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2022 Pearl Jam Concerts

After two long years, the band finally rescheduled their dates from 2020.

It was set to be broken down in three legs, May would include everything that was planned for the west coast, plus three additional dates in Fresno, Sacramento, and Las Vegas. In June and July, they returned to Europe to play 17 shows, the most of any leg. September would feature the rest of the make-up dates, beginning in Canada, then venturing to the east coast, midwest, and finally the Rocky Mountains. Due to arena renovations, the Baltimore show was canceled and a show was added in Camden, NJ. They also added a date between Nashville and St. Louis headlining the Bourbon and Beyond Festival in Louisville, KY.

In February, Eddie embarked on a mini solo tour with his all-star Earthlings band supporting his new record, Earthling. Two California dates were postponed due to Josh Klinghoffer’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis. During this tour, they brought in some old favorites that hadn’t been heard at Pearl Jam shows in years – a cover of The La’s Timeless Melody, and the ultimate white whale, Dirty Frank. At Ohana Festival in September, Hunger Strike was performed for the first time since Chris Cornell’s death.

The tour kicked off in Eddie’s hometown of San Diego. It was the first North American arena show since May 12, 2016. The first four shows went down without issue, but when the band appeared in Oakland, it was without Matt Cameron, who had tested positive for COVID. Klinghoffer and long-time band friend Richard Stuverud filled in for Matt in Oakland, with fans Josh Arroyo and Kai Neukermans helping out.

With Cameron still unavailable in Fresno, the band invited original drummer Dave Krusen in to play on songs from Ten. It was his first appearance with the band since the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame induction and the first time at a Pearl Jam show since May of 1991. Along with 9 of the 11 album tracks, he also played on State Of Love And Trust for the first time since the original demo.

Unfortunately, the band could not fulfill the full slate of May dates. Hours before the Sacramento show, the band announced that Jeff Ament had tested positive for COVID as well, and both Sacramento and Vegas shows were fully canceled.

The European tour happened as scheduled with strict COVID precautions that prevented friends and family from traveling with them. Although they were safe from COVID on this leg, they couldn’t avoid another illness that forced three more cancellations. After the Lollapalooza Paris show, Ed battled damage to his lungs due to wildfires in France. They canceled appearances in Vienna, Prague, and the first of two nights in Amsterdam. They were able to play the last show of the leg in Amsterdam with a small revision to the set: a quieter five-song sit-down set before delving into the more electric material.

The sit-down set was brought over into the September shows, which kicked off in Canada just like the beginning of the 2020 tour was supposed to. The band played one of their most intimate shows in years at a SiriusXM-sponsored event at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York City. No tickets were sold to the event.

The final leg went down without a hitch as the band finished the year with 33 complete shows featuring a total of 131 unique songs.

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June 30, 2022 – Rock Werchter Festival, Werchter Festival Park, Werchter, BEL

Main Set: Rain, I Believe In Miracles, Even Flow, Why Go, Corduroy, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Quick Escape, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, Whipping, Daughter/(Another Brick In The Wall (Pt. 2)), Unthought Known, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly, Nothingman, Jeremy, Long Road, Porch

encore 1: Black/(We Belong Together), Alive, Rockin' In The Free World

June 28, 2022 – Festhalle, Frankfurt, DEU

Main Set: Inside Job, Animal, Last Exit, Why Go, Mind Your Manners, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Fatal, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, In My Tree, Given To Fly, Garden, Never Destination, Do The Evolution, Jeremy, Buckle Up, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Porch

encore 1: River Cross, State Of Love And Trust, Alive, Indifference

Show Notes:

The band takes the stage without Ed and starts Inside Job, the first time it’s opened a show since 2006. Ed enters just before the vocals start to huge applause. No double guitar for Mike, Stone actually takes a lot of the early leads. After Last Exit, Ed jokes with the crowd in German. Fatal is a MASSIVE surprise, played by request for Regina. It’s an electric, not acoustic, version, sparse, with a little staccato rhythm. Ed has a “Free Ukraine” sign that he holds up after Garden. Buckle Up transitions nicely into Better Man. Ed has the mirrored guitar for Porch and reflects light all across the upper level of the arena. After the break, Ed sits at the pump organ:

I wonder, if we didn’t read the news in the morning…I wonder if we’d live better lives, I wonder if we wouldn’t get so upset to read about what just happened back home in the United States, where they’ve just taken women’s rights and the ability to plan for their future [mixed crowd reactions], I wonder if we wouldn’t be…disgusted by the gun violence that happens every day back home in our country, it’s so frustrating, harrowing, sad, sickening to be honest…if we just woke up and came and did this and was around you people like tonight, it would be the greatest life in the world, but if we did that, or if we were even tempted to do that, we would be ignoring some of the issues that our fellow humans are going through, and it’s very important to be aware and it’s very important to be active and it’s very important to send your energies to the people who need them, because you never know when you’re going to be the one who needs other people’s energies…

The crowd is nearly completely silent during the beginning of River Cross, seemingly transfixed by the performance. During the last verse, the guitars start to take over and get heavier, and Ed gets up from the organ and goes to the microphone, encouraging the crowd to get involved. The lights go down and everyone has their phone lights on. During Alive, someone in the crowd has a sunflower and hands it to Ed. Mike starts his solo and then halfway through, takes off his guitar and hands it to Josh, who finishes the solo in fine fashion while Mike walks around the stage, thanking the crowd and throwing out picks. Indifference closes the show for the first time since LA II. Jeff is draped in a Ukrainian flag after the show. A great setlist in a beautiful arena.

