts before. We joked that the band could play “RVM for Roland“ but that would only be the icing on the cake for him. He was so happy to just BE at Waldbühne and see his favorite band one more time, even if it was from the wheelchair area all the way at the back. He bought tickets for the show in 2019, but then became terminally ill with ALS and had trouble getting wheelchair tickets when the tour happened in 2022. It is hard to imagine how exciting it must have been for Roland when Eddie told his story and invited him on stage to share the view of the fully packed venue. Many fans who heard about his story cheered and teared up at the same time. This gesture showed how this band has become so important for many fans, that they will not miss a concert, even when facing a deadly disease. It showed that the band really cares for its fans and listens when they hear about heartbreaking stories like Roland’s. I don’t know anyone who likes the word, but maybe there is something like a ‘jamily’ after all. “Ah, we love you Roland,“ Eddie said before they broke into the next song. It was Porch, not Rearviewmirror. No one cared. Roland passed away in September. RIP. – Axel Picker

33. State Of Love And Trust – September 18, St. Louis, MO

St. Louis was my wife’s first PJ show since Wrigley 2013. Leading up to it, I kept telling her that I was concerned we might get a bit of a ‘layup’ show when Louisville was added for the night before, making ours a third of a three consecutive nights. Thank God I was wrong! It had been an already remarkable show by the encore break and we were catching our breath from having just heard Sad and Go, wondering what the encore might hold. In the back of my mind, I knew it was the thirtieth anniversary of Singles, and I still believed that surely someone in the band’s camp would note that as well. We would later find out that person was Josh. A few words from Ed, and then that riff hit…my favorite riff, my favorite song in the entire catalog! Instantly elated, I was floored to get such a raucous version; Ed and Mike were absolutely on FIRE, and Jeff’s bass line was speaking to my soul. Every single time I hear this song, it’s like I’m having the feeling of seeing them live for the first time all over again – maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe it’s rock ‘n’ roll, maybe it’s just that the song utterly kicks ass live – whatever it is, when Ed stretched out the “and I lissssten…” the entire crowd just went NUTS, and for me, it was perhaps the peak moment of the tour. Thanks, Josh! – Aaron Redmond

32. Mind Your Manners – May 13, Oakland, CA

Their stay in Oakland was a little bit fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants in reaction to Cameron’s absence. Just as they plucked Josh Arroyo out of the crowd to play Ledbetter on night one, they took another unconventional route to fill in the gap for night two. Kai Neukermans, a 17-year-old who was yet to graduate high school, was invited onto the stage to play Mind Your Manners. Ed raved about his band, The Alive, and how when he saw them they were so good that they blew the roof off the place. His daughter reminded him that he was local to the area, so they gave him a call that afternoon and the plan came together. Even at such a young age, you could tell that Kai was a pro at this. He set the pace right from the start and wasn’t afraid to match the band’s high energy and speed that comes along with this song. There was no catering to his lack of practice with the band, no slowing it down to be more digestible for him. He played this on Cameron’s expert-level mode and did an awesome job acquitting himself on a song that’s no easy task. Ed would even return the favor at Ohana this year where The Alive were invited to open day one. Ed hopped on stage to do Mind Your Manners their way, and made for a fun moment that people who were lucky enough to be there early got to enjoy.

31. Light Years – July 8, Hyde Park, London, UK

Simply put: Donna was the greatest person I have ever met. When she passed away, I was heartbroken. It’s cliché to say “it didn’t feel real” but in this instance, I wish that was the case. I kept in contact with Donna’s family and friends and started to think of ways we could get a message to the band. With the European tour coming up and knowing that Donna should have been there, I thought getting a song dedicated to Donna in front of these people would go some way towards the healing process. I decided to write a letter to the band and ask them to dedicate Light Years to her at one of their London shows. I passed this message on to people in Pearl Jam groups and people I knew from experience had access to Pearl Jam and we managed to get the message spread far and wide. Seeing people on Facebook request “Light Years for Donna” under Pearl Jam’s posts and the amount of people changing their profile pictures for the cause was utterly overwhelming. But I don’t think anything could have prepared us for how the band responded: a few songs into the set Pearl Jam kicked into Retrograde. When the song ends, Eddie starts talking about a woman that passed away unexpectedly. The band projected her image on the stage in front of thousands of people and addressed her by name and played Light Years in her memory. I was surrounded by her friends and her sisters, the absolute outpouring of emotion that followed would be completely unfathomable to anyone that wasn’t there to witness it. – Jay W.

