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Pearl Jam's 2011 North American Tour Leg

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September 25, 2011 – Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC, CAN

Main Set: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Hail, Hail, Save You, Animal, Got Some, Given To Fly, Pilate, Unthought Known, Garden, Even Flow, World Wide Suicide, Setting Forth, Corduroy, Unemployable, Present Tense, Wishlist, Glorified G, Lukin, Porch

encore 1: Bee Girl, Just Breathe, Off He Goes, Mankind, State Of Love And Trust, Ole, Alive,

encore 2: Chloe Dancer, Crown Of Thorns, Smile, Search And Destroy, Rockin' In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter/(Little Wing)

Show Notes:

The evening begins with the lights going on and a relaxed Elderly Woman. The crowd chimes in with exuberance when Ed belts “I just want to scream….hello”. The crowd does such a great job that Ed hands them the reigns…

Show Notes: 

The evening begins with the lights going on and a relaxed Elderly Woman. The crowd chimes in with exuberance when Ed belts “I just want to scream….hello”. The crowd does such a great job that Ed hands them the reigns for “hearts and thoughts…”. The band moves into Hail Hail with a decidedly classic rock vibe. Ed’s voice wavers and cracks in all the right places, and he’s so into the jam that he backbends with the mic stand. Save You is a passionate stand-out with raw, desperate screams at the end. Mike gets his first featured solo of the night, and the PJ20 backdrop gets a light show during a raspy Animal. Jeff switches out his “Green Noise” bass to back Ed on a very physical Got Some. Ed throws out a nod to the locals “smoked a joint in BC” during Given To Fly. A brief break has Ed talking to the crowd about this being the last stop on the North American tour as well as it being their tenth show in Vancouver. Their first time in Vancouver happened to be their fifth ever show in January 1991 at the Town Pump. He says it’s “Been a great ride and thanks for the fuel in our tanks”. Pilate slows the vibe and Ed grabs his guitar for Unthought Known complete with Canadian Flag sticker. There’s a warmth and richness to the song with Mike and Jeff playing off each other and Matt on backing vocals. The energy gets a bit dark, literally and figuratively with Garden. Ed swigs wine, the lights go out and back on to feature Stone’s playing and then Mike plays a soulful solo with his eyes closed and channels his inner Hendrix. Even Flow has an indescribable prominent twang at the opening, and Stone’s baseline rhythm is unfaltering. We get a signature Ed jump with Mike joining the gymnastics. Mike looks up at the rafters as if looking for early PJ inspiration before taking over for a near four minute solo. Ed hands the last chorus and outro to the audience. Ed points out Mike and references passing through NY en route to Toronto on the anniversary of 9/11 and the ten year anniversary of being at war. He then checks in with the Americans in the crowd, then the Canadians and makes a joke about dual citizenship being a smart move. He continues to reminisce about the last tour East to West through Canada and states “We learned to walk with a limp but it was nice to see people walking freely”. This is a segue into a straight forward World Wide Suicide. Ed pauses to reflect on Chris McCandless (actor and naturist that Into The Wild is based on) and states that Setting Forth is a “request by Matt and the guys”. The tempo picks up with Corduroy with some added echoing to Ed’s voice. Matt is mentioned again and dubbed “one of the greatest drummers” before Unemployable and mentions Matt’s co-writing. The performance is dedicated to “Olivia and her mom” (presumably Ed’s family). The lights go down and Present Tense is sung in near darkness until midway through. Ed introduces crew member Ricky Ramone, spits mid-sentence and doesn’t miss a beat with a dirty joke opportunity re: spit not swallow. We get another studio sounding song with Wishlist, but a wailing Glorified G with Matt and Stone on backing vocals. Lukin is dedicated to “Matt Lukin…if you’re out there…”. The set comes to an end with Porch. Jeff, Stone and Mike have a guitar party while Ed uses his fender to create light beams bouncing off the Canadian Flag.

Encore 1 starts with Jeff and Ed performing an acoustic Bee Girl. We get a glimpse of Boom who helps with a gentle lullaby version of Just Breathe. Ed’s voice is on point for Off He Goes. There’s a campfire feel with the guys taking turns with guitar spotlights. We get a Mankind from Stone and Jeff. SOLAT sounds a bit strained, but Ed stirs up needed aggression for Ole. We get a standard Alive with Ed really trying to get the crowd to step up. A complaint follows where Ed points out the lack of energy in the front row and wishes the wild ones in the back were up front “but it’s okay, we’re all friends”. After taking stock of the audience, Ed issues a big thanks to those that travelled to multiple shows. He dedicates Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns to Andy Wood, and the band joins up in the center to jam together. The stage gets busy as Ed introduces Bruce Fairweather from Green River and Mother Love Bone and George Webb, a road crew member since Day 1, and sings Happy Birthday. There are some cake dodging antics before playing Smile. Ed states his appreciation of the Seattle music scene and “top of the heap” Mark Arm and Steve Turner from Mudhoney for Search And Destroy. Steve Turner and Mudhoney bassist Guy Maddison add more dimension staying on for Rockin’ In The Free World, and it ends with a wicked solo from Stone. Stone continues with the spotlight by taking the drumkit for Ledbetter with Matt grabbing an acoustic and a classic closing solo from Mike.

