October 26, 2014 – Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA

Main Set: Better Man, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, The Kids Are Alright, Sirens, Black, Just Breathe, Hunger Strike, Throw Your Hatred Down

Show Notes:

Ed walks onto the Bridge School stage for the 17th time and addresses the crowd by saying “Good evening, campers!” Better Man is performed with a substantial Save It For Later tag for the first time at Bridge. After Elderly Woman, Ed thanks the Bridge School for educating them about communication, compassion, possibilities, positive reinforcement and unconditional love before leading into a rare performance of The Kids Are Alright. A slight lyric change occurs in the song to “these kids are alright”, clearly addressing the Bridge School students. Speaking of students, Sirens is a request from Maricor. The performance is tuned a bit higher than usual, but in a rare move, Mike actually breaks out an electric guitar for this version. Black is tagged with a unique, passionate improv including these lyrics:

“Where did you go?
I wish I could’ve talked to you
I wish I could’ve called you one last time to say I miss you.
Good luck, goodbye.”

The remainder of the set would include a trio of guest appearances. Up first, Ed introduces Lukas Nelson (son of Willie) to the stage for a performance of Just Breathe. It turns out that Lukas and Ed are wearing the same hat, to which Ed asks if he got it at the same shop in Hawaii. During Just Breathe, it seems as though Boom is playing on a small child’s keyboard. Following the performance, Ed asks if there are any other good “Chris Cornell-type singers out there?” Cornell enters and joins the band for the second rendition of Hunger Strike in consecutive days. The patriarch of the benefit, Neil Young, comes onto the stage to play Throw Your Hatred Down. Ed states that they wrote the song together, but had to reteach it to him. The Bridge School run comes to a close with a last image of Neil with Pearl Jam on stage thrashing in his seat, taking back and forth solos with Mike, and smiling from ear to ear the entire time.

October 25, 2014 – Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA

Main Set: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Rain, Sleeping By Myself, Daughter, Given To Fly, Last Kiss, Fuckin' Up, Hunger Strike

Show Notes:

“Good evening! No…it’s a great evening!” Ed says that playing the Bridge School benefit is one of the “honors of a lifetime.” Rain is played due to the local weatherman’s (incorrect) prediction that it would be a cold and rainy night. Mike provides some strong backing vocals and Ed imitates the reverse record effect featured in the Beatles original. Daughter is dedicated to a friend named Drew, and afterwards Ed suggests that people may think they might be having an acid flashback seeing Matt Cameron back on stage for a second time, as he had played with Soundgarden earlier that evening. He wishes happy birthday to Matt’s son Ray and a happy anniversary to him and his wife April before Given To Fly, which makes its Bridge debut. Ed introduces Maricor, no stranger to the Bridge School shows, who he says they met 20 years ago when she was 14, adding that she has since graduated from Berkeley with degrees in Psychology and Women’s Studies, and dedicates Last Kiss to her once again. Touching moment during the song as Ed goes up to sing to Maricor and the rest of the kids. With young children in the crowd, Ed says they want to take a chance at something, but were unsure if it was appropriate for the setting. They asked Neil for permission to play Fuckin’ Up, saying there was a Billy Idol Bridge School performance where he sang “ride a pony, fuck a pony,” and Neil gave them his approval saying everyone fucks up, it’s part of the curriculum. To close the show, Ed introduces a friend “who lives in their neighborhood, but they never get a chance to see” to help out on the next song. Chris Cornell comes on stage and Hunger Strike is played for the first time since PJ20. Chris seems a little off during the performance, lagging behind on his vocals and seemingly watching Ed for the lyrics at one point, there would be a much stronger effort on the song the next night.

October 22, 2014 – Pepsi Center, Denver, CO, USA

Main Set: Release, Low Light, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Last Exit, Why Go, Lightning Bolt, Mind Your Manners, Setting Forth, Leatherman, My Father’s Son, Even Flow, Ghost, Present Tense, Do The Evolution, Eruption, Of The Earth, Given To Fly, Sirens, Don’t Gimme No Lip, Lukin, Porch

encore 1: Future Days, Sleight Of Hand, Imagine, Mother, Last Kiss, Breath, Leash, Rearviewmirror

encore 2: Once, Black/(We Belong Together), State Of Love And Trust, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter/(Star-Spangled Banner)

Show Notes:

“Good evening, welcome to the last night of the tour, glad you could make it.” Ed holds the last line of Low Light for 17(!) seconds. Matt quickly transitions from Last Exit into Why Go. Afterwards, Ed mentions the elevation and the legalization of marijuana, and how Denver and Seattle are “sister cities on the right side of history.” Lightning Bolt is dedicated to Hannah, who recently had a kidney transplant, and Ed adds “…towards the great mountains…” Before Setting Forth, he talks about friendships built through music, dedicating it to the McCandless family, some of the sisters are in attendance. My Father’s Son is “to all the good fathers out there, for hopefully not becoming one of the bad ones.” After a frantic Even Flow, Ed mentions he was filming for his three brothers and shouts out Pete Cameron in attendance, saying Matt “is one of the greatest humans to ever get behind a drum kit.” Ghost follows, with a nod to Jeff for writing it. Ed goes up to the high register early on Present Tense. Introducing Eruption, Ed mentions the conversation from earlier about building childhood relationships with artists through music. Of The Earth, played for the first time since 2012, has an extended ending. Sirens is for “Todd, Kelly, and a little one named Alex,” adding that the singalong ending will be “the last time we’ll get to hear that for a while.” Stone thanks Ed prior to Don’t Gimme No Lip. Ed plays a slow, beautiful, melodic rendition of Lukin before the band kicks in and plays it the fast way, a very unique performance. Mike breaks one of the orbs during Porch.