Pearl Jam Concert Poster - Imola, Italy June 25, 2022

June 25, 2022 – Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, IT

Main Set: Corduroy, Even Flow, Why Go, Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town, Dance of the Clairvoyants, Quick Escape, MFC, Jeremy, Come Back, Save You, Wishlist, Do The Evolution, Seven O'Clock, Daughter/(W.M.A./People Have The Power), Given To Fly, Superblood Wolfmoon, Lukin, Porch

encore 1: State Of Love And Trust, Black/(We Belong Together), Better Man/(American Girl/Beast of Burden/Save It For Later), Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

This is a Mike McCready show from the jump as Corduroy, Even Flow and Why Go all have mind blowing solos, but Mike shreds with his teeth during Even Flow. Ed addresses the crowd in his broken Italian dialect, and has a little fun with them by changing up his accent. Dance of the Clairvoyants is an infectious groove, Stone’s bass is loud and prominent in the beginning. MFC is played back in the country where its origin story began. Crowd is active during Jeremy as Ed has them take the outro for themselves. Come Back is a dedication to Luca, who wrote a letter to Ed sharing that he had recently lost his hero, his brother. It’s the first appearance of a song from the Pearl Jam record in 2022. Another album that makes its debut on this tour is Riot Act as Save You is a welcome surprise. Ed addresses the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade prior to Wishlist, and the theme will get brought up again shortly after. Ed notices some trouble in the crowd prior to Seven O’Clock, and has a young girl pulled out and brought to safety. The song needs to be paused early on due to a commotion in the crowd. When the song breaks back in, Ed channels some anger and animosity while delivering the ‘sitting bullshit’ line, perhaps channeling his frustration with the Roe v. Wade decision. He mentioned it again before Daughter, stating that there are 55 countries that allow women to control their own bodies, today the United States is not one of them. Having a child is wonderful, but it needs to be loved and wanted. In 100% of unwanted pregnancies, the man is responsible. Think about that. Daughter includes a haunting W.M.A. tag where the lyrics are changed to fit the current situation:

She won the lottery… when she was born…

politicians got my daughter again…

Following the W.M.A. tag, we get a quick snippet of People Have The Power. After the chilling performance, Ed lightens the mood and talks about driving a Ferrari back in San Diego when he was working as a security guard. Mike ends off the main set in a big way pulling out another insane performance during Porch. When they return for the encore break, Ed spots another situation in the crowd and holds off until it gets resolved. Black is a powerful performance where the spotlight once again shines on Mike. Towards the end of the song, he attempts to get one of his guitar pedals to work. After a few tries, he starts smashing the body of his guitar into his pedal board creating a remarkably artful sound. He walks away visibly frustrated, dragging his guitar by his side. Better Man is followed by a trio of tags, beginning with Tom Petty’s American Girl which had never been used at a Pearl Jam show before. Ed recites a few lyrics of Beast of Burden which hadn’t been tagged since 2006. Save It For Later caps off the trio. Excluding pre-sets, this is the first show in 2022 without a cover since Phoenix.

Special thanks to Luke Dalley for relaying this setlist!

June 23, 2022 – Hallenstadion, Zurich, SUI

Main Set: Release, Even Flow, Corduroy, Immortality, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, Quick Escape, Daughter/(W.M.A./Leash/Glorified G), Given To Fly, Seven O'Clock, Do The Evolution, Animal, Present Tense, In Hiding, Jeremy, Why Go, Crazy Mary, Porch

encore 1: Smile, Black, Alive

Show Notes:

Release opens, ending the streak of unique openers at 15. Before the show, pen and paper was passed around the front row looking for requests, just like in LA on the west coast leg. Matt destroys the ending of Immortality, prompting Ed to talk about all the drummers that we’ve lost, including Charlie Watts and Taylor Hawkins, and says they love Matt so much and they’re glad he’s back. Band is tight and Ed sounds great, much improved over Berlin. Ed holds the mic out to the crowd during Quick Escape, which has a long, extended ending with Mike going absolutely out of this world on the solo. Ed talks about how they played Zurich exactly 22 years ago, and he met his wife the night before that show, in Milan, and now there’s “a lot of daughters…women of the world are gonna take over,” leading into…Daughter. After the W.M.A. tag, the guitars get a little funkier and crunchier, and Ed starts into Leash, getting into it, almost screaming the lyrics, and then the tag ends with “…glorified version of a pellet gun…” repeated quietly. Near the end of Animal, Ed stops the song and calls out a woman in the crowd who he saw hit the person in front of them in the back of the head, saying “violence is not allowed…you’re outta here…” and the song is resumed. In Hiding is brought back for the first time since 2018, a welcome surprise. The crowd continues singing during Jeff’s bass outro on Jeremy, Ed joins in and they keep it going until the song finishes. After Smile, Ed says they’ve seen a lot of people traveling between shows and wanted to thank them somehow, he takes the sheet of paper with the requests, looks it over, says “we aren’t going to play any of these tonight,” but hints that they’ll see what they can do over the next few shows. Mike’s Black solo is stellar, Ed acknowledges him afterwards and adds a short improv with the lyrics “…all the pain, and misery, hopelessness, darkest paths…” A Ten-heavy night, with Superblood Wolfmoon, River Cross, State of Love and Trust, Better Man, and Yellow Ledbetter/Indifference all cut from the original list.

