July 25, 2022 – Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, NED

Pearl Jam Show Notes 7/25/2022:

After 3 show cancellations (Vienna, Prague, and Amsterdam 1) due to Ed’s vocal trouble after the Paris show, Pearl Jam returns to the stage to finish the European leg of the tour. The front row has balloons to welcome the band back, and the crowd starts the “Ed-die” chant as they take the stage. The band is seated for the first few songs, Ed says they’ve had a lot of different shows but “this show will be different.” Nothing As It Seems opens for the first time since 2000 and there’s a loud cheer when Ed starts to sing. Afterward, he greets the audience:

“Good evening…it sure is nice to be able to say those words…we were not gonna leave this part of the world without playing one more show.”

Off He Goes is a request, with the lyric changed to “…riding on a motorbike in Amsterdam…” Ed thanks his doctor, Dr. Marco Franken, telling the crowd he had no voice even as of the day before, and pictures of him in the doctor’s office are shown on the screens. Alright makes its European debut, only the 3rd performance. Ed says they’re going to play another request, from 4 years ago, that they’ve never done in Europe before (it had been played there only once in full, in Rotterdam in 1993), and the drums kick in for W.M.A. Mike thrashes around the stage, focused and intense, and Josh and Matt combine for a rhythmic pummeling. The crowd sings along to every word of Why Go and Even Flow, doing their best to help Ed. The line in Corduroy is “…absolutely everything’s changed…” No vocals on the Waiting on a Friend tag this time. Hard To Imagine is another request, with Josh and Ed making it a four-guitar attack. Ed keeps playing for a minute right before the band usually kicks in on Better Man, stepping to the microphone and saying

…after tonight I don’t have to sing for a whole fucking month…so I can do as much damage as I want” [laughs]

Mike sings the first verse of Black Diamond before Matt takes over. The improv before Porch is Ed solo, and has the lines “I love this life” repeated over and over, then he switches to “I love your life” a couple of times before going back to “I love this life” and then transitioning right into Porch. Mike and Ed kneel at the front of the stage for a minute during the jam, Mike wailing away and Ed building up the crowd. After the break, he has the shiny jacket on and talks about how Jeff heard him warming up in the hotel and thought “oh no, we’re fucked,” but it looks like they’re going to make it. He thanks the crowd, saying that part of the voice problem was climate change, France and Spain on fire, and says

“I really hope that we meet the challenge of climate change a lot better than we met the challenge of COVID, I tell you that…we have the power to come together as human beings to save our planet, which is a selfish endeavor, but we can do it. But I think we just can’t wait for fucking politicians to do it, because they’re just going to do what the businessmen ask them to, pay them to…there’s more of us than them, and nights when you see people gathered like this…and sing as one, and be as one, and agree on one thing, it gives you faith…and we’re so fortunate we get to travel the world and give faith in humanity, and we thank YOU for that.”

He continues, thanking the entire crew and bringing them all out on stage. Josh comes to the front of the stage and starts Purple Rain, Mike nails the long solo as the crowd sings the background vocal part. Ed has a Ukrainian flag as Indifference starts and puts it on the monitor, then changes his mind and picks it back up. Mike smashes his guitar during RITFW, slamming it into his amp, then jokingly attempting to strum the pieces one last time before tossing it aside, while on the other side of the stage some kids are playing tambourines. Ed leaves the crowd with “…going home…gonna miss you…”