30. Hard To Imagine – July 25, Amsterdam, NED

The highlight of my night was when Eddie said they were going to play a request, “the most requested song they’ve had in a while,” in fact. It took me a second to register what I was hearing during the opening chords. HARD TO IMAGINE. They played my song! I was beside myself. The only bad thing I can say about it is, as I sang and cried so hard the whole time, I could barely even see them on stage through my blurry tears. I don’t know what it is about that song, but it just gets me right in all the feelings. I go through phases where I listen to it on repeat, and sometimes I’ll listen to it every night before I go to sleep. It is beautiful and sad and haunting all at once and I can’t get enough of it. After everything that happened in the 24 hours before, we all needed this moment to let all of our emotions pour out. – Nadene Roff

29. Lukin – July 12, Budapest, HUN

Performing in Budapest for only the second time, and first since 1996 on the No Code tour, Pearl Jam returned to give another powerful performance. Lukin, also played here in 1996, is re-introduced to the lucky fans of the night with a rare rendition of ‘slow’ Lukin. As Eddie wistfully strums into the chords, the silhouetted dark outline of the band is highlighted in a deep purple as the lights on stage slowly climb behind them, almost adding to the anticipation of those powerful fast chords of Lukin. As they get to the end of the slow introduction, Eddie launches into the power chords of Lukin, hammering away as Mike settles down kneeling on the edge of the far left stage. Both songs act as a launching pad for Porch, a powerful triplet of songs for a fortunate group of fans in attendance that night. – Jim Penna

28. I Got Id – September 8, Toronto, ONT, CAN

As required by law in Toronto, whether it be Pearl Jam law or Canadian, you must make at least one Neil Young reference per show. As Ed has done from time to time with I Got Id, he mentions having written the song with Neil during the Mirrorball sessions. Sometimes he goes into the in-depth story where Neil points in his direction and tells him to write a song. His reply: “I don’t have a song, I got shit.” Neil promptly tells him that’s the song he’s writing, and the rest is history. Since Ed didn’t have anything written of his own, he made the decision to borrow the chorus from the classic Neil song, Cinnamon Girl. As a nod to the song’s origin story, Cinnamon Girl has been played as a tag on I Got Id nine times. At this show, they brought back the tag for the first time in 11 years. I’ll be completely transparent with you, the minute Ed mentioned Neil before starting the song, the first thing that popped into my head was that this could be a possibility. I didn’t think to say it out loud, but when they made the transition out of the final chorus, you were able to hear that slight chord change coming, and that’s when it was obvious. It had been 187 shows since being tagged, with Winnipeg 2011 being the last time they played it. It’s not something you specifically go chasing for at shows, but when you witness it, it feels like you got to see something pretty unique.

27. Keep Me In Your Heart – September 10, The Apollo Theater, New York, NY

After the aforementioned PA issues caused the band to have to take a 10-minute break, Eddie came out and played a song that would end up possibly being the highlight of the show. The crowd kept the energy going as they waited for the band to take the stage again, and they even spontaneously busted into a full Daughter singalong together to pass the time. Then out of nowhere Eddie came out by himself, waved to a roadie to grab an acoustic guitar, and proceeded to sit on a stool on the front of the stage and play Keep Me In Your Heart without any microphones. The crowd self-policed each other with a series of shushing, and Eddie had the entire venue in the palm of his hands. The second it started, we all knew we were witnessing Pearl Jam history. Within a few minutes the band would be back on the stage and crushing the rest of the night, but it was this simple and sparse moment that stole the show. – Brian Horwitz

26. Retrograde – September 18, St. Louis, MO

The opening of Retrograde is almost too simple…it tricks you into thinking it’s like any other mid-tempo Pearl Jam song from the last 10-12 years. However, after the last chorus, the song changes and the lyric “is it thunder or a crowd…” trails off. In St. Louis, at the end of the seated introductory part of the show, Ed follows that up, imploring “…is there a crowd?” Being fortunate enough to be in attendance, I can say with certainty that it was both crowd and thunder. Stone’s the first to get up out of his chair, acoustic guitar in tow, and Mike bounds up a moment later, sending some thunder of his own. Even Josh tucked away in his corner, mallets in hand, is feeling the energy. Ed’s the last to stand up, and when he unleashes that final “…hear the SOUND…” he reaches down deep for some extra power. The final 30 seconds is classic Pearl Jam, the beautiful sonic chaos that you can lose yourself in, Matt battering away, Mike and Ed soaring, Jeff and Stone keeping it grounded…it was truly epic. Nothing against the ukulele smash which happened in the previous song, but this performance set the tone for one of the best shows of the year. – John Farrar

There’s only 25 songs left to talk about next week, and they all in some way hold a special part in Pearl Jam’s history. We’ve got more tributes, more origin stories, more historic referencing, and then some outright bangers. Put these next 25 together on a setlist and you’ve created one of the most magical shows in the Pearl Jam pantheon. Thanks for joining the ride!