Pearl Jam Concert Poster: Berlin, DE 6/21/22

June 21, 2022 – Waldbühne, Berlin, DEU

Main Set: Why Go, Hail, Hail, Deep, Untitled, MFC, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Low Light, Do The Evolution, Retrograde, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, Even Flow, Quick Escape, Superblood Wolfmoon, Amongst The Waves, Corduroy, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Nothingman, I Believe In Miracles, Porch

encore 1: Footsteps, Street Fighting Man, Yellow, Ledbetter, Alive

Show Notes:

The streak of different openers extends to 15 with Why Go. Deep is an early surprise, and a long version of Untitled prefaces MFC. Ed’s pump organ is on stage, but goes unused. Low Light appears again, on this, the summer solstice. Retrograde has a stellar ending. Mike finishes the Even Flow solo down in the front row of the crowd. Amongst the Waves is played by request for a couple who’s been together for 25 years, they met when they were 12, and Ed points out that Jeff and Stone have been playing music together for 39 years, Stone was 12 and Jeff was 15 when they met, that’s why Jeff plays bass because he had the balls, joking that he’s never seen Jeff’s balls but Stone probably has. Corduroy has the new intro again, and transitions seamlessly into Not For You. There’s a crowd surfer as Nothingman starts, and Ed admonishes him, saying “it’s not the right song” and imploring everyone to be safe and to jump up and down instead, “or at least go that way,” pointing to the back of the crowd. Prior to Porch, a fan named Roland is brought on stage with his wife and daughter, he had contracted ALS since he got tickets for the show back in 2020 and there was a fan campaign to get him connected with the band. Street Fighting Man returns for an encore performance, and there’s some confusion during Ledbetter, Ed tells Mike to cut it short and after only a minute and a half, instead of going into the chorus of Ledbetter, Mike starts the Alive riff.

June 18, 2022 – Pinkpop Festival, Landgraaf, NED

Main Set: Even Flow, Why Go, Low Light, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, Superblood Wolfmoon, Wishlist/(Waiting On A Friend), Throw Your Hatred Down, Lukin, Corduroy, Quick Escape, Sleeping By Myself, Given To Fly, Daughter/(Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)), Jeremy, (Don’t Dream It’s Over)/Better Man/(Save It For Later), Porch

encore 1: Comfortably Numb, Street Fighting Man, Alive

Show Notes:

Pearl Jam returns to the stage as a complete unit to kick off the European leg of the tour, Matt and Jeff having both recovered from the COVID diagnosis that forced the cancellation of the final two dates of the west coast leg. Even Flow opens a show for the first time since 2000, the 14th different opener in the last 14 shows! Ed mentions that it’s the 30 year (and 10 day) anniversary of their iconic 1992 performance there, and Why Go follows, just like it did back then. Josh and Boom join for Low Light, the piano taking a prominent role during the quiet part. Ed fumbles the lyrics to Wishlist, adding “…I wish I was in Amsterdam and was able to find a rhyme…” Given To Fly soars in all the right places. Ed plays a little bit of Crowded House’s hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over” as an intro to Better Man, they had played earlier in the day. He mentions that they had to leave their families at home this time because of “the bubble,” keeping COVID risk to a minimum. He then tells the story of the camera operator, Rob, from 1992 and his stagedive while footage of it plays on the screens behind him. Rob is brought out on stage and speaks to the crowd, saying “Eddie Vedder is the nicest artist I know.” Porch is slower than usual, the bridge has a spacey, effects-heavy feel to it. Comfortably Numb is the 2nd Pink Floyd reference of the night, fitting for the festival, and the Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” is dusted off for the first time since Memphis 1994, a whopping 737 show absence! Seven O’Clock and Not For You are on the setlist but not played.

May 16, 2022 – Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA, USA

Main Set: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Given To Fly, Do The Evolution, Corduroy, Wishlist, Daughter/(Improv), Don’t Gimme No Lip, Once, Why Go, Even Flow, Garden, Black, Eruption, Animal, Quick Escape, Throw Your Hatred Down, Purple Rain, Porch

encore 1: Jeremy, Deep, State Of Love And Trust, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

