Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 11 – Pittsburgh Night 2

It’s bittersweet that it’s come to this. After 11 shows that began in the tropics of Florida, ran it’s way through music city and ended up in steel town, the Dark Matter tour has come to an end. Throughout this run, this band has shown that they are still willing to break out of their comfort zone and mix things up enough to provide a unique experience for every audience member on every single night. We celebrate these moments and relive them with one another because that’s what connects us together. That’s what we’ve been doing on every reaction episode this tour.

The last night of the tour will forever be defined as a an homage to a friend and music legend that passed away 8 years to the date – Chris Cornell. Many people expected that Gigaton song Comes Then Goes would never see the light of day at a show, but this is the show where everything changed as it was performed as a tag on the backend of Wishlist, with lyrics that harpen back to the In My Tree moment from Fenway of last year. Then the icing on the cake, a performance of Hunger Strike that had this crowd singing along and celebrating the man’s life.

For one last time in 2025, we give the floor to our friends out in Pittsburgh. Javi speaks with Aaron, Mike, Lori, Bradley, Tim and a mess of others as this tour comes to a close.

If you’ve been checking out these episodes this tour run, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you. We can’t do this project without you, and the insight and personal stories that are shared during the episodes are second to none. We don’t know when the next time will be, but whenever that time comes, we’ll be back to celebrate it all over again. Keep locked into the main feed later this week for a full 2025 tour recap episode!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 10 – Pittsburgh Night 1

The adage for this tour seems to be that shows continue to get better and better as they keep happening. The following night always topping the last one. Last night in Pittsburgh is no different. On the 25th anniversary of the release of Binaural, Sleight of Hand and Grievance were broken out for the first time in a very long time. Grievance thanks to democracy, Sleight Of Hand featured in the “hand trilogy” that was once a duo in Raleigh (how about Severed Hand’s third play this tour?). Man Of The Hour, My City Of Ruins, Comatose, Got To Give, and onwards, this set was another indication that great things are happening in this community right now. With one left to go, the band is pulling out all the stops to make it special.

You’ll hear from Aaron, Mike, Jason, Amy, Lori, Tim, Ryan, Bradley and a bunch of others who you may or may not know as they run down the entire night. One more to go, see you Sunday!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 9 – Raleigh Night 2

WHOA. What a show this was! Not only was this setlist on fire, but everybody who was there has a great story to share. Families bonding, families REUNITED!, tambourines acquired, other gifts received and just an unmatched energy throughout this entire building. And yeah, when I say families reunited, I mean MINE.

This is a LOADED episode, and one that you are gonna want to listen to. If you’re wondering what the Rocky Marciano stuff is in the beginning, it’s referencing the end of the Wreckage streak! Carolina In My Mind, Immortality, Leaving Here, a Setting Sun opener?!?!?! Yeah, no lack of amazing discussion.


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 8 – Raleigh Night 1

After two massive shows in Nashville, did you think it would be possible for Pearl Jam to top what happened there to follow up in Raleigh? We should all know this by now, they will always one up themselves when afforded the opportunity, and tonight’s show proved that there are tons more tricks up this band’s sleeve. On a night dedicated to Mothers on Mother’s Day, this mother fucking crowd was red hot! Great stories from songs like Light Years getting to hear them talk about their former crew member Skully, Hold On dedicated to our father and son friends Richie and Dermot, a double dose of hand songs, a powerful Daughter speech, Smile, Satan’s Bed and everything else across the board. What a night to remember after having to cancel nine years ago.

We’re joined by Patrick, Steve, Alex, Tanya, Tasker and Travis out on site as everyone seemingly had their minds blown for this one. Save some for Tuesday! Hope to see you there!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 7 – Nashville Night 2

Holy shit… This run in Nashville has truly been something special this week. We got so many rarities on night 1 that made people turn their heads that left the bar extremely high for night 2. But with it broadcast over Sirius XM’s Pearl Jam Radio, it was pretty clear that something big was bound to happen. There are a few major headlines here: Reaviewmirror as the THIRD song in the set, an Insignificance sighting, and an incredible version of Black featuring Peter Frampton. Yeah, I think we have some things to talk about here.

Javi, Aaron, Alex and the gang give their reactions to this instant classic show, riding high off of the amazing experience. After their reactions, I will have a few things to say about this run in Nashville that may perk a few ears. Listen in, and let us know what you think about the show!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 6 – Nashville Night 1

Man oh man! We’re six shows into this tour here and I think it is safe to say that we have found our groove. There is always a show that comes along that sets the bar extraordinarily high for the rest of the tour to match, and Night 1 in Nashville is going to be tough to top. Indifference opening up the show sets the tone for a night where surprises are your theme. We got Brain Of J at this show, Green Disease, Come Back and the US debut of Dark Matter deep cut Got To Give! Can you believe that they played Got To Give before Waiting For Stevie on this tour? The performances were tight, the stories and dedications were prolific and the night was a great example of what Pearl Jam can do when they want to gift the crowd something special.