September 23, 2011 – Rexall Place, Edmonton, AB, CAN

Main Set: Wash, Why Go, Given To Fly, Got Some, Severed Hand, Setting Forth, Not For You, Even Flow, Marker In The Sand, Down, U, Present Tense, Black, 1/2 Full, Last Kiss, The Fixer, Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted

encore 1: Just Breathe, Come Back, Unthought Known, Daughter/(Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2)/(W.M.A.), Do The Evolution, Alive

encore 2: Once, Better Man, Kick Out The Jams, Rockin' In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter/(Little Wing)

Show Notes:

The penultimate night of the North American leg of the PJ20 tour did not disappoint. The crowd in Edmonton was fired up and the band fed off this, delivering a blistering set. The band enters stage right to the sounds…

Show Notes: 

The penultimate night of the North American leg of the PJ20 tour did not disappoint. The crowd in Edmonton was fired up and the band fed off this, delivering a blistering set. The band enters stage right to the sounds of Pendulum Orphosis, and proceeds to pace through an extra dark bluesy sludge version of Wash. Despite Ed struggling on the high notes of the final chorus, it is a strong opener. The crowd immediately revs things up as Jeff and Stone set the pace for a fantastic Why Go. An early set Given to Fly gets a lyrical twist with – made it into Edmonton had a smoke in a tree. Following Severed Hand, Ed addresses the already raucous crowd:

“At this point of the evening I’d like to say hello Edmonton, cheers. Can I call you ETown? How about I just call you Ed? You can do the same.”

He talks about playing there 20 years ago and not remembering the show. He thinks they played seven songs that night (it was 11. Also, 18 years, not 20) and says they are going to play eight songs tonight and some are real short, leading into Setting Forth. Not for You sends the faithfull crowd soaring. Stone tears this Vitalogy track up while Matt and Jeff drop a stellar groove on the bridge and outro jam. It’s a big highlight. A tight Present Tense is dedicated to Nathan and is the meat of a run from Marker in the Sand through 1/2 Full that showcases Mike firing off some transcendent solos. The main set comes to a close with Wasted Reprise segueing into Life Wasted, with Ed paying homage to his bandmates and how much they mean to him.

Prior to Encore 1 kicking off, Ed has the crowd wish Bruce Springsteen a happy birthday. Come Back is played, and Ed mentions it was written for Johnny Ramone, and they are going to play it for him and a fan that had been holding up a sign. Jeff gets a little lost early in the song leading to some funny onstage shenanigans with him asking Mike what key they are in, Stone laughing and Ed just chuckling in Jeff’s direction. The evening escalates during Encore 2 with Mark Arm taking the mic teasing the crowd before it is time to Kick out The Jams. Arm ends up on Ed’s shoulders for a good portion of the MC5 classic. As the evening comes to a close, the band strides through a powerful take on Rockin In The Free World. Stone lights up the stage with a commanding solo and puts an exclamation on a night where he shined. The curtains close with Mike delivering a passionate run through Ledbetter coupled with a Little Wing nod. The crowd and band delivered on this night.

Ed starts the encore by telling the crowd they’ve really brought it, and that they’ve helped the band cure their homesickness. Pearl Jam rarity, Parachutes, is played for Joe, a guy in the crowd who has been bringing a sign to the last few shows. Ed even invites him to the stage to hold the lyrics. Later, Ed says he recently read an article that there have been no rats in the Calgary area for more than 50 years. “Well, 50 years of no Rats is ending right now,” leading into a great, funky version of Rats. Before RVM, Ed waxes nostalgic before a show-stopping Rearviewmirror encore closer:

“Things weren’t always this good. This (RVM) was written way back when, about way back when.”

Mark Arm and Steve Turner lend a hand on yet another rare one – The Stooge’s Search And Destroy before the band closes with soaring versions of Fuckin’ Up and Ledbetter. Ed is noticeably moved by the crowd and by the band’s good fortune all night long, leading to a truly memorable stop on the band’s 2011 Canadian tour.

September 21, 2011 – Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary, AB, CAN

Main Set: Release, Go, Last Exit, Given To Fly, Lukin, Insignificance, Big Wave, Unthought Known, Even Flow, Deep, Light Years, Daughter, It Happened Today, Setting Forth, Corduroy, Brain Of J., Johnny Guitar, Alive

encore 1: Just Breathe, Parachutes, Rats, The Fixer, Rearviewmirror

encore 2: Jeremy, Crazy Mary, Search And Destroy, Fuckin' Up, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

On the day that R.E.M. announced their breakup after 31 years, the band is feeling understandably nostalgic, leaning on a great Canadian crowd to power them through a stellar set full of rarities. Release, Go, and Last Exit get the…

Show Notes: 

On the day that R.E.M. announced their breakup after 31 years, the band is feeling understandably nostalgic, leaning on a great Canadian crowd to power them through a stellar set full of rarities. Release, Go, and Last Exit get the crowd hopping right off the bat. Ed greats the crowd after Given to Fly:

“On behalf of the group, to be able to come up here and play in this part of the world (huge crowd reaction), not just to play here…but we know these buildings…it’s like playing in church! We’re happy to be here in your church. Normally I wouldn’t want to go to church, but when you can go to church with Mudhoney, that’s pretty good.”

Lukin and Insignificance make early appearances with Ed’s solid guitar work sticking out on both songs. Big Wave is dedicated to Kelly Slater, and though Ed botches the lyrics, it’s a fun, bouncing version. McCready and Cameron steal the show on Even Flow, and then the whole band gets really into Deep, a song Ed tells the crowd doesn’t get played very often. After Daughter, Ed says he’s happy about tonight’s great crowd because:

“We got some news this morning from some friends of ours that made for a tricky day. We just want to acknowledge how important they were to us…one of the best groups from the United States. I don’t know if you heard, but after 31 years, our friends, R.E.M., have decided to put it down for a while. I know, I can’t even say it”

For the first and only time, the band plays a cover of R.E.M.’s It Happened Today. It begins in near total darkness with a small spotlight on Ed until the song’s climax where the lights go up and you see the rest of the band come into the background. It was a poignant tribute to their friends and pioneers of alternative music. Corduroy and Brain of J. are wonderful surprises this deep in the main set before Johnny Guitar and Alive close things out.