Despite it being the first night with no Ed preset, this third Matt Cameron-less show is promised to be a special one by Josh Klinghoffer multiple times before the band hits the stage. After Small Town with Josh on drums (continuing the streak of unique openers this tour) and Given To Fly, Ed reveals that he is battling a stomach flu and hasn’t felt this bad since Neil Young replaced him in San Francisco back in 1995, but promises to power through. He says that “this one’s certainly different” and that while Cameron is making strides to get back, “we’ve got another surprise for you later…” Prior to Corduroy, Ed points out a woman who’s at her 100th show, and that Rob Bleetstein (from Pearl Jam Radio) is at his 300th show, adding “I’ve only been to a few more than that,” and plays a short improv about having friends in Fresno. He repeats “it’s okay” in the Daughter tag, but without the change in key that indicates the Dead Moon cover. Stone gets the microphone, who prefaces Don’t Gimme No Lip with “…we played this backstage so hopefully it’s alright.” Afterwards, Ed talks about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, adding

“The part that was most rewarding was seeing some old bandmates, we had our friend come out from Seattle, we only played a couple of songs, but when this all went down with Matt the other day, we started thinking about all the other people that…we’ve been through some great drummers [laughs], some of the best, and we have the best currently, but, you know that first record seems to be a record that affected so many people, and our friend that was playing drums at that time, the amount of shows that he got to play with us was fairly limited. Well, it looks like this week we’re going to get to make up for that…ladies and gentlemen, on the drum kit, Mr. Dave Krusen!”

This kicks off a mini-set of Ten tracks, including a nice moment after Even Flow when Ed gets up on the drum riser and gives Dave a fist bump. Mike’s solo on Black is majestic. Afterwards, Ed asks Mike if he has any drummer transition music, which cues Eruption and Richard Stuverud’s entrance. Ed introduces Throw Your Hatred Down by shouting out Jack Irons and commenting on the mass shooting in Buffalo and the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court leak, saying

“Pro-life people should be anti-gun, and then they could save more lives”

Ed asks Josh to come out and sing the next song, leading to the live debut of Purple Rain. Ed starts the first verse and then Josh takes over. It also features a Mike solo that lives up to all expectations. Following, Ed remarks “…that song makes you wanna…fuck” and that Prince’s estate might have to be responsible for paying child support if his songs draw people to have sex and women are forced to give birth. He proposes a “sex embargo,” adding “think about it, ladies…sex embargo.” Krusen returns for Porch to end the main set and stays on after the break. Ed says that he’s spent a lot of time in Fresno over the last 5 years and that it’s his “new favorite place on Earth.” Following Jeremy, Ed comments on Krusen’s playing, saying that he’s “tripping balls tonight” and hearing him play the songs the way he does takes him back to being in the basement in 1991, adding

“Drummers are like fingerprints or snowflakes. They’re all different, all of us are different.”

He goes on to tell the backstory behind Deep, a sunny day that got a little dark when he noticed a guy shooting up in a third floor window and didn’t know whether he’d nod off out of it or into the apartment. With Krusen’s fast count in, the intro of the song is quite the flashback in itself. Mike adds a little tease of War Pigs at the end of the Alive solo. Stuverud returns to the kit for Baba O’Riley, Jeff goes up on the drum riser and they have a moment together. As Ed shouts out all of the band members before Yellow Ledbetter closes, Mike adds a simple “how about Ed tonight?” A well-deserved recognition towards Ed’s perseverance towards making this historic night possible. Ed finishes off the night saying “I won’t forget this one.”

Pearl Jam Concert at Oakland Arena in Oakland, CA on 5/13/2022

May 13, 2022 – Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Main Set: Long Road, Given To Fly, Once, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Throw Your Hatred Down, Quick Escape, Dissident, W.M.A., Mind Your Manners, Brain Of J., Low Light, Even Flow, Immortality, Do The Evolution, State Of Love And Trust, Seven O’Clock, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Bee Girl, Smile, Better Man, Crazy Mary, Porch, Alive, Baba O’Riley

Show Notes:

Night 2 without Matt Cameron opens with Klinghoffer on drums and a deliberate Long Road, Ed gives a quick dedication “to Gretchen.” Following Once, Ed calls Matt a “legend” and we learn that he’s still in Arizona after his positive COVID test, Ed says that this show is dedicated to him. No new intro for Corduroy here, it’s Interstellar Overdrive instead. All the uncertainty of the previous night seems to be gone, they look confident and charged up. Richard Stuverud again joins on the kit for Throw Your Hatred Down, with a very cool breakdown at the end, even throwing in a little Ziggy Stardust. Before Quick Escape, Ed says “this one’s about life on Mars too…,” and it also has an extended solo section. Dissident is introduced as an old one, “one we haven’t played in a while, so let’s see if we get it right.” Stuverud begins the W.M.A. intro and to everyone’s surprise it’s full W.M.A., the first time since Greenville 2016! There’s an extended drum outro as well, pounding drums, a standout performance. Ed is visibly angry, pacing around in a circle, he kicks over an amp and hurls his wine bottle across the stage. A 17-year-old drummer named Kai Neukermans is introduced and joins for Mind Your Manners before Josh returns to the kit for Brain of J. After Even Flow, Ed is still worked up, saying

“I’m still mad that we were divided at the beginning [of the pandemic], not united…fuck you…fuck you…FUCK YOU….FUCK YOU!”