Javi was out on site with all of our friends – Aaron, Mar, Alex, John, Tim, Erin the birthday girl and more as they give you the full rundown of how special this night truly was!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 5 – Jazzfest

We’re just about half way through the tour here and last night’s show was their first in New Orleans in nine years. It was their third appearance at a Jazzfest playing in the early evening as the sun was shining. Usually festival sets are known for harboring the greatest hits, but this show had a couple of collector’s items for the followers. Tremor Christ played due to them recording the song there in 1993, Love Boat Captain got played and Danny Clinch made his way onto the stage to play the harp on Red Mosquito as he’s known to do. We also got to see the massive three headed monster of Ledbetter, Baba and Rockin to close the night, only the 5th time that these songs have all been in the same setlist together.

It’s a big episode! We hear from Mar, Alex, Brian and John and get their reaction on the songs and the environment down in the Big Easy!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 4 – Atlanta Night 2

Pearl Jam hadn’t been to Atlanta in 13 years, but they made their time down in Georgia worthwhile with two nights of memorable performances. While night 1 was a hodgepodge of their entire catalog, night 2’s show found a wheelhouse within their most popular timeframe – the 90’s classics. There was a conscious effort to add in stories about the Fox Theater show in 1994 into this show, and that’s where Dissident and Better Man came in. We also saw some great deep cuts from No Code and Yield like Off He Goes and All Those Yesterdays, not to mention the first time Present Tense has opened up a show since 2013. Vs. also had a good showing on this night as Rearviewmirror was a surprise in the encore after Porch had closed the main set, and Leash was also a late addition.

We’ll talk to our crew out on site – Jason, Alex, Mar and more friends as they share some of their personal favorite moments, and discuss what may still happen in the coming shows. See you back for Jazzfest on Saturday!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 3 – Atlanta 1

Night 3 of the tour finds us in Atlanta, Georgia for the first time in 13 years, and the band seemed to understand that they had to make up for a lot of lost ground. This show featured songs from 9 of the 12 albums with No Code, Binaural and Gigaton being the only ones unaccounted for. There was a willingness to dig a little bit deeper into the catalog with this show as Can’t Keep was a nice surprise as the opener, two Avocado songs featured in Severed Hand and Inside Job, Unthought Known gave Backspacer 3 for 3 on representation at shows so far, and even a cover of Warren Zevon’s Keep Me In Your Heart felt special instead of a usual Tom Petty cover to kick off the encore.

We’ll hear from Jason, Mike and Alex on site talk about their favorite moments and share some of the stories that came out of this show. Once again, many apologies for some of the technical difficulties out on site. Hoping that changes when it comes to Thursday’s show!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 2 – Hollywood 2

Live from Florida on Saturday night is the second of two nights at the intimate Hard Rock Casino. While night one was certainly a great showing, the band doubled down for this show, and had some impressive crowd energy to work off of.

Join the Live On 4 Legs crew for this episode where they’ll react and respond to all of the events from the evening. Some of the highlights include a tremendous performance of Black, Immortality, a great story to go along with Small Town where Jeff received the bass that he recorded the song with, and good vibes all around the room.

However, as we seem to find on these reaction episodes from time to time, we will hear another rant from Crib where he pleads with people to stop being assholes.

I apologize for the audio quality in this episode, it’s not up to the standards we hold ourselves to, but when you are out on site, the service and connection is what it is. So thankfully it didn’t cut out or get unintelligible, but there isn’t much that you can do in a situation like that. Off to Atlanta for the next two!


Pearl Jam 2025 Tour Reaction: Ep. 1 – Hollywood 1

We are under way with our first show of 2025, and what a show to kick us off here! The crew from out on site gives their instant reaction to what they just witnessed at the special 7,000 venue at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. From Oceans to kick us off and Amongst The Waves to follow a short beach theme, to the 15 year hiatus of So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star broken, this show had it’s fair share of stories and positive energy.

You’ll hear from myself and the other folks in the pit about the experience down there, and maybe get to hear a tip on what you could do with some Crazy Mary wine. But lest I forget that our major talking point here is that Setting Sun has finally reclaimed it’s rightful spot in the closer role! It feels good to say that, and for all of us who had begged for it to happen again, I commend you for willing it into existence.

Check out the episode and let us know what you thought of this one, and predict a little bit for Saturday’s show as well!


God’s Dice: A Pearl Jam Tour Story

Pearl Jam fans are a unique breed who passionately follow their favorite band from city to city and create tight bonds with one another over their music and live show experience.

