Well that’s more like it! We’ve been doing these reaction episodes for the last week hoping that we would get some type of differentiation in setlists on this run. Memorable and surprising moments. In Frankfurt last night, all of our patience was rewarded! The opening song set the tone for the night, a massive surprise in Inside Job that hadn’t been opened with since touring for the self-titled record in 2006. We’ll talk about all of the build up that the moment had and how it opened up the gate for other songs that had yet to be played this year such as Last Exit, Fatal and In My Tree. We’ll take a deep dive on some of the rarities in this one and discuss their impact on the set. We’ll also chat about a relevant line in Corduroy, Mike McCready’s spotlight, Josh Klinghoffer soloing and the backend of Gigaton getting representation. Especially River Cross which finally escaped the cut (thank you organ wranglers for your service). It’s the first massive show of this tour, you won’t want to miss this discussion!
2022 Pearl Jam Tour Reaction Episodes
Recapping Each Performance from Pearl Jam's 2022 Tour
We’re starting to get used to this show thing happening every other day again, yeah? The fourth show of the European leg transpired in Imola, Italy, home of the Formula 1 racing event Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. The show was off to the races from the start. A lot of topics to be discussed from the appreciation of no covers happening in this set, Even Flow’s consistent placement outside of the “Even Flow spot”, the first appearances of songs from Avocado and Riot Act in 2022 and Mike McCready’s psychopathic performance of Black. We’ll also spend time discussing the current state of America and the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Ed, never shy about his opinion on pro-choice, brought the topic into the set and made it one of the themes for the night. The two things that stood out from him expressing frustration were his aggression during the ‘sitting bullshit’ verse, and the W.M.A. tag off of Daughter. Challenging, but important topics needed to be brought up as our country spins into turmoil.
No John for this one, so Randy is joined by Hallucinogenic Recipe co-host Patrick Boegel! Enjoy the ramblings!
We’re back to react! The tour moves ahead to day number 3 as they plant their non-carbon footprint on Zurich, Switzerland. Follow up on a Berlin show that had it’s moments, but certainly some causes for concern, the band came back with 20 songs here and a little bit more of a blend of deeper fan favorites in their catalog. Animal, Present Tense, In Hiding and Smile all represented a nice change, and the deeper Vs. cuts in the Daughter tag were a nice surprise. But there are still discussions to be has. There’s still a lack of Gigaton, there’s still an entire chunk of 2000s records that haven’t been represented, and while some fans may be getting antsy, we try to figure out a reason why this may be the case. We’ll also spend a little time discussing the fan situation that happened during Animal, the opener streak being broken, a handful of songs getting cut for the set, and the tremendously large amount of Ten songs mixed in. Enjoy this, because we do!
We’re now two shows down on this European leg! Yesterday we saw the band take the stage on the longest day of the year in one of the most beautiful venues in existence – Wahlbuhne in Berlin. There is a good amount to talk about here – the opener streak extending to 15, crowd surfers, medleys, aging voices, four Gigaton songs played but is there enough variety? Seeing as though 2-hour 23 song sets are going to be what to expect, we try and make some sense of what later sets could end up looking like. Also, a big win for fan campaigns as Roland, a fan stricken with ALS, got a standing ovation ahead of Porch. It’s all right here! Leave your questions, comments, rebuttals down in the comment section below!
Aaaaand we’re back! It was only a month, but there were so many questions that were left unanswered after they left California. We’ll never know what would’ve happened in Sacramento and Vegas, so our attention drifts over to Europe to focus on the second leg of the 2022 touring circuit. They head back to one of their old stomping grounds, the festival made home to one of the most popular Pearl Jam shows of all time – Pinkpop. It had been 30 years since Ed jumped off the camera rig, and right off the bat there is an homage to that night, opening up with the Even Flow/Why Go combo. We’ll get to talk more about Gigaton, a crazy 14-show streak, a song that hadn’t been played in 737 shows and the return of Matt and Jeff. We’re back, enjoy it folks!
