September 11, 2022 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA
Show at a Glance
- Venue: Madison Square Garden
- Location: New York, NY
- Number of Songs: 25
- Show Length: 2:25
Setlist
Main Set: Release, Garden, Come Back, Present Tense, Porch, Dissident, Given To Fly, Who Ever Said/((I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction), Even Flow, Seven O’Clock, Daughter/(Chaise Lounge), Dance Of The Clairvoyants, I’m Open, Better Man/(Save It For Later), (Tiny Dancer)/Chloe Dancer, Crown Of Thorns, Sonic Reducer, Rearviewmirror
Encore 1: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Why Go, Do The Evolution, Purple Rain, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Star-Spangled Banner
Pearl Jam Show Notes 9/11/2022:
Release and Garden get the crowd going early, loud and energetic. Come Back is started and then stopped by Ed to talk about how they appreciate being there, and the first responders in the city. The seats are tossed aside during Present Tense, kicking the show into high gear a little earlier than the few previous. Porch is always a surprise this early which shocked and excited the crowd. It sounded tight and intense. Ed sees a fan altercation going on in the crowd and takes a minute to address it and remove the offenders, and kicks back into the song. The first Gigaton song of the night is Who Ever Said, which surges with momentum, Ed sounding great. Following that, he talks about women’s basketball legend Sue Bird, who had just retired, and mentions that Venus and Serena Williams are in attendance. The Daughter tag is by the British indie rock duo Wet Leg. Ed and Mike lean on each other during Better Man. Ed does a couple of lines from Tiny Dancer before Chloe Dancer, changing the line to “…hold me closer Chloe dancer…” This is the first Chloe/Crown pairing since the May 1, 2016 Garden show. Afterwards, Ed says “…that one was for Andy, this one is for Stiv,” and they tear into Sonic Reducer. He again shouts out the first responders who are in attendance and says that as “traumatic” and “despicable” as 9/11 was, 9/12 was awesome because everyone came together and worked together. After the break, Small Town is played to the back. The crowd absolutely kills Why Go and Do the Evolution, leading Ed (donning the shiny black jacket we saw earlier in the year) to reference the stage-shaking 2003 show. He thanks the first responders one last time “for showing us what courage looks like.” Chad Smith is watching side stage and comes out during RITFW to pound on Josh’s drums. Mike closes out the night with the Star-Spangled Banner, ending a momentous weekend in New York City.
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The start of the show was phenomenal. Release always sets the tone at any show but this wasn’t just another show…. I can still hear the roar of the crowd as the beginning notes hit the garden…. Garden was amazing and then the best version of Come Back (IMO) into Present Tense as a transition from “seated” to rocking was perfect. Possibly the greatest performance of this song I’ve seen live (39). The crowd was the best I’ve been part of…
Turning these down has been great. You get to hear a somewhat different version of the song. Dissident was the most noticeable – still was great!
Ed’s message prior to RVM was my favorite message he’s conveyed throughout my time seeing them as a band. Comparing politicians to divorce attorney’s just looking for the best deal for their own benefit… As someone who doesn’t agree with all of their views and at times feeling isolated – this was a perfect message. “I don’t hate my fellow American citizen and I don’t want them to be told that I hate them either.”
Mike McCready was on another planet. He clearly fell into a trance a number of times playing throughout the night. Most noticeable for me was RVM when he ended up laying on top of his guitar on the front stage speaker at the end of the song.
I can go on…. what a show! what a time!
On to Camden…