After the break, Ed comments “we’ve got lights to break, songs to play, and different ways of saying goodbye,” and points out that the Canadian flag is slightly bigger than the American flag. Future Days is just Ed and Boom, and it’s dedicated to John and Ruth, Ed says “it’s not just the soldier, it’s their whole family.” He sends a wine bottle to the last row before Sleight of Hand. Mike has a wonderful solo on Breath. Ed sings the original “…get out of my fucking face” lines in Leash until about halfway through, when the “lucky face” line reemerges. He thanks everyone for staying, saying “we didn’t know until yesterday that 24 years ago today was our first gig in Seattle,” and as the crowd sings Happy Birthday, he adds “we’re proud to be in a long relationship…had to divorce a couple of drummers, but Jeff and Stone have been together for 30 years, thank you for the ride of our lives.” Mike has everyone hanging on every note of the Black solo, with a plaintive We Belong Together tag. As Boom begins to play Wasted Reprise, Ed continues:

“So I was thinking back today…October 22, we played our first show, not to be self-congratulatory, but October 23, it was a Sunday I think, we went in and recorded the 8 songs we had, or maybe 9 songs…October 24, I went back to work in the gas station in San Diego, it was like a crazy dream, except I had the tape! I had the tape, and working the midnight shift, and I could play the tape…and it really happened, and who knew what would happen, but I will tell you this, October 25 I think was the day I gave my 30-day notice. It’s a good feeling to just be able to say “I’m outta here…”

As Mike intros Baba O’Riley, Ed exclaims “here’s to The Who…50!” Yellow Ledbetter is prefaced with Ed thanking the whole crew, adding

“This is our way of saying goodbye…it guess it has to happen at some point, this is goodbye…no! It’s like Hawaiian-style, you don’t say goodbye, you say ‘a hui hou,’ see you next time, ‘shaka, a hui hou!’”

October 20, 2014 – BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Mind Your Manners, Corduroy, Lightning Bolt, Baba O’Riley, Brain of J., Faithfull, No Way, Given To Fly, Wishlist, Pilate, Do The Evolution, MFC, Low Light, In Hiding, Push Me, Pull Me, All Those Yesterdays, Even Flow, Sirens, Rats, Setting Forth, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Sleeping By Myself, Just Breathe, I Won’t Back Down, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Got Some, Jeremy, Lukin, Porch

encore 2: Crazy Mary, Black, Alive, Fuckin’ Up, Yellow Ledbetter/(Star-Spangled Banner)

Show Notes:

Red Dot plays over the PA before the band takes the stage, possibly for the first time since the 1998 tour. Before Baba O’Riley (unusual in the early set here), Ed mentions how things are going to be different tonight,…

Show Notes:

Red Dot plays over the PA before the band takes the stage, possibly for the first time since the 1998 tour.

Before Baba O’Riley (unusual in the early set here), Ed mentions how things are going to be different tonight, starting with a guest “from the great state of Illinois…from the city of Rockford, royalty, legend, Mr. Rick Nielsen!” Mike and Rick are playing the same guitar. The celebration starts early, with lots of tambourines and guitar picks flying into the crowd. Ed follows with some call and response with the crowd and then sings the chorus of Surrender, “Mikey’s alright, Rickey’s alright,” and the crowd joins in.

A quick “alright, it’s on,” before busting into Brain of J. Faithfull and No Way follow, and just 3 nights after Moline, it’s the Yield album in full! A few screams of recognition before Faithfull and a few more before No Way, and it builds to a fantastic Given to Fly, before which Ed talks about how there’s royalty in the house tonight, and dedicates GTF to Aaron Rodgers, changing the lyric to “…ran for hundreds of yards…” Jeff is given props for writing Pilate, “words and everything.” Ed says “time to flip the side” before Do the Evolution. Prior to Push Me, Pull Me, Ed says “this was not a…radio single, this was back when we felt like we had the trust of the audience,” and has some fun with it, adding “who the FUCK came up with love…” He tells along, funny story about wanting to try beer as an 8 year old with a friend, they had Hamm’s and Old Milwaukee; he remembers that the slogan was “It tastes as great as its name,” then laughs about how the name isn’t that great of a name and how it’s like “Old Dusty.” After All Those Yesterdays finishes Yield, he teases “now we’re going to play all of an album called Lost Dogs, this is how it starts…” before Stone launches into the familiar Even Flow riff. Mike absolutely rips apart the solo over nearly 3 minutes, maybe the best of the whole tour.

Ed reads a note from a woman named Diane, who had to travel to Korea to take care of her father, to Chuck, saying she’s thinking about you, and dedicates Sirens to him. A cheesehead makes its way on stage, getting a big crowd reaction, Ed jokes it must be a urinal, and says they had a request and that they have to play it “because of…this [points to cheesehead]” and that he can’t put it on because he’s from Chicago, getting a huge cheer from the crowd, and Rats makes it only appearance on the US leg. Ed talks about Aaron Rodgers again, expressing his frustration as a Bears fan:

“You know what would really be great? If Aaron Rodgers… if we can trade him so he can be on the Chicago Bears that would be really great. I did get the chance to say hello to him before the show, and I brought up that theory that maybe we can just do a straight trade of Jay Cutler for Aaron Rodgers. I can honestly say I’ve never seen a grown man laugh so hard. So [I suggested] maybe Jay Cutler and three mini Ditkas?”

They play Setting Forth at his request (Rodgers said after the show that he requested Rise). After Just Breathe, Ed asks the crowd to help him wish Tom Petty a happy birthday, surprising him by going behind a curtain then revealing the entire crowd, then leading the crowd singing Happy Birthday before playing I Won’t Back Down solo electric with the crowd singing every word. Boom throws in some riffs from Paint It Black to the epic Crazy Mary solo. Black is dedicated to Bucks legend Bobby Dandridge, Ed adds some improv lines at the end, “…wish I could call you one last time…just to say…goodbye…” He puts on a “Vedder 10” Packers jersey before Fuckin’ Up, and Stone dons the cheesehead. Green Bay backup quarterback Matt Flynn is lifted up on his linemen’s shoulders during the song. Fittingly, Hummus, the hidden track at the end of Yield, is played as an outro over the PA after the show.

