November 1, 2013 – Voodoo Festival, New Orleans, LA, USA

Pearl Jam Show Notes 11/1/2013:

Tonight’s setlist is curated by New Orleans Saints legend Steve Gleason, whose public battle with ALS has been an inspiration to many, including the members of Pearl Jam. He addresses the crowd to introduce the band:

“New Orleans has become my hometown, but this is my hometown band. Ladies and gentlemen of Voodoo, please welcome to the stage one of the greatest American rock bands ever, Pearl Jam.” 

Sirens begins the show, a song which has a direct connection to Gleason. It was used in an ESPN feature that October chronicling Gleason’s battle with ALS and the friendship that he developed with Ed and Mike. Midway through the song, when Mike usually swaps out his 12-string acoustic, instead here he hands the guitar to Ed. The entire band finishes the ending refrain of the song singing the background vocals, a rare occurrence. After a five-song stretch of rockers, Ed addresses the crowd, making a snide remark towards people hanging out in the jacuzzi section. He asks the crowd to raise their hand if they’ve been arrested and to keep it up if they’ve been arrested in New Orleans, reminiscing about the time he and MLB pitcher Jack McDowell were arrested there, and tells the crowd that if they plan to get arrested tonight, they could call Macklemore to bail them out, giving out Macklemore’s number. Getaway, played for only the second time, is introduced as being a song about being intolerant to intolerance. Present Tense has a great moment in the bridge with Ed exclaiming “That’s the way! That’s the way!” as the band grooves together on a great finish to the song. Ed jokes that Severed Hand is about all of the marijuana overdoses once it became legal in the state of Washington. Gleason and his family are brought up on stage prior to Inside Job and the song is dedicated to them, and Mike’s solo is especially inspired in this version. The main set ends with an explosive Rearviewmirror that has Ed belting out the “I will forgive, but I won’t forget” line. After the break, Ed toasts Trent Reznor, who will be headlining the next night of the festival. He also brings up the gulf oil spill and recognizes the Gulf Restoration Network who have tirelessly worked to clean it up. After Do The Evolution, Ed notices some audience members dressed up in furry costumes. He comments

“I read about something like this on a Sonic Youth record…something about how people can’t get sexually aroused unless they are dressed up like that. Is that you? I knew I would never see anything like this until I got to New Orleans. Okay, I am in room 518 at the Hudson Arms, I’ll bring my teddy bear…” 

The furries join the band on stage to dance during Rockin’ in the Free World. The night ends with Gleason being wheeled back on stage and McCready serenades him with his guitar for the ending of Yellow Ledbetter.