Back in 2022, I traveled to Sacramento and Las Vegas to see the band. I wanted to create a documentary while traveling that showcased the best of the Pearl Jam fan community. However, plans were somewhat thwarted when it was announced that bassist Jeff Ament contracted COVID-19, effectively canceling both shows.

Instead of being a documentary about Pearl Jam fans at shows, it became a documentary about the resilience of the community during an otherwise disappointing situation.


Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 38 – Sydney Night 2

So it’s come to this. After a big album announcement in February that led us to a World Tour that spanned seven months across the east and west coasts of America, a few spots in Europe and the Oceania area, we have reached our final destination. But if you are gonna end such a memorable tour with a bang, this is EXACTLY how you do it! The final night of the tour was a kitchen sink show with moments that some may have thought they’d never experience.

The biggest moment of the show is when they busted out one of the ultimate rock anthems of the 90’s for the first time without it’s counterpart, Chris Cornell, since he had passed away. Hunger Strike had this Sydney crowd in complete shock and awe, and immediately turned this show from very good to an instant classic. We will get into all sorts of discussion about the performance, including whether or not this song almost had it’s “Alive curse” broken.

And how about the Vitalogy tributes here? While no full album, nor my prediction of Bugs was played, they paid homage to the 30th anniversary of the album with excellent performances of Tremor Christ, Immortality, Spin The Black Circle and Better Man. And that in most cases would usually be good enough to call it a night… BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. Brain Of J, In Hiding, Save You, Dissident, No Surrender as a cover, Alone, Yellow Wing! This band took no shortcuts on making this night an extraordinary way to end the tour.

For the last time, we hear from our No Surrender Aussie Crew featuring the likes of Chris and Chantelle Warne, William Rees, Alex Hoggard, Caroline Vader Ritter, Brad Arundale, Gianluca Camma and many many more voices. Please send them a thank you note for their tremendous work helping out on this tour!

I hope this dream lasts forever… Thank you for all of your support during this entire tour run! Looking forward to more in the future!


Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 37 – Sydney Night 1

Pearl Jam walks in to Sydney after setting an extremely high bar for their last show in Melbourne, which means they know they have to end the tour on a high note. The penultimate show of the tour was yet again another phenomenal effort from this band. This show had a ton of requests and dedications in the form of songs like Come Back, Last Kiss and Even Flow, but the marquee moment of this show comes with an absolutely stunning Mike McCready performance during Black. Or Porch, depending on who you ask.

The crew from site led by Chris Warne is back at it again giving us the rundown of their favorite moments. However, there is a lot of discussion about Vitalogy right now due to it’s 30th anniversary. There has been a group going to the shows holding up a massive sign requesting them play the full album. Every other 90’s record has been played live except for this. You have to wonder if those weird interstitial songs like Pry, To, Aye Davanita and Stupid Mop are what holds it back, but we will get into a full blown discussion on the opportunity for the last show of the year to have something legendary go down during it. And I will make a very bold prediction when it comes to nausea being tickled…

One more to go. Can’t believe it’s over, yet at the same time, I can’t believe we made it.


Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 36 – Melbourne Night 2

We finish our two night stint in Melbourne with the show and setlist that should have everybody talking. This is what it’s like for this band to find a groove five shows into a tour. This show had spectacular moments ranging from surprises to a few rare ones. Most importantly, the return of the It’s OK tag after six years! After being left on the chopping block at multiple shows, we finally see Setting Sun make it’s Australia debut. Light Years is the first Binaural song to appear down under. But the magic is what made this night truly special, and we’ll dig into that with some of our favorite guests we’ve heard from every night on this tour.

Chris Warne is back with the Live On 4 Legs super team featuring Alex Hoggard, William Rees, Caroline Vader Ritter, Brad Arundale and a cast of more characters to chat about how unbelievable this show was for them.

Two more in Sydney before the 2024 tour fades.


Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 35 – Melbourne Night 1

If there were a city in Australia that’s known for being the defining Pearl Jam location, Melbourne would by far be the one everyone gravitates towards. They played a legendary show there in 1998 that has been pressed on vinyl, so returning for the first time since the “real” release of Give Way meant the stakes were gonna be high. There aren’t a lot of times where this band won’t rise to the occasion and exceed every bit of expectations, so of course this show was more of the same.

We’ll get to hear from a lot of our friends out on site for this one, including many first timers who have now experienced that amazing feeling of what it’s like to bare witness to it. Chris Warne rounds up the troops again and chats with Caroline Vader Ritter, William Rees, Alex Hoggard, Brad Arundale, Gianluca Camma and many more folks who stop to share their stories.

One more in Melbourne on Monday, see you then!


Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 34 – Gold Coast

Many of us know what it’s like to sit through a weather delay at a Pearl Jam show. The energy gets tense, there’s a lot of impatient waiting and a sense that perhaps the show will not go on as scheduled. We had a little bit of a scare here in Gold Coast as thunderstorms caused the night to be tampered with a little bit, but the show took place and the crowd was treated to a 22-song setlist with a few surprises here and there.

