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

Pearl Jam Show Notes 5/7/2022:

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 jokes 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, angry, no “lucky face” phrasing, Mike ripping another song apart. Ed dribbles a basketball around the stage during Alive then tosses it to the crowd, and Indifference closes out the night.