July, 7 2012 – Ericsson Globe, Stockholm, SWE

Pearl Jam Show Notes 7/7/2012:

Mike joins opener X on stage for “The New World,” which he should be familiar with. As for Pearl Jam, back in Stockholm after a 12-year absence, the familiar countdown of “1-2 -3, 4-2-3…” can only mean one thing: Small Town opens with a campfire vibe and a lyric change to “I’m so glad I saw this place,” and the crowd sounds as if they have been waiting 12 years just to scream “Hello!” Ed, who is in a talkative mood tonight, has practiced a bit of Swedish and addresses the crowd, roughly translated to “Good evening. I can’t realize that it was 12 years ago since the last time we saw each other. Why haven’t you called? We are really happy that you are all here…you look better than ever.” Then in English:

“I think I said that…I speak no more Swedish, it’s shit. It looks like a sea, an ocean of people, is everyone okay? We want to make sure. Most important thing. Anything comes up, raise your hand, we find you. This is about an ocean when it’s calm and it’s called Amongst the Waves…”

The crowd immediately recognizes Mike’s opening riff of Given To Fly and sings and claps along for the entire song, highlighting the “…fuckers…” line. Matt drives the pace on World Wide Suicide. Ed introduces Garden:

“20 years ago we played a place called the Koolkat Club and it’s about as big as from me to Mike. I don’t think it’s there anymore. I think it might have sunk. Anyways this, I remember, is one of the songs that we played that night, a long, long time ago…” 

Following, Ed offers:

“That one was written in our opinion, my opinion, by a really great songwriter named Stone Gossard. I tried to get him to…they are saying ‘let Stone sing…’ I already…you get in line right behind me.”

Better Things returns to the set for the second time, after being debuted live in Amsterdam earlier in the tour, and is the last performance to date. Following a soaring Unthought Known, Ed says “…this is a request,” which introduces the tour debut of All Those Yesterdays, a lovely rendition. Ed agrees, adding, “you made that song very beautiful at the end, thank you very much.” He continues:

“…this is a song about mechanics, doctors…and I’ve met a few recently, drum techs, and parents, kids, it’s called The Fixer.” 

½ Full is preceded with “this song’s about my wine bottle,” with Ed again using his guitar to reflect the spotlight around the crowd. Jeremy closes the set with the spotlight on Jeff, and the crowd takes over vocals at the end. After the break, Ed:

“I’m going to speak English. We’re so grateful, I don’t know what we’ve done to deserve it, we are so appreciative of coming to this beautiful…I guess now that we know that we’re welcome we’ll be back more often, I mean this is something…or just the all-Sweden tour, we play Stockholm and then wherever. It’s great to see everyone taking care of each other and I’m not going to keep talking, I’ve already drank more…I’m going to need another bottle, it’s one of those nights. We feel safe up here, the fact that you look safe out there. Thank you for that, we owe you that, we appreciate it. We are going to make a couple of dedications, the first one goes to somebody called Johan, from Finland…this one goes out to Johan, and all the other world travelers here and it’s called Off He Goes…” 

Boom’s B3 adds to the full-band Off He Goes experience. Just Breathe is dedicated to Greeta and Ebie and any newlyweds. The band decides, seemingly answering a request, to slot in State of Love and Trust next. Ed acknowledges this with a quick “it’s evolution, you see the set is evolving…” and Do the Evolution follows. Ed starts to talk about Boom next but then realizes something:

“I’d like to…shoot, Boom have you ever played here? Mr. Boom Gaspar, he’s been with us 10 years which means he’s never been to Stockholm before. From the Hawaiian islands, Mr. Boom Gaspar…”

Ed adds “…shaka!” as Boom starts Love Reign O’er Me. During the Porch jam, Ed takes a trip around the stage and trades a basketball for some wine, dribbles a bit, and then takes the ball to the other side of the stage. He slams the mic stand down at the end as an exclamation point on the second set. Returning, he says thank you in Swedish, then asks:

“…are you ok? You never know when we are going to be in this room together again. I’m of the opinion that it won’t be another 12 years that’s for sure. We’ve had some great shows this tour and this is again right at the top. If you’re listening to the bootleg now, you should see what I’m seeing now, it’s something else…”

He introduces the band and thanks X, then specifically mentions the crew and their 16-20 hour drive to Stockholm, and brings up Matt’s drum tech Neil and Karen, who have birthdays today.

The crowd sings ‘Happy Birthday’ and Ed thanks them, saying “you’re the best of all…cheers to you, we respect you.” “This is for Kathy, we love you,” introduces the notes of Better Man, and “you sing for a while,” is all the crowd needs to take over the first verse. Boom and Mike duel on a 7+ minute Crazy Mary. Black is truly special tonight, highlighted not only by Ed’s incredible voice but Mike’s spacey solo amidst the crowd’s singing of the outro, capped off by Ed repeating “…we belong together…” to close it out. John Doe from X joins for Rockin’, playing tambourine with a beer bottle and singing along. At a loss for words at this point, Ed offers:

“I don’t know what else to say…just perfect. Just the best crowd. Thank you. Perfect country, perfect crowd. There ya go. Thank you so much for offering us your energy. Call me next time…” 

Mike is back on the Little Wing tag at the end of Ledbetter, and Ed leaves with “…let’s go have a drink, where are we going? We’re buying.”