October 19, 2014 – Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Release, Nothingman, Go, Life Wasted, Corduroy, Lightning Bolt, Mind Your Manners, Save You, Even Flow, Sirens, Love Boat Captain/(Jumpin’ Jack Flash), Daughter/(Blitzkrieg Bop), I Got Id, The Fixer, Unthought Known, Given To Fly, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Thin Air, Footsteps, Imagine, Last Kiss, Why Go, Do The Evolution, Porch

encore 2: Black, Setting Forth, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Indifference

Show Notes:

Release lyric is changed to “Dear Ron…” Nice solo/jam to end Lightning Bolt. Before Save You, Ed says “this one’s called ‘Get off your knees, motherfucker, I’m your friend and I’m not going to let you die’,” then does a short call and response with the crowd, going high, and commenting “not bad for a bunch of manly men from Minnesota.” Mike is fluid and expressive on Even Flow. Ed gets more intricate on the Sirens outro, adding some vocal inflections. A powerful Love Boat Captain again opens with a jam intro, and later, during the ending jam, Ed adds some lyrics from “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” before doing the “Love” call and response to end it. Before I Got Id, Ed sees a Canadian flag and mentions that the next song was written with a Canadian friend of theirs, Neil Young. Following The Fixer, Ed praises the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital for their work on EB, and invites the Dean of the Medical School, Jakub Tolar, on stage. Ed discusses his work and says he gave a tour of the UM facilities to Ed and Stone the day before, so Ed gives him a tour of Pearl Jam’s “facilities” on stage, after which Dr. Tolar speaks and thanks the band, and Ed starts Unthought Known immediately after he finishes. The RVM jam is melodic and atmospheric.

After the break, Ed jokes about how he doesn’t know what day of the week it is and that he’s falling apart, blaming Matt’s drumming for his hearing loss and staring at the sun for his loss of vision. Thin Air is dedicated to Gabriella with “sometimes people are like a fine wine…sometimes, the best ones are Italian.” Ed does a gender reveal for a couple in the crowd, just as Porch begins they find out it’s a boy. Stone starts Alive after Black, and Ed waves him off, leading to a little jazz improv break before playing Setting Forth instead. As Better Man transitions into Save It For Later, Ed urges the crowd on, saying “I know it’s late, let’s keep going!” The house lights go up for Indifference, and before he starts singing, he offers:

“hey, if we ever happen to meet somewhere…Mexico, South America, Texas, Seattle, Chicago…if there’s a way…just tell me you were here, the drinks are on me…”

October 17, 2014 – iWireless Center, Moline, IL, USA

Main Set: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Sometimes, Hail, Hail, Who You Are, In My Tree, Smile, Off He Goes, Habit, Red Mosquito, Lukin, Present Tense, Mankind, I’m Open, Around The Bend, Given To Fly, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Mind Your Manners, Brain Of J., Infallible, Even Flow, Gone, Garden, Porch

encore 1: Moline, Bee Girl, Imagine, In Hiding, Lightning Bolt, Do The Evolution, Jeremy, Why Go

encore 2: Eruption, Alive, Fuckin’ Up, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

“We’re gonna do something a little different tonight”, says Ed as the band finishes up In My Tree. In a relatively small venue, after an Elderly Woman opener, the band proceeds to play No Code in its entirety. Who You Are has an amusing start, as Jeff starts playing the bass line to In My Tree by accident before correcting himself. Off He Goes is gorgeous. Mike absolutely destroys Red Mosquito. I’m Open makes its first appearance since 2010. Around The Bend shuffles nicely, with a great melodic McCready lead.

After Given to Fly, Ed says they only have 2 songs left in the main set, which the crowd doesn’t like, so Ed says they’ll play a couple more and then “make some shit up.” He makes good on the promise, with a whopping 23-song main set, including a dedication to Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick, who lives nearby, after Infallible, with Ed teasing a little bit of Surrender after asking Mike if he was playing Rick’s guitar. Ed talks about Around the Bend again after Even Flow, saying that a fan in the front helped him with the opening lyric, and goes on to say that it was written for Jack Irons’ son Zach, but he didn’t want it to be just a lullaby

“…you can hear it as a lullaby or you can hear it as a serial killer singing to the person he just killed…how I want your soul to keep, off around the bend…”

Gone is played for the first time all year, by request. After the break, Ed asks, “We were just in the back, as if it were a kitchen just cooking up the next course…is everyone still hungry?” Then he asks the crowd “Who actually lives in Moline?” and says “I came up with a dish just for you guys,” and plays a new song that he says he wrote 10 minutes before the show, explaining

“it’s a similar song to Better Man…this woman is in a relationship with a complete and utter asshole, prick, abuser, misogynist motherfucker…unlike Better Man, this one leaves.”

Bee Girl is played as a request for a young girl named Allie in the crowd who is at her first show. Ed changes the words in In Hiding to “it seems so fucking simple now…sorry Allie!” Jeremy features a very loud crowd singalong. Mike wails on Eruption, which leads right into a great version of Alive. Matt lays down a great groove on Fuckin’ Up with both Mike and Stone soloing during the ending jam, sometimes parallel. After Yellow Ledbetter, Ed takes some time to give some extra shout-outs and thank you’s.

