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

Show at a Glance

  • Number of Songs: 24
  • Show Length: 2:45

Setlist

Pre Set: Keep Me In Your Heart

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

Pearl Jam Show Notes 5/3/2022:

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 a new dark, ominous lead-in. 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 mid-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 from his guitar.

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!

Randy Sobel

Concertpedia Managing Editor & LO4L Host

The first time I heard Yield, I didn’t know it at the time but it changed my life. 10 years later, I saw Pearl Jam for the first time at Madison Square Garden and haven’t looked back. I’m still holding out hope that W.M.A. will one day be played as a full song more consistently in setlists rather than just as a tag off of Daughter, and you won’t ever find a bigger homer for the band’s Hartford shows than me. Top 10 Pearl Jam crowd, fight me on it!


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  1. Making sure I archive my thoughts on all of these, but going back…this show is musically sensible after four years off of their typical touring regimen and sensible story-wise as an Ed “Home Away from Home” night, especially considering the passing of his brother. Undoubtedly, the unexpected Oceans opener, the Devo reference on Who Ever Said, the In My Tree reference on Daughter, River Cross, and the Reverse Mamasan are highlights. The mid-set and Chris-dedicated “Long Road” takes the cake for me though.

  2. This was my 5th PJ show, the first time seeing Pearl Jam since 1994 (opening for RHCP in 91, in a club winter of 92, Lollapalooza 92, and in Cleveland on VS tour in 94) minutes . I have kind of avoided seeing them all these years, as my memories are of 1991 and 1992 where Ed would jump off scaffolding & balconies; I was worried to see a fave band feel “old” or whatnot. But I realized that I’ve grown up with this band, and while Ed maybe slows down a bit, so have I.
    This was a great show, and while not full of rarities it was the perfect mix of old & new for this mid-40 year old. I had a blast and there was something really comforting in spending time with an old friend I haven’t seen in nearly 30 years. I sincerely hope I see them in again sooner than later!

    1. I was at that 94 show in Cleveland, and if the Lolla ’92 show was Blossom, that would be two!!

  3. Being on the East Coast and having to work at 6 am Wednesday I wasn’t able to follow the proceedings and watch any live feeds. I saw the setlist this morning, but this recap made me feel like I was there. I had tickets for the first show in 2020, but now I have to wait until September for Toronto then Hamilton. Can’t wait any longer…recap was awesome, tyvm!

    1. Where do you find live feeds? I never have any luck finding any. Does periscope still exist?

  4. Chattiest I’ve seen Eddie maybe ever. Good vibes in the crowd, just a fantastic night. Loose but not sloppy.

  5. Great recap, it’s so good to have the boys back on the road. Still a long time to wait until MSG for me. Hopefully the boots come out early.

    1. Two years and counting for MSG. Went from being at the beginning of the tour and now we’re at the end. Not that I’m complaining one bit. Should be better weather in September than what we’re currently having here in CT.

  6. Great start for Pearl Jam’s return to the stage ! EV’s voice is top notch. Can’t wait to see them in Canada and NASH ! That’s when I join Gigaton 2.0 tour.?