Seven O’Clock is only the second Gigaton song of the night and third post-2000 song, this is a heavy 90’s set, perhaps reflecting Ed’s frame of mind. Rearviewmirror FINALLY makes an appearance on the tour, Ed talks about Steve Gleason beforehand. Smile is played to the back. Boom gets a shoutout leading into Crazy Mary, which has a killer back and forth Mike and Boom duel. Ed is pacing around the stage again during Porch. Stuverud is absolutely rocking out on Baba, standing up at the kit and pounding away. Ed closes the show with “…love to Matt, we love you…goodnight, goodbye, until next time. Shaka.”

Pearl Jam Concert in Oakland, CA 5/12/2022

May 12, 2022 – Oakland Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Main Set: Rockin’ In The Free World, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Why Go, Corduroy, Quick Escape, Superblood Wolfmoon, Nothingman, Even Flow, Given To Fly, Wishlist, Black, Do The Evolution, Daughter/(Long May You Run), Not For You/(Modern Girl), Seven O’Clock, Jeremy, Porch

encore 1: You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Lukin, Animal, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

The band opens with Rockin’ in the Free World, it’s rumored that Neil is in attendance, although he does not come out on stage. RITFW has never been used as an opener before! The house lights are up, Klinghoffer is on drums, and after Small Town, Ed addresses the crowd, revealing that Matt Cameron tested positive for COVID the day before:

“Even his superhero status couldn’t prevent him from testing positive.”

He adds that they are lucky to have Josh, the Shohei Ohtani of the band, filling in for him. During Corduroy, Ed references Cameron, saying “…everyfuckinthing’s changed!” Josh heads back over behind Mike’s amp, and Ed introduces RNDM drummer and longtime friend Richard Stuverud, saying they called him yesterday,

“He was in the middle of teaching a music class, we said, ‘Hey, do you want to come play with Pearl Jam tomorrow?’ He said ‘I’ll call you back, I gotta go change my pants.’

After Superblood Wolfmoon, Ed tells a story about Jeff and Richard doing some writing and demoing in between Vs. and Vitalogy at Reciprocal Recording, they invited Ed down and he drove down in a ‘64 Plymouth, they played Nothingman and he got a cassette of it afterwards, saying he drove home listening to it, screaming along at the top of his lungs, and asks for the crowd’s help to scream along tonight. Stuverud takes a short drum solo during Even Flow and Mike is extra flashy during the outro. Ed points out a sign that reads “Last time I saw Pearl Jam, I wasn’t born yet,” then mentions a recent story about a woman giving birth on the side stage at a Metallica show during Enter Sandman, joking that they almost ended up naming their child James Ulrich or Sandman. Klinghoffer is back on the kit for GTF. After Evolution, Ed makes mention to the Bridge School benefit, and says

“…NEXT time we play the Bridge School…I hear rumors…good ones…”

He gives a shout out to the families and teachers and artists who all put in their time playing the Bridge School, and mentions Amber Jean Young, who just had her first art exhibit and is raising money for ovarian cancer. She named her gallery after Pegi Young. Ed calls Daughter a “dark” song, and Neil’s “Long May You Run” is tagged for the first time. He makes a reference to a show back in 1973 where Keith Moon passed out twice at a Who show, and they asked if anyone could play. Ed asks anyone in the crowd if they can play drums and a fan is spotlighted, everyone around him pointing at him. Ed sees him, and says they are going to test him and bring him back in the encore. He continues, saying the Oakland A’s were the coolest team in the 70’s, and names just about every member of their World Series roster. Stuverud joins the band again during Seven O’Clock. Jeremy has a little bit of a funky guitar riff before the bass comes in, and Stuverud plays it a little slower than usual.

In the encore, Ed asks for another bottle and passes it into the crowd, mentioning that they can’t share the bottle together, “we’re not going to make this a wine tasting superspreader event,” but solo cups are broken out and everyone can enjoy a drink. Ed gives a nod to the audience, calling them the best crowd yet on the tour. Klinghoffer is back on drums for Better Man, and Ed messes around in the tag, speaking somewhat unintelligibly, but compliments the entire band. Tons of Townshend windmills from Ed. He references the Metallica story again and says:

“If you’re having a baby now, you’d have to name it… Lukin!”

Stuverud returns for Animal, making its tour debut. There’s a massive ending build at the end of Baba that gets wild, and Ed holds out a lengthy note at the end. He says his goodbyes afterward, making a point to thank Josh and Richard, and then says “we have one more drummer tonight…,” inviting out the fan from earlier, Josh Arroyo, to play Yellow Ledbetter. He’s wearing the “Krusen&Chamberlain&Abbruzzese&Irons&Cameron” shirt, and Ed jokes that he’ll have to add his own name to it. The lucky fan lives out a dream, doing an excellent job on the drums. Ed even looks back, visibly impressed, and Arroyo gets to take a bow with the band at the end.

