Pearl Jam Melbourne, AU Concert History

It’s a much cooler night in Melbourne at Marvel Stadium for night two, but still over 52,000 are in attendance for another massive show which Jeff would later dub as one his standout shows from 2024. Prior to Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers commencing their set, Ed walks out to take photos of the crowd. He graciously lauds the Canberran quartet, who had to give up their set on the Gold Coast due to the storm delay. Following the Dark Entree intro track, Pearl Jam take to the stage, the familiar opening notes of Better Man ringing throughout the stadium. It kicks off a run that replicates the opening three from the same date – November 18 – in Sydney, 2006. During the breakdown, Ed, sporting his Walter Peyton jersey again after its absence on night one, greets and riles up the crowd, just as he did in Sydney, some 18 years prior. He praises those who were in attendance on Saturday for “a very, very, very memorable night.” “Well, records are made to be broken,” he continues. “Let’s fuckin’ bring it tonight!” Finally, he drops the bizarre Aussie colloquialism: “We didn’t come here to fuck spiders you know!” Given to Fly soars once again with the magnificent backdrop of drone footage, taking the crowd on a scenic journey to the Great Ocean Road, a Melbourne beach, a skate park and finally, into Marvel Stadium.  A concise Porch makes an early appearance, while Wreckage is dedicated to the resilient conservationists working to protect Australia’s reefs. Fittingly, its emphatic, Learning to Fly-esque outro is combined with vision of waves crashing. Daughter follows seamlessly after, and before he leads a typical call and response, Ed straps on his guitar. “This part is a request – from daughter Alexis, to dad Darren,” he announces, before strumming the opening chord to It’s OK, the first time it’s been played in six years. It’s as emotional and moving as ever, and, accentuated by Mike’s lead lines, makes for one of the highlights of the 2024 tour.

A powerful Dark Matter demonstrates that the band has truly found its groove with the track, and afterwards Ed shares photos he took of the crowd, including a guy with a sign that reads, “Hard to Imagine for this dickhead”, eliciting cheers and laughs from the Golden Circle. Mike throws his strat behind his head during his Even Flow solo, but afterwards, things take a more reflective and poignant turn as Ed dedicates a beautiful and tight Light Years (played for only the second time that year) to a fan named Pam, who has sadly passed away. Commercial radio station Triple M is thanked for their airplay of Waiting for Stevie whereas in the ‘90s, Pearl Jam was adored and broadcast live by Triple J. It is a perfect flowing set, with an epic rendition of Jeremy igniting the Marvel crowd. It prompts Ed to lovingly acknowledge Jeff and say, “He can play a four-string bass, he can play a twelve-string bass, he can play a six-string guitar, he can play a twelve-string guitar.” As Jeff grins widely, he goes on. “He can play a lute, he can play a banjo, he can play a mandolin, he can play a harmonica. He can play a harmonium, he can play a mouth harp… and he once made sushi out of a wallaby, but that part I didn’t confirm. But he did write this next song.” This leads to Won’t Tell, the only time it will be played on the Australian tour.  Do the Evolution once again features the arresting backdrop of Todd McFarlane’s animation on the center screen, while a stunning Black hits its emotional peak as Ed stretches out the “all I’ll be” line. He adds, “let’s see your phones… give me some stars to sing to”, and the crowd respond, lighting up Marvel Stadium in a breathtaking sight. As Mike’s solo soars, Ed watches on in admiration, before a lullaby tag from Nick Cave’s Ship Song: “We make a little history, baby… Every time you come around”. Next, Rearviewmirror. Ed plays the opening riff but lets the band take over for the verses and chorus. But despite occasions where he’s not playing, it’s the perfect setlist choice to ignite the crowd and signal the encore break.  

Ed fondly recalls his encounters with Aussie surfers in San Diego, whom he notes were always so carefree. “I thought, I can’t imagine a whole country full of Australians – I’d love to meet them someday. And look – we’ve become friends!” Bizarrely, Setting Sun is played for the only time on the entire tour Down Under, but, set to Rob Sheridan’s incredible visuals, it perfectly closes out the Dark Matter material. Animal, down-tuned a half step, and Once provide a nostalgic punch, while Unthought Known is stopped midway through the first verse to address a security concern in the back of general admission. With the house lights on, Alive sees a sea of smiling faces beamed up on the screens as tambourines get thrown out, while those expecting Baba O’Riley, which was originally on the setlist, are surprised by yet another Rockin’ in the Free World. With a considerable gap between the rail and the stage, Ed runs past the front row to the tune of Stone’s solo, while Josh jams with Jeff who’s sporting a Pixies stickman shirt. “Fuckin’ beautiful!” he returns to the mic to announce, in response to the crowd’s participation. The boys say their goodbyes, take a bow and are about to walk off, but a band huddle is met with a rousing cheer. “Alright this is how we say goodbye,” he says, a cheeky smile cast to Jeff, before strumming the opening riff to Porch, acting as if they didn’t play it earlier as Jeff feigns bewilderment. Mike is on hand to end things proper, and it caps off a triumphant two-night stand in Melbourne. “I miss you already-ready!” Ed sings before leaving the stage.

It was a very hot day in Melbourne, so Ed came out dressed to the weather with shorts and much lighter top than his standard Dark Matter tour Walter Payton jersey. Marvel Stadium was packed out, and you could feel the love and excitement oozing through the place. Why Go opened with Jeff’s extremely thick bass grooving through the speakers. Jeff was a standout on the whole Australian tour, and he doubled down on this. Ed spoke a lot earlier than he normally would, and really set the vibe for the whole night by saying:

“If you could see what we see now… good evening Melbourne! Well if it ain’t good to be in Melbourne on a Saturday night… it’s been a while, it’s been too long… They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, we’re feeling pretty fondly right about now. Look it’s been a long hot day, we just wanna pace ourselves, and just check and make sure everyone’s dong ok, front to back… this is much better than lightning (referencing Gold Coast show delay) but it is pretty hot, in fact I’m wearing shorts tonight, not because I’m feeling nostalgic, just ‘cause it’s really fucking hot…”

Elderly Woman, which tends to always be a staple of Melbourne shows, crooned in, and Given to Fly was huge, like it had been all tour utilizing the video displaying all of the scenic elements of Australia. Hail, Hail was very groovy and the crowd was jumping to every beat. Corduroy was, as always, immense and powerful, into React, Respond which was a crowd favorite from the new record. After Ed mentioned, “The incredible Mr. Matt Cameron” Dark Matter pounded in and sounded huge in the enormous stadium with Matt filling the whole space, which was followed by a face-melting Mike intermission into Wreckage with the huge screen filled with incredible pictures. Garden came next, a real highlight of this section of songs, which fell into a Mike mind-bending Even Flow. In My Tree thundered in with Matt opening it up, crowd went silent for the drums, which was amazing given there was over 70,000 people packed in, a quite heavy sounding and feeling version. The standout thread of the next five tracks was Jeff, giving an absolute powerhouse bass masterclass across the run of Running, Jeremy, Wishlist, Not for You and Porch, which closed the main set.

The encore kicked off with Just Breathe as a tribute to EBRP’s work and all those impacted, with the whole stadium encapsulated by Ed. It had been 18 very long years since Inside Job was played in Melbourne, a hypnotic version kicked off with Ed saying, “We would like to do this one written by Mr. Mike McCready”. Then the party started. The run of Do The Evolution, Better Man, State Of Love And Trust, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World and finally an incredible Yellow Ledbetter, which all could have been picked by popular vote, put a fire in the venue, much hotter than the weather.