Ed starts the encore by telling the crowd they’ve really brought it, and that they’ve helped the band cure their homesickness. Pearl Jam rarity, Parachutes, is played for Joe, a guy in the crowd who has been bringing a sign to the last few shows. Ed even invites him to the stage to hold the lyrics. Later, Ed says he recently read an article that there have been no rats in the Calgary area for more than 50 years. “Well, 50 years of no Rats is ending right now,” leading into a great, funky version of Rats. Before RVM, Ed waxes nostalgic before a show-stopping Rearviewmirror encore closer:

“Things weren’t always this good. This (RVM) was written way back when, about way back when.”

Mark Arm and Steve Turner lend a hand on yet another rare one – The Stooge’s Search And Destroy before the band closes with soaring versions of Fuckin’ Up and Ledbetter. Ed is noticeably moved by the crowd and by the band’s good fortune all night long, leading to a truly memorable stop on the band’s 2011 Canadian tour.

September 19, 2011 – Credit Union Centre, Saskatoon, SK, CAN

Main Set: Interstellar Overdrive/Corduroy, All Night, God's Dice, In My Tree, Dissident, Untitled, MFC, Red Mosquito, Nothing As It Seems, Given To Fly, Do The Evolution, In The Moonlight, Black, Spin The Black Circle, Setting Forth, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Alive

encore 1: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Just Breathe, Unthought Known, Even Flow, Better Man/(I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend)/(Save It For Later)

encore 2: Running Bask To Saskatoon (Take One), Why Go, The Fixer, Running Back To Saskatoon (Take 2), Porch, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

The band makes their return to Saskatoon six years and a couple of weeks since their first appearance. The energy is high right from the start with a charged up Interstellar Overdrive into Corduroy. A terrific In My Tree is…

Show Notes: 

The band makes their return to Saskatoon six years and a couple of weeks since their first appearance. The energy is high right from the start with a charged up Interstellar Overdrive into Corduroy. A terrific In My Tree is preceded by Ed stating “this is the only beginning, ok,” and an ad lib nod to the local junior league hockey club set to the US national anthem “to the land of the free and the home of the, BLADES.” Untitled lyrics are altered to “everyone’s confused, I just want to get to Saskatoon.” Red Mosquito backed by Nothing As It Seems allows Mike to really flex as the band grooves underneath his leads. In the Moonlight appears for just the second time with an excellent harmony vocal from Matt. Ed makes reference to the band’s prior appearance and that they hadn’t played this song last time and they wanted to make sure to play it tonight, leading to a blues groovy Black. Following Spin the Black Circle, Ed spots a fan, asking “hey who’s this young guy over here?” He gets his name, and says this is for “Dave, he’s ten,” then giving a nod to Dave’s father and Mudhoney as the band takes on Setting Forth.

Prior to the encore kicking off, Ed makes note of the flags he is seeing:

“We just are not going to leave anytime soon, we all got here and we’re all here, I just need a guitar. This is where we start singing together”

This leads into Elderly Woman. Before Just Breathe, Ed gives a nod to Stone and Mike’s significant others who are in attendance, noting it is Mike’s wife’s birthday. A rare encore Even Flow is a scorcher. Better Man closes encore one with Ed inviting the crowd “let’s hear you.”

As encore two begins, Ed introduces the band, but forgets Jeff, which leads to the crowd chanting “Jeff, Jeff, Jeff.” Then the fun really begins. Ed quips:

“It is not unusual for us to play a song by The Who. But it is quite unusual for us to play a song by The Guess Who”

After a failed attempt in 2005, the band takes another hack at Running Back to Saskatoon. Things start off promising, but Ed can’t remember the lyrics. After which Ed states:

“usually I would say oh I fucked that up because I had too much to drink, but tonight I think I fucked it up because I haven’t had enough, I’ll get it next time.”

Ed then asks the crowd to “help me out” as the band kicks into Why Go. Following The Fixer, Ed expresses remorse about the fumble of Running Back to Saskatoon, and asks:

“Is there a male singer in the audience that knows that song, someone handy, who’s got the guts? Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have a volunteer.”

Ed introduces Brian Nenson to the crowd, and the band makes another go at it with Brian sharing vocals with Ed. It was a very cool and fun moment. Porch into Baba and Yellow Ledbetter bring a fun evening to a close.

September 17, 2011 – MTS Centre, Winnipeg, MB, CAN

Main Set: Why Go, Animal, All Night, Corduroy, Arms Aloft, Amongst The Waves, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Wishlist, Daughter/(W.M.A.)/(It's OK), Green Disease, The Fixer, Even Flow, I Got Id/(Cinnamon Girl), Down, Ole, Unthought Known, Once

encore 1: Inside Job, Just Breathe, Present Tense, Comatose, Porch

encore 2: Search And Destroy, Crazy Mary, Alive, Rockin' In The Free World, Indifference

Show Notes:

The sixth night of the tour found the band in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the MTS Centre, which they had previously played on their 2005 Canadian tour. For the Canadian tour the band brought along Mudhoney, who had also played the…

Show Notes: 

