April 26, 2016 – Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY, USA

Pearl Jam Show Notes 4/26/2016:

Pearl Jam hits the Rupp Arena stage hard and fast with Lightning Bolt, which is a nod to the storms earlier in the day. This was the first instance that Lightning Bolt was the opener at a Pearl Jam show. Jeff’s 12-string bass snarls and growls during an energetic Why Go, and then a surprise, as Satan’s Bed makes a rare appearance. Ed thanks UK basketball coach John Calipari (with some boos) and the Kentucky Wildcats for having so many banners hanging in the rafters. Crowd is loud for the ‘Hello’ in Small Town. Education is played for the first time in five years, and is dedicated to all the “university intellectuals.” Ed asks the band if they graduated from college, and says Mike was writing the next song while he should have been graduating, and then they kick into Even Flow. Ed says that it’s obvious how Kentucky loves our horses, but “we have a thoroughbred every night,” referring to Matt, calling him “the stallion!” A very charged up Spin the Black Circle rocks the arena, Mike all over the stage. Eddie makes a reference to Donald Trump during 1/2 Full, calling him ‘half full of shit’, while Mike shows off throwing bits of flamenco-style guitar in the solo. Lukin has a bit of a slow intro strummed by Ed before he screams out the song’s title and breaks into it, while Rearviewmirror’s bridge has the foot on the gas the entire time. Great way to end the main set with Cameron bashing away.

After the break, Ed comes out solo, attempting You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, but there are a few flubs. The crowd picks it up and he gets through it. Just Breathe is dedicated to fans named Matthew and Lindsay. Says that Matthew was going through a real hard time and wanted the crowd to sing loud so he could hear it. Ed makes mention to Tomas Young, a highly documented veteran who was vehemently anti-war. A book was written about him, and the author, a Kentucky native, was in attendance. Mention is made of Roger Waters charity work with veterans prior to a haunting rendition of Comfortably Numb, where Mike is the highlight. The end of the encore finishes out strong with a great Stone solo on Evolution, a powerful drum presence in Sonic Reducer and a McCready shredfest in the bridge of Porch.

Smile opens the encore as the band turns around and plays it towards the seats in the back. Leaving Here makes it’s tour debut as Ed disapproves of the mistreatment of women, especially those enrolled in college. Stone is rocking the rhythm on Black, and Mike is on fire. Ed holds the note on the word “be” for a loooong time. The crowd takes over the first verse of Better Man, to Ed’s surprise, and he exclaims:

“fucking great, man…”

It inspires an uplifting performance. Mike changes into a UK t-shirt for Ledbetter, Ed takes a swig from his beer and dribbles it all down the front of him. Mike lingers on the outro, almost like he doesn’t want it to end.