October 16, 2014 – Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI, USA

Main Set: Release, Oceans, Nothingman, Go, Mind Your Manners, (I Wanna Be Your Dog)/Corduroy, Lightning Bolt, Amongst The Waves, Even Flow, Light Years, Got Some, Dissident, Black, Red, Yellow/(Stranglehold), Lukin, Not For You, Once, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Man Of The Hour, Imagine, Last Kiss, Comatose, State Of Love And Trust, Black, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

encore 2: Do The Evolution, Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, (Detroit Rock City), Spin The Black Circle, Alive, Kick Out The Jams, Baba O’Riley, Indifference

Show Notes:

Crowd is loud from the outset. Release and Oceans are played back-to-back for the first time, nearly 25 years into the band’s career! After the opening trio, Ed relents and states “Alright let’s do this,” leading into an energetic Go and a breakneck Mind Your Manners. The band jams on the Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” as an intro to Corduroy, a nod to the seminal Detroit combo. Amongst the Waves is dedicated to couples. Ed promises to play more than 7 songs, “unlike our first Detroit show.” Just like in Memphis, Ed gives his condolences for the loss of Ikey Owens, this time before Light Years. During Dissident, Ed starts to show a little fatigue, drinks some water, and motions to Stone to cut the next song (would have been Swallowed Whole). Dennis Rodman gets a shout-out after Black, Red, Yellow. Ed makes a long-winded dedication of Lukin to Matt Lukin, who’s in attendance. Someone has a sign for Get RIght, and Ed says the band forgot it because it’s about smoking pot. No Modern Girl tag on Not For You, just a hybrid of the original outro with the Modern Girl chords. Ed breaks one of the hanging orbs with his guitar during RVM.

After the break, Ed jokes about Detroit being the “Paris of the Midwest” and paddle boarding to Canada. Band is seated for Man of the Hour. Ed plays Imagine solo, then the band returns to play Last Kiss to the back of the arena. Black has an improv at the end, including the lines “…all’s well that ends well…” and “…I hope I never have to see you again…” Ed and Mike roughhouse at the end of Better Man, and Ed smashes his guitar after some theatrical windmills. “Detroit Rock CIty” is teased before Spin the Black Circle. Ed has a Red Wings jersey during Alive, and Mike goes down in front to play the solo. Ed “collapses” during Baba and revives himself with push-ups. Many thank you’s and cheers to the crowd after Indifference.

October 14, 2014 – FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Wash, Low Light, Why Go, All Night, Mind Your Manners, Even Flow, Improv, Lightning Bolt, Sirens, 1/2 Full, Garden, Alone, Wishlist, Given To Fly, Let The Records Play, Spin The Black Circle, Black, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Nothing As It Seems, Come Back, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Do The Evolution, Breath, Porch

encore 2: Once, Crazy Mary, Better Man, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

Dave Krusen is in attendance. Early on in the night, Ed comments how he caught a cold at the Austin City Limits show a few days prior, but he’s “pretty sure it’s not Ebola,” hinting that if a bottle happens to get passed around later in the show, everyone who takes a sip is risking their lives. The band seems to make up for this by absolutely crushing it all night, with Mike in particular just on fire. Pendulum and Wash pair beautifully in the opening sequence, it was raining all day before the show. After Mind Your Manners, Ed comments how the new venue is much nicer than the old Pyramid, and the crowd cheers in agreement. Prior to Lightning Bolt, Ed plays a short improv about getting someone who you’ve lost back in your life. Sirens has a nice extended outro singalong. Ed says Half Full is “about something we love but something that doesn’t give a fuck about us: the planet.” Garden is dedicated to someone named Clinton. Ed tells a funny story about being in San Diego years ago and going outside a venue for a smoke, and the bouncer commenting how he looked like “the singer in that band,” to which Ed replied, “I met that guy years ago and he’s a total asshole!” The bouncer then proceeds to say “Yeah man, he’s a total dick.” Before he went back into the venue, he showed the bouncer his passport, and the guy said, “Oh man, it’s so nice to meet you!” Alone is played for the first time in 2014, “for all you serious collectors.” Wishlist is extended with several lines. Let The Records Play goes out to “Sun and Stax records, and vinyl,” followed by Spin The Black Circle. Ed improvs again during Black, and a stellar Rearviewmirror closes the main set.

After the break, Ed jokes that the band is more than happy to end early so folks can go to last call at the bars on Beale St. (which receives a lot of boos), and the encore opens with Nothing As It Seems. Come Back is dedicated to “Ikey” (Isaiah Owens, keyboardist for Jack White, Mars Volta, Long Beach Dub All-Stars), who passed away during the day. Mike highlights a scorching version of Breath. Ed tells a story about the band taking a tour of the Gibson guitar factory (which was very close to the venue), and the guide saying that the drummer of Pearl Jam had just been there, referring to Dave Krusen. Boom and Mike trade off solos on Crazy Mary and then join together at the end. Ed steps back and lets the crowd sing the Better Man intro, and the song builds to a crescendo ending jam. Mike has some really soulful, playful lines to end Yellow Ledbetter.

October 12, 2014 – Austin City Limits Music Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX, USA

Main Set: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Mind Your Manners, Given To Fly, Lightning Bolt, Immortality, Severed Hand, Daughter/(Mother), Even Flow, Sirens, Do The Evolution, You Are, Unthought Known, Down, Jeremy, Yellow Moon, Black, Lukin, Porch

encore 1: Better Man, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter/(Star-Spangled Banner)

Show Notes:

A week later, Pearl Jam returns to Austin for the finale of the ACL Festival. After Given to Fly, Ed thanks the Replacements, who had again played before PJ. Following a superb Immortality, he calls out Matt, saying he’s “never…

Show Notes:

“One time? One time…for about 22 years straight…it’s okay, your kids aren’t here tonight, they won’t hear about this at all… you want to smoke something green instead of taking something that somebody hands you, not knowing where it came from…that happened to me once but at least we got a song out of it,”

This led into Severed Hand. Daughter contains a brief tag of Pink Floyd’s Mother, making its tag debut. Ed gives a shout-out to Stevie Ray Vaughan after Even Flow, and then says that Steve Gleason is here tonight, and he requested You Are for his wife Michel. Black is dedicated to a fan from Peru, Aldo, who had lost his hearing in a work accident and had recently had surgery to hear again. Dhani Harrison joins on stage for Baba O’Riley. Ed introduces Yellow Ledbetter, saying “this song’s called ‘We Love the Neighbors,’ it’s a lullaby and it goes nice with an evening glass of wine” (they had gotten some complaints after the previous show). Mike plays a stirring rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner to cap off the festival.

