October 22, 2013 – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Show at a Glance

  • Number of Songs: 34
  • Show Length: 2:55

Setlist

Main Set: Pendulum, Wash, Nothingman, Lightning Bolt, Corduroy, Mind Your Manners, Amongst The Waves, Hail, Hail, Satan’s Bed, Untitled, MFC, Even Flow, Sirens, Got Some, Given To Fly, Present Tense, Infallible, World Wide Suicide, Do The Evolution, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

Encore 1: Parachutes, Yellow Moon, Come Back, Future Days, Breath, State Of Love And Trust, Unthought Known, Porch

Encore 2: Last Kiss, Leaving Here, Blood, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Pearl Jam Show Notes 10/22/2013:

Ed screams the last lines of Wash, and the crowd is warmed up and ready on this, the 23rd anniversary of the band’s first show. Bruce Springsteen is spotted on the side of the stage. Following Lightning Bolt Ed says hello and says that they had some big waves last night, but tonight may be bigger than last night, so “surf’s up.” Corduroy jam is driven by Matt’s drumming and accompanied with rhythmic clapping from the crowd. The backup vocals from the crowd continue on Mind Your Manners. Satan’s Bed appears for the first time since PJ20 in 2011 as Ed says:

 “What’s a show without one rock and roll song about Satan?”  

Considering its scarcity, it is played rather well with some of the timing only slightly off, and there also is an extended solo in the bridge which is a nice treat. Ed has a bit of a false start as he seems to start MFC before Untitled, laughing “the devil got me on that one, he got me back.” The Even Flow solo is prefaced with “you know what time it is” from Ed before Mike melts some faces, and Matt gets his chance to show off as well. After Got Some, Ed says that the last two buildings they’ve played in they’ve seen a big flag with all the special people with his name in the rafters (Barclays in Brooklyn with the Nets’ number 32, and tonight in Philadelphia for the 76ers number 6) and Given To Fly is dedicated to none other than Dr. J. Ed then asks ,“is there a doctor in the house?” Following Infallible, Ed talks about a letter they received from an Afghanistan War vet named PJ who made the trip and is recognized with a spotlight leading to an ovation from the crowd. Ed gives cheers to PJ and thanks him for the gift and the nice letter, offering that he’s back healthy and going to school in Virginia and drove up for the show. He goes on to say that PJ had expressed gratitude for the band in his letter, but that the band is thankful he’s back healthy, which gives them a little hope, as it’s not all bad news which leads to the US tour debut of World Wide Suicide. Do the Evolution has a bit of a lyrical flub in the first verse, which takes nothing away from the energy, and the floor can be heard chanting along to Stone’s solos as well as the “hallelujahs” as the church choir. A 10-minute epic Better Man closes out the first set, featuring a fantastic outro jam with Mike sporting a rose on his guitar’s neck and Ed improving off the lyric “I need you.” Out of the break, a bit of “Happy Birthday” can be heard singing from the floor which was a bit of a grassroots-organized event for the band’s anniversary, and Ed asks if it is time to break out the champagne. He offers that they might want to wait, as it caused memory loss before. He also tells of a show in Seattle where someone threw up an enormous joint on stage which he lit up prior to the encore, but doesn’t remember anything after that but that it was a great encore. He sees a woman in the crowd in what he thinks is a Halloween costume, then realizes she’s updated her makeup to mirror an image from the new album (the Future Days’ artwork) and comments “that’s fucking genius,” and dedicates:

“this next song and the rest of the show and the next 20 years to you for doing that and being so brave…we should send that to the artist.” 

Future Days is played later in the encore. Immediately following, Ed states that “a long long time ago when the setlist was 13 songs, sometimes 11, this next one was number 10,” leading into a lively Breath. Ed finishes Porch swinging on an orb before climbing down and smashing the mic stand at the close. After the break, Ed talks to the crowd and says that it might be awhile before they are back, and calls for one more bottle of wine and that out of respect for their fellow man they are going to play one for the people in the back which leads into Last Kiss, dedicated to Nick, Matt and Pierre at WMMR who he believes were the first to play the song. He continues talking about radio, adding:

“…you can call up and a real human will answer the phone and maybe even play a request for you, if you haven’t tried it, it’s a great way to get laid…the birthday present for us turning 23 today, with the help of radio, the little record we made went into number 1…the best part is that we used to not give a fuck, and we still kind of don’t, but it feels good.”  

They have trouble starting Leaving Here and Ed jokes that this is what a number one band sounds like, then quotes Neil Young from The Last Waltz, “I got it now Robbie,” and tonight’s version features Jeff’s bass on the first solo followed by Matt on drums for the rest. After Blood, Ed says, “fuck it, we played the show but I feel like it’s your birthday,” and leads the crowd in a singing of “Happy Birthday,” and takes a swig from a giant bottle of champagne which is shared with the audience. Before Ledbetter, Ed expresses his gratitude:

“Thanks for everything…tonight, yesterday, two years ago, four years ago, ten years ago, twenty years ago, thanks for everything. Take care of one another and thanks for taking care of us. Thanks for listening.” 

Before leaving, Ed introduces the band and adds a “Bruce Springsteen…inspiration,” before ending a magical night with “you can call me Ed and call us and we’ll be back anytime. Thank you very much. Love…goodnight…goodbye.”

Nick Smith

Writer & Contirbutor

I still remember the night as a 14 year old when a friend gave me a CD to listen to and the first notes of “Once” were so powerful it took hours to move on to “Even Flow.” Needless to say I was hooked for life. Since the age of 18, when I skipped school twice to get tickets, my never ending quest to see the band that changed my life as much as I could was on. Pearl Jam has been the constant companion on this crazy trip called life. Still hoping for a swig off the wine bottle, Bugs, and to be at a Buenos Aires show. I’d totally give the tambourine away to a kid, maybe mine someday.


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