September 7, 2024 – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Pearl Jam Show Notes 9/7/2024:

Long Road opens for the first time since the west coast leg. In the middle of the song, Ed comments “…we can feel you, this is gonna be a good night…” The first of many from Yield is next (5 out of the first 11!), Low Light, followed after Why Go by the 2024 debut of Brain of J. Before Given to Fly, Ed talks about how the crowd is so loud, for the first time ever he has to ask for his vocals to be turned up. He continues, talking about how he had been talking to Chris Chelios when they were in Chicago:

“…it came up about this tragic accident that happened with the Gaudreau brothers [NHL player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver while bicycling], and I just wanted to say that, you know, I lost my brother five years ago, in something that was very immediate and traumatic, Jeff Ament lost one of his great, great friends in a similar fashion…and what made it even more tragic is that they were such good men…so to hear that they came from Philly, and grew up watching games in this city, we thought we’d recognize them, and wish their family and loved ones and teammates strength to get through this difficult time.”

After Wreckage, Ed says “I might talk about voting later tonight, but if I had to vote for best guitar player on the planet right now, it’d be for Mr. Mike McCready.” Mike does the first minute of the solo behind his head, going down to the fans on the rail, then letting loose a barrage of tricks, including using the mic stand as a slide. After the solo, Ed adds “…speaking of the best, how about Mr. Matt Cameron on the drums…” and then the song kicks back in, the crowd singing along boisterously. He makes good on the promise to talk about voting, saying the same thing he’s said before about not just getting the crowd to vote, but their kids. Stone has a killer DTE solo and Ed recognizes him afterwards. Ed starts to play Untitled, but then stops and says “this song is called MFC…Men For Choice.” He sees a sign in the crowd after for a couple that got engaged and jokes “I know you must be handsome, it might be the light…she agreed to marry you?…you want me to play the wedding when? March when? [reading sign] Are we available on March 14th, 2025…gimme a second,” at which point he pulls out one of his notebooks and flips through it, responding “…will the 26th work?” Black is again outstanding, Ed feeling the energy from the crowd. Mike plays flamenco-style under the tag, and Ed adds “..it’s okay, it’s okay, it’ll be okay in the end, it’ll be okay in the end, hang on my friend.” He talks about playing at JC Dobbs in 1991 afterwards, and talks to Jeff about finding a basketball court on South St., adding “the last song we played that night, in July of ’91, is the song we’re going to play right now,” and Breath appears for only the second time this year. Ed goes out and sings to the crowd up front, and changes the lyric to “…run away my daughter…” The rear view mirror visual gets to match up with the song, and Jeff and Matt drive the propulsive bridge.

After the break, Ed jokes “I’m just going to play a quick one, Mike McCready’s in the back getting a full body massage by this huge gentleman from Philadelphia,” and then mentions being on the bus with Tom Petty, who was about to have his first grandchild, and joking that “Eddie Petty” would be a good name, but then realizing “Manny Petty” was too good. He tells the story of how he got Tom’s guitar, and says he’s written four songs on it, but “it sounds better when I play his,” leading into I Won’t Back Down. He adds a quick “…love you, Tom!” at the end before Daughter begins, and then, with Tom still on his mind, tags “Free Fallin'” for the first time, and the guitar joins in with a little of the melody. After Last Exit, Ed says “…this one’s for special occasions, thinking about a special man,” and Boom starts the always powerful Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns. The song stretches out to nearly 8 minutes, one of the best performances of the night. Baba O’Riley is paused in the middle, Ed sees someone who’s out of it and has to ask them if they know where they are, and they are removed safely and the song is unpaused. Indifference returns after making its 2024 debut at MSG, Ed sitting down front at the end. He leaves with “what a memorable night, we’re so grateful.” Maybe the best show of the year so far.