November 8, 2024 – Go Media Stadium Mt. Smart, Auckland, NZ

Pearl Jam Show Notes 11/8/2024:

Local music group Te Whare Karioi leads a traditional Haka before Pearl Jam takes the stage for their first show in New Zealand in ten years. Ed exclaims “It’s been awhile!” as “Given to Fly” opens with a visual of waves crashing, the ocean, and drone footage from the area. Ed yells the “…hey FUCKERS…” line with extra emphasis. He adds the “…I’m glad I saw this place, thank you all for taking me…” line in “Small Town.” He leads a call-and-response chant of “Alright” a few times, then adds “…it wasn’t feeling alright not that long ago, right now it feels alright,” perhaps alluding to the recent US election results. Another line change in “Corduroy,” “…absolutely everything’s changed.” Stone is rocking up and down at the end as the band surges. “Eruption” is added to the setlist after “React, Respond.” Before “Wreckage,” Ed talks about playing it at soundcheck the day before and how the song took on a new meaning to him because of “events in the world, events in your life” as he was singing it, another allusion to the election. There’s an incident in the crowd, Ed says the crowd is happy because they got rid of a “bogan” (slang term for an unrefined individual) and says “…bogans beware.” “Daughter” has two tags, “Monkey Gone To Heaven” by opening band the Pixies, followed by “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2),” with Ed improving about politicians and women’s rights. The crowd is loud on “Even Flow,” and Ed does the “we’re not worthy” bow to Mike after the solo. He compliments the crowd on their singing after “Jeremy,” and tells the story of “Quick Escape,” tongue-in-cheek calling it “…a work of complete fiction.” “Wishlist” sees “all of Auckland’s hands upraised.” “Not For You” is extended, with the crowd chanting during the bridge, the band seems like they’re not sure how to get out of it, it’s a little different-sounding. “Spin the Black Circle” is dedicated to Zane Lowe, the New Zealand radio DJ who had interviewed the band earlier in the year. Ed thanks the crew, including the local crew, for getting everything set up and continues:

“…Growing up, you know…the one bright idea I stumbled on, and I think we all did around the same time, we find ourselves needing a guitar, needing an instrument, needing a way to express ourselves, and I found a guitar…and Jeff found a bass, Stone found a guitar, Matt found some drums, Boom Gaspar found a keyboard…Josh Klinghoffer must have lived in a music store ’cause he can play every fuckin’ thing…we found these instruments, but we also found our tribe, and now all these many years later, when the shit hits the fan, you can gather up the tribe, you can get plugged in, you can turn it up, and if you’re really, really fuckin’ lucky, you’ll get to share the music with a bunch of really great people, all in a wonderful gathering, and share in the volume and remember that this is a life of challenges and it is always certainly worth living.”

Ed trips and falls backwards during “Lukin,” but recovers in time to finish the vocals. During the “Porch” jam, he asks the crowd “…can you feel the life out there?” and then adds “everything is precious….precious” before the song kicks back in.

After the break, Ed says “…can we catch a few more waves with you tonight?” and points out a woman up front, giving her the “New Zealand Kiwi Cheerleader of the Year award,” and asks the crowd for quiet so he can hear what she says. He then sees someone from Boston, joking “we just played in Boston, you could have saved a whole lot of money!” He talks about being in New Zealand and how clean it is, then adds:

“…it’s unrealistic to think that life on this planet will always be smooth…hardship, and struggle, and loss, it’s all part of the deal, it’s all part of the human experience. And so you do your best to keep hope, and you use your actions in such a way that you can help shape a more positive world, a positive neighborhood, a positive community, a positive country…and we were thinking that maybe progress scares people, and that acceptance and inclusivity, they might think that they may be excluded because of it, but there’s room for everyone, and we can figure it out, and we will figure it out, and we made progress…now we’ve gone backwards, we’re gonna figure it out, it just might take a little longer.”

Liam Finn (who also opened up the show) joins on stage to play guitar and sing for “Habit.” As the song heads towards the pause, Ed motions for Liam to take the microphone, and Liam says “…speaking as a child of Aotearoa,” the Maori name for New Zealand. Liam and Ed go back-to-back at the end and Liam falls down during the chaotic ending. A fan in the front row has a request, and “Hard to Imagine” is played, Ed saying it wasn’t on “the menu.” Liam Finn rejoins, along with EJ Barnes, for “Rockin'” to close the show.