The sixth night of the tour found the band in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the MTS Centre, which they had previously played on their 2005 Canadian tour. For the Canadian tour the band brought along Mudhoney, who had also played the PJ20 festival. For only the 30th time in the history of the band to this point, Matt Cameron’s drum beat and Jeff Ament’s bass begin the show with the rousing Why Go. The crowd chants along with the beat immediately and takes over the first chorus. Right out of the last drum beats they head straight into Animal, beginning a run of songs that start with the letter “A”. The crowd takes over the second chorus as Ed requests they give it a try. The ovation is deafening as the band continues with All Night. Matt’s drums are certainly a highlight of this song along with the vocal harmonies beyond just getting a chance to hear this rare treat. Taking a break from the “A” songs, Ed says “live from Winnipeg, it’s Saturday night” to introduce Corduroy, and the crowd is whipped into a frenzy. The ending to the song is a great, frenetic jam. The crowd shows their appreciation as Ed likens them to waves. This mistakenly prompts him to introduce Amongst The Waves, but it was actually Arms Aloft that was next on the setlist. Ed mentions it being a Joe Strummer song and says they wouldn’t be here without him in both the musical and literal sense, because it was through Strummer (Jack Irons was his drummer at the time) that he met the guys in this group. After Arms Aloft, Ed jokes that they’d like to play a little number that really needs no introduction, which of course is the aforementioned Amongst the Waves. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town is dedicated to friends, Chris and Meera, and has some great singing from the Winnipeg crowd. In the outro of Wishlist, Ed sings these improved lyrics:

“I wish I was Canadian. You got better choices for president. You got open roads, you got plenty of land. Got open roads and plenty of hands. Gorgeous women and gorgeous men. I can drink as much beer, at least I think I can.”

This is followed by Daughter, which Jeff’s stand-up bass is certainly a great highlight on. The tag begins with Ed giving almost a combination of Sonic Youth’s Androgynous Mind and Dead Moon’s It’s OK, and then morphs into the opening lines of W.M.A. before the more familiar chords for It’s OK. The crowd sings loud and passionately on it. Matt Cameron is truly on his game in this show as he’s the driving force of both Green Disease and The Fixer. Whenever the band makes a trip to the great white north, attention must be paid to their Uncle Neil given he is their native son:

“This was written with a Canadian local. I wanted to start like that, he said no you should start like this. No, not like that. How did he say to start it? uh..Stone Gossard ha ha. Yeah, this is one we did with Neil Young. We did a whole record it was called Mirrorball back in the day. I remember coming in the studio, the guys were working hard, they’d only been in a couple days, I said how’s it going? He looked at me and goes, ‘we got nine, and if you write one we got ten.’ So after having not written a song in like two months, I went up and in like a half hour wrote a song just so he could have 10. But it wasn’t until like 2 years ago that I realized that the chorus is exactly like ‘Cinnamon Girl,’ and he never said a damn thing about it.”

Cinnamon Girl is tagged onto the back end of I Got Shit to prove the point he was making. The end of the set is a mixture of b-sides (Down), new songs (Ole and Unthought Known) and one of their oldest songs, Once, which has a great sing along to finish the main set. Inside Job opens the first encore, and is such a treat given the epic nature of the song and Mike’s double-guitar work combined with the beautiful lyrics. After this, Ed addresses the crowd:

“That right there was a Mike McCready composition, words and music. I was going to tell you I met a really good person before the show tonight. I’m excited as it looks like he’s a part of your new hockey team that’s coming to town. If he’s any kind of representative you’ve got a great bunch of guys coming to play in this room.”

This inspires a crowd chant of “Go, Jets Go,” which the band responds and Ed improvs a little ditty “Go, Jets Go,” which the crowd absolutely loves.

“I’ll toast to that. He was telling me a story about him and his girlfriend, his name is Randy Jones, he’s a defenseman. He and his girl were driving in New Brunswick and it was a 36 hour drive and for 35 of those hours he played Pearl Jam radio station, straight. And it’s a testament to their love and appreciation for each other that it wasn’t until hour 35 she asked, ‘just for this last hour can we play something else.’ So, I appreciate that person already, Stephanie. But in a very strategic move I’d like to dedicate this one of love, hope and happiness to both of them in hopes that we are in her good graces forever. But I do think 36 hours is too much. You got to fit a little Sonic Youth or Mudhoney in there somewhere. So this is for Randy and Stephanie.”

The dedication leads into Just Breathe. Present Tense’s beginning with just Mike and Ed is beautiful, but as the song builds and builds, it reaches a fantastic crescendo, before an equally great finish. Comatose gets out to a rough start as it hadn’t been played in over a year, so Mike takes this as an opportunity to tease Van Halen’s Ain’t Talkin Bout Love before they regroup and burn through the song. This is followed by the set closer, Porch, which starts with just Ed and Matt on the first lines before the rest of the band kicks in. Mike’s solo is just flat out ridiculously great and Ed ventures down to the barrier to sing the call and response leading up to the finish of an always great song and a wonderful second set. Out of the break Ed addresses the crowd:

“If you’re still here we’re still here. Can I just raise a toast to these people right here? Wait, what about those people there? Those people. Everybody in the back, how about that? We’ve only been here once before, it was six years ago almost to the day. Don’t think any of this energy is lost on us, we are grateful at all times to be able to come around these parts to play to this amount of excitable people. It’s a bit intimate from my side, I just want to say that last night, I have three brothers they’re all great, the youngest one last night, he and his wife welcomed a new baby boy onto the Earth’s atmosphere. I just know from knowing his brother, he’s going to be the ultimate punk rocker and I was thinking what song could we dedicate to him. But what would really be nice if the next guy we’re going to ask to come up here, if he could dedicate to him, because as much as my brother likes me, his favorite singer is from Mudhoney, his name is Mark Arm. Mark, could you come up to the stage? Also Steve Turner on guitar. This is maybe one of the origins of punk rock, this next song.” (Mark says) “Congratulations to Eddie’s brother, Mike and Sandy, may this be their son’s theme song.”