You never want to see it happen, but in the world we live in now the scenarios make it increasingly more likely to happen. Was it inevitable in Oakland when Matt Cameron was not seen donning the black Yamaha drum kit? The possibility sure could have been discussed, but what were supposed to be the final two dates on this 9-show run never came to fruition. It’s sad and disappointing whenever the band is forced to cancel everything, but even after 2020 where the worst should be anticipated, it stings. However, there are bright spots in the cloud of darkness with drops of lemonade falling from the sky. We’ll talk about the cancellation and what could possibly happen when they approach Europe in less than a month, and we’ll also talk about Randy’s weekend and turning a negative into a positive (positive!). Enjoy the last Tour Reax episode of the west coast leg!
John and guest co-host Joey Goodsir break down all the Krusen-tastic action from last night’s show in Fresno. Purple Rain! The Deep backstory! Also, when do we think Matt Cameron will be back behind the kit? Enjoy this and look out next week for a super-sized Sacramento/Vegas reaction with all of Randy’s firsthand stories!
Oakland will forever live on as an extremely important city in Pearl Jam history. These back to back nights are already going down in history as one of those pinpoint moments that are part of the band’s continued evolution. Unlike night 1’s surprises and spontaneity, night 2 felt like a polished night full of surprises. They got the first show jitters out of the way, and now that both Josh and Stuv have a good feel for what they were doing, the band was able to feel comfortable going a little bit out of their comfort zone. The stretch from Throw Your Hatred Down until Brain Of J is something that you’ll maybe never hear from the band again. Dissident! W.M.A.! We’re gonna talk about how this might be the best set we’ve seen on this tour so far and how Richard Stuverud was the star of the show. And also, Rearviewmirror and Crazy Mary make their tour debuts! Hot damn! There’s so much, so just listen in and enjoy. Wait until the end to hear from Given To Live beneficiary Reece, who it took two years for him to get to his dream concert.
This was originally supposed to be one episode combining both nights in Oakland, but given everything that happened, there is no way that we can wait this long to react to it! Obviously, this is the story of the tour right here, and potentially the story of the year when the final chapter is written. With Covid-19 cases still rampant in California, there was actually a bit of a super spreader at the LA show, many fans returned home with the disease that’s been ruining our lives for over two years. And sadly, it got to Matt Cameron too. When the band opens up with Rockin In The Free World, it’s a total shocker. But then we get a glimpse of Josh behind the kit instead of Matt. That is clearly the biggest storyline of the show and we’ll dig down deep into all of it including Richard Stuverud’s role and the wonderful moment with Josh Arroyo.
Every time that there’s a show, you can count on us to react to it! We focus on the Phoenix show from Monday here, show number 4 of 9 and of course there are things to talk about. We’ll get into the Wash opener setting the tone, all of the great speeches about freedom, voting and an introduction to his niece Molly, some of the changes and cuts that impacted the set and what the strongest performances were. And like last episode, we’ll lament the lack of Gigaton usage and plead for an appearance of Rearviewmirror. Enjoy, see you after Oakland!
We had some great shows this weekend! Lot’s of good conversation here to break everything down. Is Gigaton lacking more representation? Where’s Rearviewmirror? How great was the Taylor Hawkins tribute? We discuss everything and get into what may be in store for Phoenix! Enjoy! http://patreon.com/liveon4legs – sign up to listen!
It’s finally happened! We’ve waited for two years to see what the 2020 Gigaton tour was going to be like and we have finally had our first taste. Randy and John dig through the tour opener in San Diego and dissect the most important stories coming out of it. The biggest discussion here is the thematic way that this set was structured, taken elements from ocean related songs and putting them together with their connection to the city and Pearl Jam’s history. Which meant opening with Oceans and closing with the Reverse Mamasan Trilogy! We’ll also get to talk about which out of the Gigaton songs impressed us the most, digging into Retrograde, Dance Of The Clairvoyants and River Cross. And there were no lack of tributes at this show. We’ll take a minute to discuss Ed’s emotional dedication to his brother Chris that led to Long Road as well as a wonderful tribute to Taylor Hawkins. This will be the only tour reaction episode available on all podcast platforms. If you want more instant reaction episodes, the easiest thing to do is become a Patron. Right now we are raising funds for our documentary project and expenses needed for that and touring across country. All help is welcomed. You can join up for as low as $1 a month, or $10 for the year under the bonus leg tier, or for other perks such as episode requests and fan profile episodes, you can join up for $5 a month through the Gigaleg Tier, or $10 a month on the Horizon Leg. Sign up on liveon4legs.com by clicking the become a Patron button, or go to patreon.com/liveon4legs to join!