Pearl Jam Concert - Phoenix Glendale, AZ, Gila River Arena 5/9/2022

May 9, 2022 – Gila River Arena, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Main Set: Wash, Given To Fly, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Corduroy, Quick Escape, Why Go, Superblood Wolfmoon, Alright, Even Flow, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, Black/(We Belong Together), I Got Shit, Red Mosquito, Sleeping By Myself, Daughter/(W.M.A.), Porch

encore 1: Smile, Eruption, Do The Evolution, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Leaving Here, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

Ed comes out for the pre-set and Far Behind makes its debut at a Pearl Jam show. Wash is dark and eerie to open, the 4th different opener in 4 shows so far. Corduroy has the new intro jam again…

Show Notes:

Ed comes out for the pre-set and Far Behind makes its debut at a Pearl Jam show. Wash is dark and eerie to open, the 4th different opener in 4 shows so far. Corduroy has the new intro jam again and an incendiary Mike solo, it’s been one of the standouts of this run so far, it feels rejuvenated. Ed does a spoken space shuttle countdown-style spiel during Quick Escape. Ed says that they’re in the land of coyotes, mentioning NHL Coyotes players Christian Fisher and Clayton Keller, before Superblood Wolfmoon, saying wolves are close to coyotes. Ed goes on a passionate rant about freedom before Alright, making its tour debut. Prior to Even Flow, Ed mentions the highway signs around the area that had been changed to “Even Flow on the gas, keep left to pass”. Mike and Ed take turns getting the sides of the arena to out-cheer each other, Ed adding,

We’ve never done this kind of cheesy bullshit before

Josh is rocking out behind the amps during Dance of the Clairvoyants, adding some drum accents and background vocals. Astronaut Scott Kelly is in attendance, and Black is dedicated to him, Ed does a little improv based off of We Belong Together. He stresses the “FUCK” during I Got Shit. He says they’ve got mosquitos here, but they’re in the land of scorpions, adding “…don’t get too excited, Mike” (referring to Mike’s fandom of the 80’s hair metal band Scorpions), leading into Red Mosquito. Before Sleeping By Myself, Ed talks about testing positive for COVID, isolating and thinking to himself “…why did I ever smoke cigarettes, what the fuck is wrong with me…,” saying that Sleeping By Myself was running through his head the whole time he was quarantined.

The number for voting information is put on the screens in the venue as Ed talks about supporting freedom to choose. Mike has some skronky guitar tones during the W.M.A. tag, and Ed changes the lyric to “..police stopped my daughter again…” Matt ends the song with a powerful drum rhythmic outro. Ed talks a lot about his niece Molly, who’s in attendance, choosing to come to the show instead of her graduation from Arizona State, and she gets a spotlight and a nice roar from the crowd. Ed changes up the setlist, saying they were going to play a sad one but he doesn’t want to anymore, and they play Smile instead. Mike goes back behind his amps to play with Josh for a while during Jeff’s solo. The Eruption solo seems a little longer than previous versions. Ed mentions Taylor Hawkins before Better Man, saying he’s seeing a lot of Foo Fighters shirts in the crowd, adding that he had only gotten to know him a little over the last year but Matt was close with him. The intro to Leaving Here is a train wreck, but they get it squared away, Jeff takes all the solos. After Alive, it feels like the show might be over, but they put the instruments back on and close with Yellow Ledbetter. In Hiding, Come Back, and River Cross were on the original setlist but not played.

Pearl Jam Concert Los Angeles, CA - The Kia Forum 5/7/2022

May 7, 2022 – The Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Main Set: Release, Given To Fly, Do The Evolution, Low Light, Quick Escape, Take The Long Way, Even Flow, Seven O’Clock, Immortality, Cold Day In The Sun, Daughter, Unthought Known, Glorified G, Lukin, I Believe In Miracles, Garden, Mind Your Manners, Porch

encore 1: Better Man/(Save It For Later), Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Jeremy, Leash, Alive, Indifference

Show Notes:

Walking out for the pre-set, Ed gives a shout out to the fans on the rail for having a “long day” and asking them if they camped out at the venue, saying they’ve been through a lot. He hands out blank slips of paper, and says write down whatever you want to hear, as long as it’s on the “master list” we’ll give it a shot. On the list are Brother, Severed Hand, Blood, Untitled/MFC, Tremor Christ, Breakerfall, Unthought Known, Angel, Glorified G, You Are, Strangest Tribe, Fatal, and Marker in the Sand.

Lots of Yield early, after Evolution, Ed says “live from The Forum it’s Saturday night!” Ed holds on that last line in Low Light for what feels like an eternity. Afterwards, Ed points to Stone’s side and says he’s getting an “edible” vibe from them. He adds that the next song, Quick Escape, is about interplanetary travel, but it’s not “Life On Mars,” making a David Bowie reference, and that we may have to live there one day because we’re destroying our own planet. He mentions certain billionaires, saying that for every dollar they get for space travel, they should match it for putting it back into saving the beauty and environment of Mother Earth. Quick Escape’s solo continues to be one of the most powerful moments of the Gigaton tour so far, with Mike holding his head back and firing away. Take the Long Way has a little extra guitar fire from Mike to kick it off. Before Even Flow, Ed continues the story of the homeless man named Eddie he talked about during the Home Shows in 2018:

“He had a shopping cart with a globe inside, he’d spin the globe and look at all the places he’d never get to. We came back from a tour once and he was gone. No one knew and it sort of went right through the cracks. People don’t understand any of the lyrics, but Eddie I was talking about you.”

