June 18, 2018 – O2 Arena, London, ENG

Show at a Glance

  • Number of Songs: 27
  • Show Length: 2:25

Setlist

Main Set: Of The Girl, Low Light, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Animal, Brain Of J., Even Flow, Wishlist, Deep, Severed Hand, Love Boat Captain, Can’t Deny Me, Do The Evolution, Down, Daughter/(W.M.A.), You Are, Parting Ways, Porch/(Nobody’s Fault But Mine)

Encore 1: Off He Goes, Sleeping By Myself, Footsteps, Mind Your Manners, Why Go, Better Man, Last Kiss, Black, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World

Pearl Jam Show Notes 6/18/2018:

After Small Town, Ed, looking at the upper tiers, says “You’re taller than I remember…you’ve grown! Or we’ve shrunk…” Ed’s vocals sound thrashed early on, but any thoughts that the band were taking it easy were quickly put to rest with blistering renditions of Animal and Brain of J. After the latter, Ed addressed his vocal issues, saying that after over 25 years of being a band they’re getting deeper with honesty and truth, “although it’s not very presidential,” explaining that he’d seen two throat doctors earlier in the day. He jokingly says he offered one of the doctors “an extra £10,000 if I could sing like Adele” to which the doctor replied “fuck that, that’s a million dollar voice. But for fifty quid I can make you sound like Liam Gallagher.”

He intimates that “the sad songs might sound a little sadder, the angry songs might sound a little bit madder” and that he might need a little help with the happy songs. During Wishlist, Ed changes the lyrics to “I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as JP”, a reference to Jimmy Page, who spent part of the show watching from a monitor on Stone’s side of the stage.

After Deep, Ed talks about coming to the U.K. to mix Ten in Surrey, and how he and his brothers were so influenced by the music, film and literature of the U.K., citing Monty Python, The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Jam. While strumming the opening chords of Love Boat Captain, he takes aim at Trump’s immigration policies:

“I’d like to send this one out to a guy in the White House back in the United States. I wish he’d hear it, but he doesn’t listen to music, he doesn’t read books. Can someone tweet this to him?”

As Mike begins his intro solo, Ed is heard shouting

“..Mike, get the aggression out!” before two shouts of “Fuck you!”

WMA is tagged on Daughter, with the changed lyrics of “police man…border man” and “border man stopped my brother today”. After the break, Ed thanks the crowd and jokes that he’s drinking plenty of grape flavored cough syrup. He then speaks about the Given to Live charity, some of whom walked 160 miles to the show in order to raise funds, and dedicates Off He Goes to them as it’s a song “about travelling.” The crowd is understandably given the lead for the first two verses of Better Man, as Ed’s voice is getting worse. Following Last Kiss, which was performed to those seated behind the stage, Ed is clearly heard saying “Black, I want to do Black then the rest,” just as Jeff is being passed his 12 string bass, presumably for Jeremy.

Despite the vocal issues, the crowd are still treated to powerful renditions of Black and Alive before a strained closer of Rockin’ in the Free World, where it is evident Ed is struggling to sing. Following the song, Ed thanks the crowd, and with his voice cracking he adds

“I don’t know when we’ll be back, but we love ya. Goodnight.”

Alex Hoggard

Writer & Contributor

I knew it was a special moment when I first heard Alive as a teenager, but it would've been hard to imagine just how special. Having been fortunate enough to see the band, and Eddie solo shows, in several countries, I'll continue to ride the wave where it takes me.


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