October 9, 2014 – Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Sometimes, Nothingman, Go, Why Go, Getaway, Corduroy, Light Years, Mind Your Manners, Sirens/(Baby I Love Your Way), Present Tense, Eruption, Even Flow, Infallible, Do The Evolution, God’s Dice, Insignificance, 1/2 Full, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Porch

encore 1: You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, Imagine, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Given To Fly, Lightning Bolt, Jeremy, Black, Rearviewmirror

encore 2: Smile, Open All Night, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

First show in Nebraska since 1992. Ed is in superb form early on Pendulum. Sometimes builds up to the intense, passionate peak, Ed adds a “…don’t be shy, dear god…” Crowd is loud during Nothingman, and after, Ed says: “Good…

Show Notes:

“Good evening! Hello Lincoln…are you ready, Big Red? This is a new building…all due respect to the other bands who have played here…James Taylor and Katy Perry…let’s break this in tonight!”

He grabs a jersey from someone in the crowd after Corduroy and jokes about the football team, saying that the “N” on the helmet is for “knowledge.” Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way” is tagged on the end of Sirens, the first time it’s been played at a PJ show. Ed asks for help on Present Tense and gets it, the crowd is energetic and loud. During Do The Evolution, Ed starts a call and response, “…like South America!” There’s a kid in the front named Lewis who’s turning 6, Ed jokes if he wants coffee or wine, then, leading into Insignificance, tells him to tell his teacher that one Tomahawk missile is 1.5 million dollars. During ½ Full, Ed sings the “won’t someone save the world” to Lewis face to face. As Better Man is transitioning into Save It For Later, he dedicates it to Elizabeth, saying “…don’t be depressed anymore, you got this…” Orbs are down for Porch, Jeff and Mike are feeding off each other’s energy, Stone adds a lead over Mike’s solo and they duel for a little bit. Ed goes swinging on an orb, “like Miley Cyrus,” then throws the microphone out into the crowd and smashes the mic stand.

After the break, he tells a funny story about going into a Walgreens and trying to avoid giving the cashier his phone number. When he tells her who he is, she says her daughter is at the show, and she has to pick her up at 12:30. After the two covers, Ed says “Happy birthday John [Lennon].” Jeremy is dedicated to “teachers, teachers” during the intro. Ed tags some lyrics from RVM during an 8+ minute Black(!), before adding a short Time Heals tag as well. “Open All Night” is a debut cover, from Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, fittingly enough. In the first verse of Yellow Ledbetter, Ed’s mic isn’t working, so he jokingly sings into a beer bottle for a minute before finally getting a wireless mic during the chorus, and the crowd erupts with a huge ovation. Mike gets the spotlight for the end of the song and finishes it off sitting on the crowd step.

October 8, 2014 – BOK Center, Tulsa, OK, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Hard To Imagine, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Breakerfall, Last Exit, Animal, Mind Your Manners, In My Tree, Lightning Bolt, Dissident, Marker In The Sand, Even Flow, Sirens, Given To Fly, Jeremy, Let The Records Play, Spin The Black Circle, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Just Breathe, Black, Crazy Mary, I Believe In Miracles, Blood/(Atomic Dog), Porch

encore 2: Do The Evolution, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Alive, Baba O’Riley, Indifference

Show Notes:

The night begins with an eerie Pendulum. This leads into the only performance of Hard to Imagine on this tour. Small Town has some tuning issues with Stone’s guitar and is quickly switched out midway through. “Everybody good? Everybody ready to bring it?” from Ed leads into another tour rarity, a raucous Breakerfall. Matt doesn’t miss a beat in the transition to another album opener, Last Exit, which Matt absolutely stars on. The crowd answers Ed’s query, singing full-throatedly in Animal and In My Tree, which has a stellar outro jam, highlighted by Jeff’s bass. Ed notices someone sitting and jokes about “going Kanye on your ass to make you stand up,” then notices he’s on crutches, adding “I got Kanye’d on that. You Kanye’d me.” Lightning Bolt is introduced as “a Seattle rain dance to green the place up.” Sirens ends with an almost spiritual crowd singalong. An excellent, hard-driving, 7-minute RVM closes out a great first set. Out of the break, Ed talks about how they aren’t going to come to Tulsa and only play an hour and a half, plus there’s more wine. He jokes about a sign requesting Garden, and dedicates “Just Breathe” to all the newlyweds including “men married to men, and women married to women,” and specifically calls out seat numbers for the couple who requested the song. Ed improvises at the end of Black with the lines:

“…somebody save me…we didn’t belong together…now I’m here, now I’m there, now I’m gone.”

I Believe In Miracles is dedicated to a newborn baby, Imogene, who was born under “intense circumstances” today. Ed recognizes the back of the arena for rocking out, and asks since they are 100 miles from Oklahoma City, can he talk shit about them stealing Seattle’s basketball team? He then jokes that if he’s pissed, imagine how Jeff Ament feels! Baba O’Riley is prefaced by Ed saying “Hey, this is Nevan right here, it’s his 13th birthday” (Nevan was recognized earlier with a Who shirt and a sign saying he was entering his “teenage wasteland”). Nevan even played some tambourine games with Ed earning a “nice job, man” from Ed following the song. Following an Indifference singalong, Ed’s parting words are “beautiful night…thanks so much…we’ll remember this one…miss everyone so much. See you brothers. Cheers, much love.”