Ed hypes up the crowd before getting into the chorus by shouting “Sing it for Eddie! Sing it for Eddie!” Mike’s Immortality solo is electrifying, he’s losing his mind, so much so that it looks like he’s having a conniption on stage! Big powerful ending, with the band huddling around a dominant Matt Cameron. Ed mentions that some folks here tonight are some of the most important people in our lives, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and meeting Stone and Jeff through Jack Irons after he was a Chili Pepper. He shouts out Chad Smith who’s on the side stage, and says they’re thinking about Taylor Hawkins, adding that he was someone that truly loved living on this planet, the one thing we can be consoled by is that he never wasted a moment. Ed introduces Mark Guiliana to play drums as Matt Cameron grabs a guitar and steps to the microphone to sing Taylor’s Foo Fighters song Cold Day In The Sun! Chad Smith is seen playing tambourine. An amazing tribute, with Matt’s vocals sounding pristine. Big hugs all around at the end for this emotional performance. After Daughter, Ed asks for the list of songs that the fans created before the show started, “after going through all of the hassle and having the cops think there were all these homeless people outside, you’re giving me a list! Alright we got a plan, and this is a very intelligent choice.” Unthought Known is the first choice, after which Ed mentions how Sean Penn is out helping people in the Ukraine. Before the next request, he talks about Dave Chappelle getting tackled on stage, the person who tackled him had a knife hidden in a fake gun, leading to Glorified G. Great crowd response from the front that makes Ed turn the mic around to give them the moment to sing back. Ed runs out of gas by the end of Lukin, but the band gets right back on the horse with an I Believe In Miracles cover. Garden is very heavy, lots of weight behind it.

After the break, Ed channels his inner Taylor Hawkins with some call and response moments, and then says you should sing in the shower with me. He asks for someone to fetch him his sparkly jacket from his dressing room, saying “that lady has a sparkly jacket and I’m not about to be outdone by that bitch!” The jacket is acquired and then he talks about equal pay and diversity in Hollywood, and goes on a long rant defending Bill Murray. The Save It For Later tag has almost the full song lyrics. Small Town is played for the back, with a lyric change, “…lifetimes are catching up with ALL OF US!” Midway through, he asks for the band to speed it up a bit. The house lights come up for Jeremy. Ed dedicates Leash to COVID-19 saying “fuck you COVID-19! Leash is an excellent surprise, no “lucky face” phrasing. Mike ripping another song apart. Ed dribbles a basketball around the stage during Alive then tosses it to the crowd. Indifference closes out the night.

May 6, 2022 – The Kia Forum, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Main Set: Of The Girl, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Superblood Wolfmoon, Corduroy, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, Quick Escape, Faithfull, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Buckle Up, Even Flow, Never Destination, Down, Nothingman, Present Tense, Who Ever Said/((I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction), Porch

encore 1: State Of Love And Trust, Wishlist, Do The Evolution, Black/(We Belong Together), Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

A relaxed Of The Girl opens, setting the tone for a fun Friday night in LA. After Superblood Wolfmoon, Ed says: “I was gonna tell a story but I wanna just keep playing. I’m not gonna tell any jokes tonight…

Show Notes:

A relaxed Of The Girl opens, setting the tone for a fun Friday night in LA. After Superblood Wolfmoon, Ed says:

“I was gonna tell a story but I wanna just keep playing. I’m not gonna tell any jokes tonight so don’t anybody even THINK about walking up here and hitting me!”

After Corduroy, he tells a story about driving up from San Diego to the Forum for Pink Floyd’s The Wall show. His buddy forgot the tickets at home, forcing Ed to sit in the parking lot for the whole show. Quick Escape is wild, it continues to be the standout live Gigaton song. Faithfull is played for the first time since 2016. During Not For You’s breakdown, Ed comments on the Roe situation and says:

“I think if you’re a girl or woman out there, and the guy you’re going out with … and you’re thinking about maybe going all the way with… I think that if that guy is not pro-choice, then he shouldn’t be allowed to fuck you!”

Dave Krusen is in attendance, Ed says we love you and you’re always a part of this group. Mike channels his inner Eddie Van Halen on Even Flow’s solo, thrashing around like a madman and putting on an absolute display. Ed mentions Howard Zinn, followed of course by Down, Mike with a very poppy, refreshing solo. Something happens in the crowd during Present Tense that Ed pauses mid-song to address, while Mike keeps the riff going. Present Tense has a powerful ending, with the band completely synced up. Who Ever Said has the Satisfaction tag again, sounding more like Devo than the Rolling Stones. Ed warms up with some Pete Townshend windmills before strumming into Porch. Another excellent McCready moment, shredding during the solo down near the pit and running laps alongside them. After the break, during State of Love and Trust, Ed runs off the stage, forcing the band to keep playing, leading to an extensive solo. He comes back on the stage with a new shirt. The band flips around to play one to the back, it’s Wishlist, we haven’t seen this one in this spot before, it’s always been Last Kiss or Small Town or Smile. Black is an out of this world performance with a long, powerful solo, Mike wailing soulfully at the end, with Ed improv lyrics about good and bad. He tells a story about a guy named Dave and his brother who, after an Earthlings show, found out that he had a tumor in his brain. After surgery, he had a difficult time getting his motor skills back, but was able to muster up the words:

“We’re not missing that fucking Pearl Jam show”

Dave is shown in the crowd, and gets an amazing ovation. Mike goes down to play the Alive solo towards the floor as Ed tosses tambourines into the crowd. After Alive, the band takes off their instruments and waves goodbye to the crowd, it seems like the end, but they quickly regroup for Yellow Ledbetter to end the evening.