This introduces Iggy and The Stooges, Search and Destroy, which Mark takes the first verse and they trade thereafter. It’s a blistering assault coming as close to the original as humanly possible. Ed gives one more shoutout:

“Mr. Steve Turner. Monsieur, Mark Arm. They were picking out names. Do you like Decker? Do you like Ian? I like Decker. It’s a surfer. Deck. Or Wayne Gretzky. I have no idea. This is, if it was a daughter, I’d suggest they name her not only Mary, but Crazy Mary”

Boom and Mike’s duel on Crazy Mary comes off more of a collaboration than a battle, but it still sounds great. The Winnipeg crowd are full participants on Alive, which Ed offers at the last chorus “All of you, we’re all still alive.” They also come through on the “heys” during the outro which Mike incorporates into his solo. A cover of Canada’s own, Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World prepares the crowd for the end with great backing vocals and a strong presence from Boom. The song clocks in at over 8 minutes of epic jamming. Ed offers a quick thank you as the first notes of Indifference begin, and the night comes to a close.

September 15, 2011 – Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, ON, CAN

Main Set: Given To Fly, The Fixer, Severed Hand, Corduroy, Hail, Hail, U, Immortality, Setting Forth, Not For You, Ole, Even Flow, Cropduster, Daughter/(Blitzkrieg Bop), Habit, Push Me, Pull Me, Just Breathe, Jeremy, Why Go

encore 1: Nothingman, I Remember You, Better Man/(I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend), Black, State Of Love And Trust, Porch

encore 2: Brain Of J., Unthought Known, Crazy Mary, Search And Destroy, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

The city was buzzing in the build up with being the fourth and final Ontario show. Eddie speaks often throughout the show about how great the crowd is that evening. The date also marked the 7th anniversary of the passing…

Show Notes: 

The city was buzzing in the build up with being the fourth and final Ontario show. Eddie speaks often throughout the show about how great the crowd is that evening. The date also marked the 7th anniversary of the passing of Johnny Ramone, which will become an overarching theme in the set. The crowd roared as the band took to the stage and opened with Given to Fly. Lyrics are changed to ‘made it to the hammer, had a smoke in a tree’, which is the affectionate nickname for city Hamilton. Severed Hand was roaring, and Mike’s solo got the crowd fired up for Corduroy. After Hail, Hail, Ed compares the crowd to a wave and the band as a surfer and says they are continuing to paddle and catch waves tonight. He then mentions that he was talking to Uncle Neil back in Toronto who said ‘just so you know what people are saying behind your back, you will have fun in Ottawa but Hamilton is going to go off!’ After Immortality, Ed introduces Matt Cameron and declares he picked the next song, Setting Forth. This transitions excellently into Not For You. During the bridge, a snippet of Bang the Gong by T-Rex was blended in. Daughter has a Blitzkrieg Bop tag that begins the nod to Johnny Ramone. Ed’s voice was strong during a rocking version and rare appearance of Habit. There is a bit of a false start during Push Me, Pull Me as Ed states he always gets nervous before it. The main set ends with a strong Why Go.

Ed again compliments the crowd’s excitement to start the encore. After, Nothingman Ed speaks about the anniversary of Johnny Ramone’s passing. He tells heartfelt story of being with Johnny at the end of his life:

“I’m grateful I got to be there with a few other friends and his wife, at one point later in the night he took his last breaths sitting in this chair that kinda reclined, and by the end of the night he was just lying in the chair. He looked like he was sleeping. My little daughter, my first daughter, was only 3 months old and she was bundled up in her little chair and she was sleeping. It was like you look up at the sky and saw John and saw my daughter on the other side of me and said like ok, I fucking get it, ok. Like the circle of life, the cycle of life. I get it. I mean… does it have to be so painful? But that’s the thing with John and friends and relatives, people close to you, still live on inside of you. And in Johnny’s case, inside the great music of the Ramones.”

This leads into an OTOTO cover of The Ramones I Remember You. Better Man features another Ramone tag, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend, into a strong Black with a We Belong Together tag, once again referencing the Ramones.

Encore 2 begins with a fan request via a large sign for Brain of J. After Crazy Mary, Ed conducts band introductions and speaks to the 20th anniversary. Mark Arm and Steve Turner of Mudhoney are brought out to cover Search and Destroy for the first time this tour. The show is wrapped up with Alive into Ledbetter providing a perfect ending to their run in Ontario.

September 14, 2011 – Scotiabank Place, Ottawa, ON, CAN

Main Set: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Last Exit, Do The Evolution, MFC, Unthought Known, Low Light, Given To Fly, Setting Forth, Whipping, Corduroy, Even Flow, Grievance, Lukin, Breath, Wishlist, Ole, 1/2 Full, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

encore 1: The End, Inside Job, Just Breathe, Off He Goes, Why Go, The Fixer, Rearviewmirror

encore 2: Come Back, The Real Me, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

After a couple shows in Toronto, the boys traveled northeast to pay a visit to the nation’s capital. It was their first performance in Ottawa since 2005. Eddie made note of that during the opening song, Elderly Woman, by changing…

Show Notes: 

After a couple shows in Toronto, the boys traveled northeast to pay a visit to the nation’s capital. It was their first performance in Ottawa since 2005. Eddie made note of that during the opening song, Elderly Woman, by changing the lyrics to “my God it’s been six years…” before letting the crowd take over part of the chorus. After the sing-a-long start, they ramped up the energy with Last Exit and then went on to play four from Yield within the next five songs, with Unthought Known was thrown in as well. For the 4th show in a row, the band played Setting Forth off of Eddie’s Into the Wild solo record. A couple fast paced Vitalogy tracks and Even Flow followed. Eddie then points out two flags in the audience and directs the next song to one of them and pledges his Grievance. A typically quick Lukin leads into Breath, where Jeff’s bass work is very noticeable for good reasons. Ed talks about wildest dreams and gives a shout out to the Wishlist Foundation as it was the 5th anniversary of the organization, and thanks the founder. Wishlist is played and dedicated to the founder. An improvised tag is added to the end with these lyrics:

“I wish for nothing cuz we got
so much more than we ever thought
my one desire is no desire
giving gifts gets you so much higher
and actions speak so much louder than words
we hereby thank Laura for hers
we thank you too cuz as good as its been
it’s beyond our wildest dreams”

New song, Ole, is played for just the third time before closing out the main set with 1/2 Full and Better Man. Eddie comes out by himself for the first encore and says that because of the sadness he hopes no one can relate to the next song and plays The End. The band joins him as they go through Inside Job and Just Breathe. Ed asks the crowd if they want another campfire song or if they should get to the rockers? He teases Off He Goes and the cheers lead them to play the full song. As promised, the rest of the encore set is full of rockers capped off with a seven and a half minute version of Rearviewmirror. Returning for the second encore, Ed says that he hopes it doesn’t take six more years for them to visit again, and mentions that the next song was a fan request as Come Back is performed. The band finishes off the night with The Real Me, Alive and Yellow Ledbetter.

September 12, 2011 – Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON, CAN

Main Set: Go, Animal, Ole, Hail, Hail, In My Tree, Sad, Dissident, Setting Forth, Corudroy, God's Dice, Deep, Garden, Wishlist, Even Flow, Present Tense, Rats, State Of Love And Trust, The Fixer, Porch

encore 1: Last Kiss, Just Breathe, I Got Id/(Cinnamon Girl), Light Years, Jeremy, Why Go

encore 2: Do The Evolution, Alive, Kick Out The Jams, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

Fresh off of an incredible show the night before where Uncle Neil came out for a 11 minute version of RITFW, the band came out, and with no words spoken, launched straight into Go followed by Animal. At this point,…

Show Notes: 

Fresh off of an incredible show the night before where Uncle Neil came out for a 11 minute version of RITFW, the band came out, and with no words spoken, launched straight into Go followed by Animal. At this point, it would be reasonable for most of the crowd to be thinking they were about to get Vs. in full, but then Eddie introduces the next song as a new one before playing Ole. After Hail, Hail, Ed addresses the crowd:

“Good evening, it’s our last night here in Toronto, Ontario. The first time we ever played here was October 29, 1991. That night we played seven songs. Tonight we’re gonna play at least eight, maybe nine, maybe sixty, or somewhere in between. But either way, we’re going to pace ourselves. Thanks again for filling up the room like you did, we don’t take it for granted.”

Continuing with No Code, the next song is In My Tree followed by Sad and a great version of Dissident that showcases the guitar interplay between Mike and Stone. Ed talks about the Toronto International Film Festival where the PJ20 documentary was shown along with films about U2 and Neil Young. He recalls that the first time he attended was when he provided the soundtrack to Into The Wild, leading into a performance of Setting Forth. Before God’s Dice, Ed mentions that Jeff wrote it while high on something. It’s a particularly special version of this song because of the confusion that takes place after the second verse where Eddie expects to go into the chorus when the rest of the band is going into the bridge. It results in a low key jam that allows them to get on the same page and resume. They admit they fucked it up and joke that it was only their third or fourth mistake in twenty years. Ed suggests they may fuck up Deep as well since they don’t play it often. There is some great interplay between Stone and Mike throughout the song, particularly on the intro. Another mix up happens in Garden before the first chorus, once again leading to an extended jam. Wishlist is dedicated to a local fellow, Toronto Maple Leafs legend and recently inducted Hockey Hall Of Famer Doug Gilmour. Ed changes up some lyrics during the tag:

“I wish I was the President. Make friends with the world again. Find out what diplomacy is for. Keep our country out of needless war. Love thy neighbors and those I don’t understand. Love thy neighbors as much as I can. Run the country like a rock ‘n’ roll band. Love my country like a rock ‘n’ roll band”

After Mike destroys an Even Flow solo, Ed says they are gonna play one that he wrote because his dad is in the audience, and he thanks his dad for Mike changing their lives as a friend and bandmate before digging into Present Tense. Ed does a kooky looking dance with his hands before Rats, and in the time since, it has been turned into a popular internet meme and GIF. After State Of Love and Trust, Ed addresses the recent news about the West Memphis Three being exonerated and released from prison:

“They were in for 18 years, a lot of people didn’t hear about it for a couple of years but some of us were on it for about 15 years. It was an incredibly long 15 years but a lot of people didn’t lose faith and they had a lot of supporters, up here across the border and it actually made a difference. And 26 days ago when I was so grateful to have been able to be there and be part of the experience because it was one of the best experiences of my life, about 26 days ago they were freed. But again, all of the support from Canada and this part of Canada. It was good news and even great news, so there’s faith.”

The Fixer and Porch finish out the main set with the extended jam on the latter featuring Boom in a prominent role. At the start of the encore, Ed says they’d like to flip to the back because it reminds them of a club show, and they play Last Kiss. Ed talks about Neil Young before I Got Id and claims there is a connection between NYC and Toronto… NYC meaning Neil Young Country. As Neil surprised the audience the night prior on Rockin’ In The Free World, Ed says he wasn’t able to make it tonight, but the band tags Cinnamon Girl onto the end of I Got Id. Light Years is played for all of the people they had been thinking about who lost people in significant ways, and Jeremy is immediately transitioned to at the song’s end. Why Go finishes out the first encore.