October 5, 2014 – Austin City Limits Music Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX, USA

Main Set: Long Road, Go, Why Go, Do The Evolution, Mind Your Manners, Save You, Corduroy, Lightning Bolt, Faithfull, Love Boat Captain, My Father’s Son, Got Some, Even Flow, Sirens, Red Mosquito, Daughter/(Alex Chilton/Atomic Dog), Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Imagine, Come Back, State Of Love And Trust, Lukin, Porch, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World

Show Notes:

Long Road opens the evening, with Ed donning his Walter Payton jersey and his SG as he and Boom ease the band into the song. A strong and ethereal performance with particularly sharp Ed vocals. The band immediately turns up the heat with a blistering run through Go, Why Go, Do the Evolution, Mind Your Manners and Save You, the latter of which has Ed unleashing another electrifying vocal punctuated by a jarring “let’s beat it.” Afterward, Ed opines “Have I had too much wine already? I don’t think so.” Ed then gives a shout out to The Replacements, who played prior. As the band gears up for Corduroy, he adds “I reckon this is a pretty expensive bottle of wine, we better work for it.” Corduroy is spot-on, a straightforward run-through with no extended mid-song jam, but featuring a great and melodic solo from Mike, leading to a nice tight jam from the band. Ed points out a fan holding up a flagpole, and implores him to be safe, as “just like Wrigley Field there may be a lightning storm coming,” leading into an energetic Lightning Bolt, with Ed and Stone really playing off each other well in the closing jam. Love Boat Captain again features the extended intro from Cincinnati, and Boom shines on B3 in the outro jam. Ed dedicates Sirens to the Chief of Police, “who I hear is a big fan of the band,” saying he’s never met him, but “drop my name and maybe you get two phone calls.” Photographer Danny Clinch joins the band on harmonica for Red Mosquito. Daughter features a short set of tags, with a nod to The Replacements in Alex Chilton, and a brief vocal riff from Ed on Atomic Dog. As the song concludes, Ed polls the crowd about having shitty dads and moms, then says “…the one good thing about having a shitty dad is you know exactly what not to do. Break the chain.” A ferocious Rearviewmirror closes the main set. The encore kicks off with a seated Elderly Woman and Ed solo on Imagine. A powerful and cathartic Come Back is dedicated to Joey Thomas, who tragically passed away at age 13. The evening comes to a climax with an energetic run of State, Lukin, and Porch. Mike takes his solo for much of Alive touring the fans along the barricade. After introducing the band, Ed says “thank you so much, we will see you…uh…next year” perhaps forgetting they will be back in a little over a week.

October 3, 2014 – Scottrade Center, St. Louis, MO, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Low Light, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Go, Do The Evolution, Mind Your Manners, My Father’s Son, Corduroy, Lightning Bolt, Pilate, Even Flow, Swallowed Whole, Why Go, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Daughter/(W.M.A.), Jeremy, Lukin, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Imagine, Just Breathe, Thin Air, Footsteps, Last Kiss, Once, Down, Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns, Porch

encore 2: Given To Fly, Setting Forth, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Alive, Baba O’Riley

Show Notes:

Small Town is changed to “I’m glad I got to see your place, thank you very much for taking us.” Go starts with a blistering pace and it continues through a sped-up Mind your Manners. Ed says hello to the crowd and says how “it’s too early to celebrate, but if you’re ready, we’re ready,” referring to the Cardinals’ NLDS game that night. After Lightning Bolt, Ed mentions they were just in Cincinnati, and Stone went for a run and ran all the way to Kentucky, calling him an “interstate runner…impressive, even if the hotel was right on the border!” He mentions that the next song was written by Jeff, and says how the song was based on one of the best books in Russian literature, “it was written by Mikhail Bulgakov and it’s called The Master and Margarita and you will be tested about this later,” leading into Pilate. After Daughter, Ed mentions how rare it is to play a place where your friend, who is here in the audience, has a statue outside of the arena, “so here’s to Brett Hull.” During the first encore break, Ed comes out and says how he thought everyone would’ve left to start celebrating before game 2. He tells the crowd if he fucks up the next song he will start it over, but if the crowd helps him he will get through it, which leads into a powerful debut of John Lennon’s Imagine. “This ones for the serious collector, the romantic types,” prefaces Thin Air. Last Kiss is messed up at the beginning, but they find their way through it. After Down, the emotion ramps up as for the only time on the North American leg of the tour, they bust out Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns. Ed takes a very reverent, delicate approach to Chloe Dancer, and Mike elicits a soulful wail out of his instrument during the Crown of Thorns solo. Encore 2 starts with Ed talking about a woman who had to fight her way out of the hospital to be here tonight, and dedicates Given to Fly to her. Setting Forth transitions into Better Man, Ed hands the intro over to the crowd and they run with it, and talks about running away from different places (California, Seattle, Chicago) during the Save It For Later tag before buttering up the St. Louis crowd one more time (“this one’s better”), and the show ends on a triumphant note with Baba O’Riley.

October 1, 2014 – US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Nothingman, Of The Girl, Mind Your Manners, Lightning Bolt, Corduroy, Spin The Black Circle, Got Some, Even Flow, Sirens, Love Boat Captain/(Jumpin’ Jack Flash), Present Tense, Daughter/(Another Brick In The Wall (Pt. 2)/Keep It In Motion), State Of Love And Trust, Waiting On A Friend, Jeremy, Comatose, Setting Forth, Porch

encore 1: Sleeping By Myself, Man Of The Hour, Parachutes, All Those Yesterdays, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Given To Fly, Unthought Known, Do The Evolution, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

encore 2: Black, The Real Me, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter/(Star-Spangled Banner)

Show Notes:

After a nearly three-month break after the European leg, the band was ready to hit the stage hard in Cincinnati for the first time in 8 years. Ed makes reference to the first time they played here, in November of 1991, and by July of 1992 they had played here three times, and he begs for forgiveness for the drop-off over the years. Ed jokingly dedicates Spin The Black Circle to all the fine people at WKRP, which also happens to be a real station in the city. Earlier that day in Ed’s hotel room, while curating the setlist, he heard some noises that sounded like Cincinnati was under siege, but interpreted that as someone making a request for Sirens. A beautiful rendition of the song follows, with an extended outro. Love Boat Captain stretches out to over 8 minutes, with an INCREDIBLE extended jam intro and another long jam in the outro, featuring a tag of Rolling Stones hit Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Following Daughter, Ed reminisces about a time when they played a local venue called Bogarts:

“I was smoking a joint in the alley and this guy asked me for some, I gave him some…and he bogarted my joint!”