The biggest surprise comes from the form of “Got To Give,” the one song off of Dark Matter that seemingly had its cord cut after the second show of the year in Vancouver. They play it here, and we’ll get into a discussion of what the future of this song live may be. Other performances we see are “Man Of The Hour,” “Severed Hand,” “I Got Shit,” and “Corduroy” as an opener.

This may be a set where you look at it on paper and it could look more impressive than the Auckland shows due to it’s variety, but we’ll hear from Chris Warne and the gang from site about why the storms might’ve affected a little of the energy from this one.

Excelsior, Melbourne!


Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 33 – Auckland Night 2

New Zealand is in the books! After a big return for night one, the band came out again and did what they do best to put this crowd in a frenzy and play some of the best songs in their catalog. In this show, the big moment takes place during the encore when Ed invites Neil Finn to the stage to play an incredible rendition of “Throw Your Arms Around Me” that should be considered the highlight of this short tour to this point. We got the Haka dance to begin the show again before Release, only 4 Dark Matter songs with “Wreckage” being the only repeat, no “Setting Sun” after cutting it on Friday and an encore featuring “Smile,” “Animal,” and “Rearviewmirror” that looked like a big treat for this crowd.

The LO4L Down Under crew are back to tell their stories! Headed by Chris Warne, he’ll chat with Alex Hoggard, William Rees, his 8-year old daughter, and more friends, including a guy who traveled from Boston that Ed shouted out on night 1.

Next up, Gold Coast!


Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 32 – Auckland Night 1

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back. It’s the final leg of a great tour run that we’ve had this year, and we’re celebrating the band’s return to both New Zealand and Australia for the first time in 10 years! The setlist was very much like a welcome back set. The band came out there and hit this crowd with a barrage of their biggest hits and got a warm reception for their troubles. From the emotion of “Small Town,” the excitement of the Dark Matter songs being played for the first time down there, to the surprise of “Hard To Imagine,” there is a lot of good takeaways from this show to set the tone for the next six.

We get to hear from one of our favorite Kiwis, Chris Warne, and one of our favorite Englishmen, Alex Hoggard, who will do their fair share of reacting and responding. They’ll discuss everything from the energy, to expectations and how a song like “Quick Escape” maybe didn’t quite hit with this crowd (how dare they!). Glad to hear from the both of them, and you can expect them to be staples of the reaction episodes every night on this tour.

So, there is a bit of an elephant in the room in regards to some events that happened in America earlier this week. Some people may feel ecstatic over the outcome, others may feel fearful of the future ahead. Even though they are not in the US right now, it seemed pretty clear that they would address it somehow, as they are a band that always tackles the issues head on. While there was no naming of any names, Ed’s speech before Just Breathe was consistent with his statement the entire year – let’s stand united. Now in discussing this, I suppose I could not help but add in my own personal two cents. The intention is not meant to shame any one, but just like Ed, I’m putting forth a way where the next four years may not have to be a nightmare for us like the last 8 were, and it comes with one simple request… respect one another. As many of you know, I’m not gonna shy away from using my voice, and I promise that this will not be a common thread throughout the foreseeable future. But I felt like if there were any time to say something, it’s right now…

And Javier is on this episode!!!


Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 31 – Ohana Festival Night 2

It has sadly come to this, the final North American show in 2024. While we still have Australia and New Zealand waiting in the wings, our five month journey has ended here for the time being. And as we last spoke to you after Friday show about a OTOTO performance, the conversation is yet again revolved around another OTOTO relevant with our mother ocean. In the middle of the set, Ed shares that the band will be playing all the water songs tonight (not you, “Oceans”) and they appeased the crowd with the other major rarity that the fanbase has been begging for for years – “Gremmie Out Of Control!”

Yes, we went silly surfing tonight and got to see old friend Brendan O’Brien back on the Pearl Jam stage for the first time in quite a while. We also got a “Big Wave” appearance for the first time since playing surfing hotspot Ottawa, Ontario, Last Kiss for the Swifties and no black circles or animals for those with obnoxious signs. We’ll also get into a little bit of a discussion of song “Waiting For Stevie” (not played tonight) as it pertains to one of the aforementioned songs.

It’s a bittersweet episode as we say our final goodbyes for the tour, but we are joined by a star studded cast including Hallucinogenic Recipe co-host Brian Horwitz, Brian Anderson, Jason Weiss, and what’s a reaction episode without the big McRib? He’ll be back and share a small update on “Felicity” and how the campaign will live on for yet another tour year.

Thanks everyone for your support this tour! Stick around on our Patreon, more to come that you guys will enjoy very very soon!