Pearl Jam Gold Coast, AU Concert History

After a weather delay which led to the opening band not being able to play and the Pixies only playing a 30-minute set due to time constraints, Pearl Jam wastes no time getting into the hits at the first show in Australia since 2014, leading off with an almost 7-minute long “Corduroy,” featuring a long Mike solo. During the bridge, Ed says “…we went from People First Stadium to Safety First Stadium…everybody good?” “Given to Fly” has drone footage from around the area playing on the screens, including forests and, of course, surfing. Ed again emphasizes the “fuckers” line. “Quick Escape” returns for the second time on this leg, and during the breakdown Ed points at Jeff and repeats “Jeff Ament!” Mike lets loose on the “Dark Matter” solo. “I Am Mine” is dedicated to “all the surfers…because surfers believe in equal rights…and equal lefts!” Ed calls the next song “one of the longest song titles we’ve ever had…it’s called ‘I Don’t Know The Rules Of Cricket And I Don’t Know If I Ever Will, It Looks Like A Great Game But It Confuses The Shit Out Of Me,’ it goes like this…” and they tear into Even Flow. As “Daughter” transitions into the tag, Ed repeats “…can you let us know you’re out there?” three times before going into a call-and-response, and then the familiar Pink Floyd tag, with the added “politicians leave the girls alone/a woman’s choice is her own” line to close it out. “Got To Give” returns for the first time since Vancouver, only the second performance. Stone takes the solo and finishes it off nicely. Ed goes backstage during the “Black” solo and returns with a guitar, playing rhythm during the end of Mike’s powerful, emotive, outstanding solo. Ed repeats “…come back, come back…” as the song is winding down and then improvs “…I’ll be waiting, oh I’ll be waiting/all along I’ll be waiting, I’ll sing this song while I’m waiting…” before the song’s delicate conclusion. Mike, Jeff, and Stone all gather around Matt for the driving “Porch” jam.

After the break, Ed makes a bunch of dedications and then talks about the sudden loss of his brother a few years back, adding:

“…everybody in this band knows what it’s like to lose somebody overnight…shocking, it hurts, a long long time…they live in us, that’s the one thing we can provide them, is a home, and have it be almost like they’re still here, because they’re here in us.”

He finishes by talking about a man named Greg who died trying to save others in Indonesia, saying this was the song his family would play for him, “Man of the Hour.” Jeff is on stage along with Ed, playing upright bass. “Better Man” stretches out past 8 minutes, just like “Black” did, and transitions right into “Alive.” “Rockin'” appears for the 5th show in a row, Mike goes down to the barricades and plays to the front and Ed thanks the crowd during the breakdown, adding “…thanks for a night we’ll never forget!”