He then mentions an instance where during the same visit, a fan greeted him at the movie theater where they went and saw Wayne’s World. The same fan sees Ed that week and asks if he remembers him, saying:

“I didn’t get a picture then and you said we could do it next time, so can we get a picture together? And I said fuck off dude! And I apologized because I mistook him for the guy that stole my joint at Bogarts!”

More Stones connections as Waiting On A Friend is dusted off for only the fourth time ever, Ed introducing it by sharing a story about how Keith Richards pulled a bowie knife on Mike that was half as long as his leg. Setting Forth is dedicated to Dayton, Ohio band Guided By Voices, whose song “Keep It In Motion” was tagged in Daughter earlier. Ed mentions that their short songs provided inspiration for him to write the Into The Wild soundtrack. After the break, Ed says Sleeping By Myself is about being lonely by choice, that you’d “rather be lonely than be with a fucking asshole.” Ed brings up Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose and calls his exclusion from the Hall of Fame an injustice, dedicating Man Of The Hour to him and his son Pete Rose Jr. Given To Fly is for a local EB nurse named Gerri, and for Max and Jason. Better Man closes the set with Ed smashing his Gibson SG into pieces. In the second encore, The Real Me is dedicated to the families of those who lost their lives 35 years ago in a tragic Cincinnati Who concert, Ed explains:

“…it became something we needed to learn about too. They reached out to us when we needed it. This is to Pete and Roger and this was the last song they played that night.”

RITFW has a little ode to the Rush song “Working Man” in Mike’s solo. The show ends with Mike wailing away on the Star-Spangled Banner, capping off the tour opener in style.

December 6, 2013 – Key Arena, Seattle, WA, USA

Show Covered by Podcast

Main Set: Pendulum, Nothingman, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Lightning Bolt, Mind Your Manners, Given To Fly, Pilate, Garden, Getaway, Even Flow, Sirens, In My Tree, Do The Evolution, Unthought Known, Black, Let The Records Play, Spin The Black Circle, Lukin, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

encore 1: After Hours, Let Me Sleep, Future Days, Daughter, Chloe Dancer/Crown Of Thorns, Breath, State Of Love And Trust, Porch

encore 2: Supersonic, Got Some, Rearviewmirror, Alive, Kick Out The Jams, Eruption, Yellow Ledbetter/(Little Wing)

Show Notes:

Ed takes his first swig of wine as Pendulum begins. Following Mind Your Manners, Ed, grabbing the bottle, addresses the crowd for the first time of the evening, commenting: “…it looks like a Seahawks game out there! It’s good to…

Show Notes:

Ed takes his first swig of wine as Pendulum begins. Following Mind Your Manners, Ed, grabbing the bottle, addresses the crowd for the first time of the evening, commenting:

“…it looks like a Seahawks game out there! It’s good to be back home…we’ve got a lot of friends here which is why I brought the extra big bottle of wine…”

while showing off the oversized bottle. He dedicates the next song, Given to Fly, to Seattle Mariner Raul Ibanez. Afterwards, he tells the crowd that the next song was written by the “intellectual of the group,” Jeff Ament, and Pilate is dedicated to Jeff’s lady friend. Ed, distracted, suddenly dashes to the microphone, getting there just in time to sing the opening line. He then stops the band, asks to “get it right,” and they begin the song again. Prior to Garden, he tells the crowd:

“the thing about playing Seattle is that most of these songs were written here…this one was written in Seward Park.”

This rendition is punctuated by Mike’s dark and soulful solo. He turns it up even more during Even Flow, bashing the head of his guitar in the speaker during the solo. Afterwards, Ed finally tells the origin story of Even Flow, talking about his homeless friend (also named Eddie) who he would see around town, until one day he was gone. Matt Vaughan from Easy Street Records gets a shout out, and City Bank gets a ‘fuck you’ toast for causing the 2nd location of Easy Street Records to shut down, as Let the Records Play features Stone in his element, providing the funky groove that has Ed dancing between verses. Lukin is introduced with:

“when we play this, we usually dedicate it to the guy it’s written about…it’s only on rare occasions that he’s actually here. This is for Lukin.”

The band thrashes through the song as the pit area is jumping. After the break, Ed starts a crowd wave, adding:

“I don’t remember this room sounding as good as it’s sounding tonight…it’d sound really good if we had a basketball team in here too.”

He toasts the first anniversary of the legalization of marijuana and gay marriage, saying “isn’t it great to live in a city and community that is on the right side of history.” Following After Hours, Let Me Sleep appears for the first time since Bridge School 1994! Afterwards, Ed tells the crowd how 7-year-old Ashley Baxter and her father, Keith, rescued him from some big waves in Hawaii about 11 years ago, and Ashley is brought out on stage, leading to Future Days. The Singles soundtrack trilogy of Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns, Breath, and State of Love and Trust is played at the same show for the first time! The historic encore closes with Porch, and Ed swinging and practicing his aerobatics on one of the hanging stage prop lights.

The second encore begins with Mike thanking the crowd for coming out and raising awareness for local radio station KEXP. Ed leads the crowd in shouting “KEXP, KEXP” then offers a toast to the SuperSonics, leading to Supersonic. Mike goes out into the audience and takes a walk through the crowd while soloing on Alive, joining the rest of the band on stage to finish the song’s last few bars. Mark Arm, Steve Turner, and Kim Thayil come out to join the band for Kick Out the Jams. During the song, Matt Lukin (with beer in hand) walks out on stage to embrace Ed, and they fall to the ground and begin to hug. Before getting up, Lukin is able to rescue his beer and quickly guzzle it while keeping it from Ed, who was grabbing for it. The guys get up laughing, and the party on stage continues with Tim DiJulio (Stereo Embers/Flight to Mars) joining in with the group as Mike hands out vinyl copies of the Christmas single (featuring his lead vocal on Turning Mist) to the crowd. Ed asks, “Does anyone here know how to play a rock tune?” Mike switches out his guitar, acting as though he was about to throw it into the crowd, and begins a blistering Eruption solo. Ed jumps down to the rail to give some hugs during Ledbetter, and Mike wraps up the song with Little Wing. Ed thanks the crowd, adding “it’s nice to have the chance to get better and grow old…and not die, be alive,” then wishes the audience a Happy Christmas before exiting the stage.