Do The Evolution is played after the break where Ed jokes about the ‘2010 watch it go to fire’ line being just last year. Instead of saying goodbye after Alive, it is time for Mark Arm and Steve Turner from Mudhoney to join for a rendition of MC5’s Kick Out The Jams. Before they head off, Ed thanks Toronto and says we’ll remember this one.

September 11, 2011 – Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON, CAN

Main Set: Long Road, Do The Evolution, Once, Got Some, Faithfull, Nothing As It Seems, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Setting Forth, Not For You, Given To Fly, Just Breathe, Off He Goes, Daughter/(It's OK), Grievance, Down, Unthought Known, The Fixer, Porch

encore 1: Nothingman, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Leatherman, Black, Rearviewmirror

encore 2: Chloe Dancer, Crown Of Thorns, Alive, Rockin' In The Free World

Show Notes:

Long Road is perfectly placed as the opener on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and you can feel the energy just exploding in the room. An intense Do The Evolution makes a rare appearance in the 2nd slot, followed by…

Show Notes: 

Long Road is perfectly placed as the opener on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and you can feel the energy just exploding in the room. An intense Do The Evolution makes a rare appearance in the 2nd slot, followed by Once kicking the show into high gear. After Got Some, Eddie addresses the crowd saying the band was surprised to learn they hadn’t played Toronto in five years. The ending lyrics of Faithfull are changed to “What’s a man to do?”. Eddie precedes an ethereal Nothing As It Seems by telling the crowd, “Not to give away the plot, but Mike McCready does some crazy shit on this next one.” Small Town is a full crowd sing along which Eddie acknowledges by telling the crowd “That’s good singing Toronto!”. Eddie talks about how they had been working with Cameron Crowe, who is in attendance, for the upcoming PJ20 release. He says it’s kind of like looking back at Side A of their career and that he can’t help wondering what the last song on side B will look like. He then acknowledges that if you go back to the first record Neil Young was on, they would be calling it NY51 and that “he’s been making records for 51 years and he still seems younger than us.” Not For You features a great solo by Stone and a Modern Girl tag. The heart of the main set features a beautiful string of slower songs such as Just Breathe, Of He Goes and Daughter with a full It’s OK tag. The main set ends with a very interesting string of songs without much banter from Ed – Grievance, Down, Unthought Known, The Fixer and ends with Porch, which features dueling solos between Mike and Stone and a call and response singalong heading back into the final chorus.

Eddie addresses the crowd before the first encore by comparing Toronto to Seattle and that both cities “have large concrete erections” and notes that “yours is bigger, but in our defense ours has kind of a nice shape.” He then notes that all of the bands’ wives and girlfriends are in attendance and thanks them all. The first encore starts with the Man Trilogy. Nothingman, with great crowd participation, starts by Ed telling the crowd “If you got a good woman, don’t fuck it up!” A rocking Better Man features some great pyrotechnics by Mike and a lengthy Save It For Later tag. Black is gorgeous with Mike wailing and Matt hammering away during the jam, and the outro is simply beautiful. A nicely jammed out Rearviewmirror ends the first encore.

The final encore begins with the combo of Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns, showcasing Stone and Jeff locking in the groove perfectly and Mike taking the solos to new heights. This would mark the first instance that Chloe Dancer was played at a show in full. The whole band absolutely crushes Alive, but that’s almost nothing compared to what comes next. The band launches into Rockin’ In The Free World and is joined right before the final verse by Mr. Neil Young himself, unannounced, for an over-the-top ending jam. Rumor has it that only Mike knew this was going down, and the band appears visibly surprised and overwhelmed when Neil takes the stage. Mike hands over his guitar to Neil, and as the band begins to jam, it’s Eddie to the rescue as he flags down one of the roadies to get Mike a guitar so he can join in. They proceed to duel back and forth for what seems like an eternity, and RITFW finally comes to an end after 11+ minutes. It’s a fantastic ending to an absolute piledriver of a show!

September 7, 2011 – Bell Centre, Montreal, QC, CAN

Main Set: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Last Exit, Hail, Hail, The Fixer, Amongst The Waves, Severed Hand, Setting Forth, Corduroy, Given To Fly, Insignificance, Daughter/(Blitzkrieg Bop), Glorified G, 1/2 Full, Do The Evolution, Unthought Known, Why Go

encore 1: Even Flow, Come Back, Sleight Of Hand, Down, Black/(We Belong Together), Arms Aloft, Lukin, Porch

encore 2: Better Man, Crazy Mary, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

The band officially kicks off their Fall 2011 tour with this absolute scorcher of a show in Montreal. Coming a few nights after the epic two-night PJ20 Festival at Alpine Valley, the show has a fantastic career-spanning set, great band…

Show Notes: 

The band officially kicks off their Fall 2011 tour with this absolute scorcher of a show in Montreal. Coming a few nights after the epic two-night PJ20 Festival at Alpine Valley, the show has a fantastic career-spanning set, great band jams, and a totally raucous crowd. Small Town and Last Exit get the crowd revved up immediately before the band delivers a one-two combo of Hail, Hail and The Fixer to keep the energy level high. Ed finally addresses the crowd for the first time after The Fixer, saying that the vibe at the show already feels “really, really good.” Severed Hand is a blast – punctuated by a great full-band jam at the end. Setting Forth is a request of Matt Cameron’s. Killer, but tight versions of Corduroy and Given to Fly follow put the crowd at a fevered pitch. Before Insignificance, Ed shares his appreciation that Montreal’s electrical outlets are the same as those in the USA. Ed thanks the crowd for their singing on Daughter that featured a Blitzkrieg Bop tag. Before Glorified G, Ed takes a moment to point out that Canada has “good singers and less guns”. The first set ends with a great run of Do The Evolution, Unthought Known, and a bopping Why Go.

