October 11, 2013 – CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Pearl Jam Show Notes 10/11/2013:

On the first night of the North American leg of the Lightning Bolt Tour, 5 new songs make their debut. Mike is holding a bow a la Jimmy Page to begin the show, and he uses it to create the otherworldly effects on Pendulum. Lightning Bolt and Mind Your Manners ramp up the energy early on. Untitled is changed slightly to honor Roberto Clemente (Pirates legend who died in a plane crash while performing humanitarian efforts): “I could be there in 21 minutes or so.” Ed adds “…there’s a lot to be said for Pittsburgh…” into MFC. Faithfull sees Ed check on the crowd for the first time, and he dedicates Sirens to a guy they knew from earlier in their careers who did a radio interview with them on a bridge, they were sitting with their legs dangling over the bridge, and he died in a tragic accident soon after the interview. Ed mentions that he still thinks about him even if he isn’t right there in front of them. Unemployable is played for the only time on the North American tour and for the last time to date, and dedicated to members of Congress, in hopes they would soon be unemployable. Daughter is played without a tag, but Ed tells a great story about Franco Harris:

When I grew up, the best running back at the time was a guy named Franco Harris, and everyone loved him and wanted to claim him as their own. Not just the African-American community, but also the Italians, since his dad was Italian. What I loved the most was the Irish community here took him in but called him Frank O’Harris!

Infallible and Let the Records Play are debuted, and both sound very crisp in the same vein as they are on the album. The main set closes with another great Unthought Known and Rearviewmirror, as the crowd catches a much-needed breath. After a shaky Speed of Sound, Ed jokes that they’re not going to split the band up in Pittsburgh, we’ll get through this, leading into the debut of Yellow Moon. After a beautiful Footsteps, Jason Grilli (pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates) is invited on stage and gives a passionate, increasingly unhinged speech about how much he loves Pittsburgh and how he will pitch his balls off for them next year. His intro song during the games is Whipping, which follows, and he stays on stage and dances like a maniac. The first encore comes to an end with Porch leading the crowd to another crescendo. The second encore starts with Ed saying:

 I was getting nervous about our first gig, but I happened to be talking to Bruce Springsteen about a few things, he said, ‘It’s Pittsburgh, you’re going to have a smoking crowd’ and he was right, the Boss was right! Maybe when you only come once every 7 years, maybe that’s why.

The run to the finish starts with another mighty rendition of Black, with the crowd helping out on vocals. Ed goes and stands behind Mike during his solo, even putting his ear to Mike’s amp at one point, soaking it all in. Rockin’ In the Free World lyrics are changed to “there are colors in the street, all black and yellow…” Mike ends the night with a tender Ledbetter outro.