Pearl Jam San Diego, CA, Poster by Ward Sutton - May 3, 2022

May 3, 2022 – Viejas Arena, San Diego, CA, USA

Main Set: Oceans, Retrograde, Never Destination, Corduroy, Dance of the Clairvoyants, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Who Ever Said/((I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction), Quick Escape, Long Road, Given To Fly, Superblood Wolfmoon, Daughter/(In My Tree), Seven O'Clock, Jeremy, Porch

encore 1: Lightning Bolt, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, River Cross, Footsteps, Once, Alive

Show Notes:

This was the first of the rescheduled 2020 shows and the first North American arena show since May of 2016. After Never Destination, Ed greets the crowd and says “Well, thank you for your patience,” followed by a standing ovation from the crowd. Corduroy has an interesting riffy lead-in that had never been played before. After Dance of the Clairvoyants, Ed talks about paying tribute to the history connected with the band in San Diego:

Because of our location…we’re choosing songs that have something to do with the ocean…even if they don’t mention it in the words…well half of ‘em were written in the ocean anyway.

During Amongst The Waves, Ed points out to a crowd member and asks for people to help them out. Who Ever Said is especially tight, synth sounds amazing from Klinghoffer. Who Ever Said has a Rolling Stones “Satisfaction” tag, the first instance in Pearl Jam history. Ed pays tribute to Taylor Hawkins before Quick Escape:

You put all of these lights together and they still wouldn’t match up to the light that poured from within that guy. He emitted something very special. I’m so mad for your loss. But it just gives us another chance to say how much we appreciated you as well.

There’s a request from a guy named Mike whose brother Stan died in a 2016 accident, Ed says he can relate – his brothers and mom and uncle and nephews are here tonight:

We lost a brother…four of us boys…and a sister in Texas…we lost him pretty quick, and it fucked us up…but we got through it together. Last time we played here, he was working up in the rigging. That was the penultimate time I saw him, last time was my 50th. There’s a plaque here up in the rafters with his name on it”

This leads to a rare main set version of Long Road. Lights up on cell phones in the crowd. Ed says near the end “I’ll save you a seat”. GTF has the lyric “…came to San Diego, smoked a joint in a tree…,” after which Ed talks about teachers, joking that Stevie Ray Vaughan was Mike’s guitar teacher. Ed’s guitar teacher is in attendance, he can’t see him face to face because of COVID protocol, so he guides the spotlight to him. He jokes “I’m not gonna talk this much at the other shows…this feels like home so…” The Daughter tag is In My Tree (!), followed by a call and response. Ed talks about Jeff and Stone playing together for 39 years, says they should do a podcast together about it, and jokes that they never thought they’d live to 39. He tells a story about bullying leading into Jeremy, saying the song was somewhat based on things he witnessed in junior high school in the area. Porch closes the set, with Ed reflecting light into the crowd on his guitar pickguard.

After the break, Ed says he’s sorry he couldn’t visit all the people he knows here, and says Jeff is the smart one because he has a house in San Diego now. He mentions some local record stores, and continues, talking about his high school:

The proximity of my high school to the ocean pretty much guaranteed you weren’t gonna graduate. (jokingly mocking) Now kids, don’t leave school or you’ll turn into drug dealers and addicts…or…or…Republicans!

Prior to Lightning Bolt, Ed tells a story about having trouble writing the chorus to the song:

I had my headphones on and my notebook, and I was so close I had written the whole fucking song. But I couldn’t come up with the line of the chorus. It was like… she’s a what? I just couldn’t figure out what the fuck she was and I wasn’t going to give up. Then my phone buzzed and it must’ve been from Hawaii, and I looked at it but couldn’t answer it because I was singing. I looked over and it was a call from Gerry Lopez (surfer). And I was like that’s it! She’s a Lightning Bolt!

Nice jam at the end of Lightning Bolt with the lighting effects resembling shooting stars. After the song, Ed spotlights his mom in the crowd, mentioning she went to SDSU undergrad in 1989, and graduated with her Masters in 1992. Elderly Woman is played for the back of the audience. River Cross is played with the full band, intensely powerful with Ed emoting while playing on pump organ. Midway through, a Ukrainian flag goes up on the big screen. The reverse Mamasan Trilogy, Footsteps, Once, and Alive, closes out the night, the first time it’s been done in this order since 2011! Karen Vedder is shown fist pumping to Alive. Ed closes out the show thanking Jack Irons and then Stone and Jeff, adding “catch some good waves, keep this place beautiful…we love you.”

Big thank you to Aaron Redmond, Brooke Krause and Amy Cook Lancaster for providing updates throughout the night!

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