Even Flow is a perfect encore opener, pulling the crowd right back into things after a short break. Before Come Back, Ed gives a shout out to Mike McCready (rightfully so). Sleight of Hand is a disaster with Ed barely getting through the first verse before finally recovering. Black, with a We Belong Together tag, is a massive singalong. Arms Aloft makes one of its semi-regular 2010-2011 setlist appearances before Lukin and Porch bring the encore to a roaring finish. Before the second encore, Ed says he couldn’t think of a better place to start the tour. “You guys brought it!” he tells the crowd before telling a funny story about how his horoscope that day said to avoid crowds. Better Man and Crazy Mary feel a little standard, but still excellent. McCready shreds his way through the Alive solo. In his final remarks to the crowd, Ed says he can’t believe it’s been six years since they played Montreal but that it won’t be that long before they return and the band closes with a perfect version of Yellow Ledbetter. 2011 was a hugely memorable anniversary year for the band and coming off the heels of PJ20, the band delivered a powerful, intense tour opener in Montreal.

September 3, 2011 – Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI, USA (PJ20)

Main Set: Release, Arms Aloft, Do The Evolution, Got Some, In My Tree, Faithfull, Who You Are, Push Me, Pull Me, Setting Forth, Not For You, In The Moonlight, Deep, Help Help, Breath, Education, Once, State Of Love And Trust, Better Man, Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted

encore 1: Rearviewmirror, Stardog Champion, Say Hello 2 Heaven, Reach Down, Hunger Strike, Love Reign O'er Me, Porch

encore 2: Kick Out The Jams

Show Notes:

After a day full of setbacks due to weather, the band takes the stage later than originally scheduled to begin their 20th anniversary weekend with an emotionally charged version of Release. The main set includes a handful of songs they’ve…

Show Notes: 

After a day full of setbacks due to weather, the band takes the stage later than originally scheduled to begin their 20th anniversary weekend with an emotionally charged version of Release. The main set includes a handful of songs they’ve almost never played (and some they never played at all) with a little nod to the late 90’s records going back and forth on two No Code and Yield songs a piece. Ed addresses the crowd for the first time in between this run:

“Looks like everybody that had to make it somehow made it. Making it 20 years was probably easier than some of you making it here tonight. Welcome to PJ20! Welcome to Queens of the Stone Age 14! The Strokes 12! Liam Finn 14! Mudhoney 23! And there’s a guy who started with a group called X, welcome to John Doe 34!”

Ed proceeds to invite Liam Finn, Joseph Arthur, Glen Hansard and Mudhoney’s Dan Peters on stage to sing background vocals on Who You Are. Into The Wild song Setting Forth is performed live on a Pearl Jam stage for the first time. Julian Casablancas is welcomed to the stage to help out on Not For You. He imitates the call and response moment from Jeremy and has a cool back and forth with Ed on the last verse. Instead of a Modern Girl tag, Casablancas improvs a bit at the end, singing “I’m jamming with my favorite band.” Lost Dogs track In The Moonlight debuts live, and was accompanied by Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age on guitar and backing vocals. A very electric solo and a fun vibe for the first live iteration. Continuing with the rarities, Help Help is played for the first time since the Riot Act tour. It builds some tension into the set and has a good drive for having been left off 233 shows in a row. Breath follows and has tremendous crowd participation before leading into another super rare song in Education that Liam Finn provides backing vocals on. Dhani Harrison joins for State Of Love And Trust, a version where Ed holds out the “liiiiiiisten” line for long enough where it finishes the entire measure in the chorus. The crowd is treated to a radio song for nearly the first time all night and responds well to Better Man. During the bed of Wasted Reprise, Ed speaks of the challenges that they faced when making music at an early age:

“It’s hard to imagine, mostly when you’re a kid and you want to play music and you think it’s the most powerful force in the universe. There’s a time where adults are practical, they say ‘that aint gonna happen you won’t do that, you need an in. Get yourself a construction job.’ I’m proud that the kids we were back then, we didn’t listen. Because we told them some day it could be like this. This is against the odds, even if it was these 10 people, these 5 or 6 would still be playing music. Want to thank the kid back then for sticking to his guns and passion.”

The encore begins with Rearviewmirror, but attention is quickly directed to the following four performances as Ed invites Chris Cornell to the stage. Cornell gets a huge ovation and tells the crowd they’re gonna play a song by Mother Love Bone which segues to Stardog Champion. It’s a great tribute to Andy Wood that had never been played on a Pearl Jam stage before. Another Andy tribute follows up with an emotional Say Hello 2 Heaven. Two more Temple of The Dog songs follow, first with Reach Down. The backing choir that was out for Who You Are is back out to help on Reach Down, and Mike wails away at a solo he hadn’t played in almost a decade. Then Ed comes back out onto the stage for Hunger Strike, a little slice of a moment reminiscent of Lollapalooza in 1992 where Ed and Chris get to sing back and forth together. Love Reign O’er Me is the buffer between the Temple performances and the encore closer, Porch, as Ed describes the inspiration for writing it:

“This is one written about the fragility of life and how quickly it can go away. We gotta appreciate what we got and live while we can and appreciate our friends while we can. This was just written because I hadn’t heard from somebody, it was a missed phone call that got deep real quick.”

With only time for one more song in the second encore, Mudhoney’s Steve Turner and Mark Arm are invited on stage, and the crowd is asked… is it time? Time to Kick Out The Jams mother fuckers is how they end this night, a fun performance that looks like the members of the two bands are having a blast. A great way to leave it off for the second night of the weekend to pick up on.