December 4, 2013 – Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC, CAN

Main Set: Oceans, Can’t Keep, Low Light, Corduroy, Breakerfall, Mind Your Manners, Why Go, Gods’ Dice, Lightning Bolt, In Hiding, Even Flow, Setting Forth, Not For You/(Modern Girl), Daughter/(It’s O.K.), Infallible, After Hours, Sirens, Jeremy, Gonna See My Friend, Porch

encore 1: Soon Forget, Yellow Moon, Thumbing My Way, Footsteps, Mother, Insignificance, Given To Fly, Got Some, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

encore 2: Go, Do The Evolution, Black, Alive, Kick Out The Jams, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

Surrounded by water, the Oceans opener is no surprise. Ed has a ukulele for Can’t Keep. A stage light and mood switch occurs with Corduroy. The band teams up with each other to come together for a wild Corduroy outro. Perfect call and response by the audience on MYM. Ed takes a moment to crack open some wine and offers a quick hello, “we’ll be home soon enough but we’re in Vancouver, we’re not going anywhere. We’ll talk later. Let’s keep going,” keeping the energy up with Gods’ Dice and Lightning Bolt. Stone leads the way into In Hiding and Ed reaches for the wine and gestures to his throat and chest and mouths something about his voice. It looks like Boom is reading the sheet music. Ed tells a joke about meeting someone from Mexico and a couple from Sweden who have come to Vancouver for the “tropical weather.” He reminisces about an early 1991 show at the Town Pump in Vancouver where the audience was the size of the first row and they remember playing this song…cue Even Flow. During the solo, Ed speaks to a tech who fixes something while Ed shares an enormous bottle of wine with the front row. Mike tiptoes out of the solo as do the backing guitars, leaving Matt’s mastery on display. Stone gets pretty bluesy for the Not For You solo and Ed does a yodel call and response with the audience. Lights go out to spotlight Ed on his guitar for After Hours. He asks for the crowd to help with lyrics for Gonna See My Friend, has a mini jam session with Stone at the end and they sneak in a few chords of Porch. Mike is on his knees for the Porch solo, Matt maintains the beat with otherworldly precision during a super extended bridge. Jeff swats at the hanging globes and Ed plays front row bartender and proceeds to climb the lighting, mic in hand.

After the break, he toasts the bartender/guitar tech who brings him the wine and grabs his ukulele to play Soon Forget, last played in 2006! A tech issue follows and he eggs on the audience with some hockey-talk and a shout-out to friend Chris Chelios which the crowd jokingly disapproves of. Each member of the band is highlighted on a beautifully mellow Thumbing My Way. After Mother, Ed says “as a taxpayer, you might contribute to things you don’t necessarily agree with…bombs dropping on children…now we have drones…I’m not getting into it,” and jokes that he will leave the crowd with a tale of a 4.5 hour concert with 3 hours of music and 1.5 hours of politics, leading into an energetic Insignificance. Ed struggles a bit with the lyrics and the chords during Better Man, gets the audience to assist, states “I fucked up, I know,” and continues to take long pauses, playing with the audience. Stone joins Mike and Jeff’s side of the stage and then Ed joins in, creating a little guitar posse. The song continues and Ed asks “Should we stop now?” The “don’t run away” line has a list of tags:

“like my father did…like my brother did…like my sister did…like my uncle did…like all my friends…like my first girlfriend did…”

Ed windmills, rests on Mike before the final guitar push of the outro and we get not one, not two, not three, but four signature jumps.

Ed introduces “Mr. Stone Gossard and Andy Wolf who looks after Stone’s shit and is a total champ tonight,” in reference to the tech issues. Ed thanks Mudhoney for opening for them and again braving a storm to get there. Mike’s Black solo is bluesy, yet wailing towards the speakers and has Ed crying out at the very end. Alive becomes interactive with Mike going right down into the front section and Ed catching gifts being thrown at them and climbing speakers and pointing to people. The lights go on and Mudhoney’s Mark Arm and Steve Turner join in for Kick Out The Jams. Ed teases the audience “they sometimes say leave them wanting more…well fuck that shit,” and acknowledges how they’re “fortunate to have these gatherings based on music” and jokes about a young fan with headphones on who is “probably listening to Katy Perry.” Ed wishes the crowd a “Happy Christmas and Happy New Year….until next time.”

December 2, 2013 – Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, AB, CAN

Main Set: Of The Girl, Hard To Imagine, Nothingman, Lightning Bolt, Corduroy, Mind Your Manners, Animal, Red Mosquito, I Am Mine, Wishlist, Even Flow, Sirens, Given To Fly, Infallible, Do The Evolution, I Got Shit/(Cinnamon Girl), Rats, State Of Love And Trust, Lukin, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

encore 1: After Hours, Sleight of Hand, Future Days, Daughter/(Improv), Last Exit, Go, Porch

encore 2: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Crazy Mary, Alive, Fuckin’ Up, Indifference

Show Notes:

With blizzard conditions outside, Ed prefaces Lightning Bolt with “let’s melt some fucking snow.” Corduroy has the lyric change “…you froze inside my head…” Ed toasts the Calgary crowd for braving the blizzard, acknowledging how hard it was even for the band and crew to get there – “we were thinking only about 2500 people would make it…” He also thanks opening band Mudhoney, saying they drove 13 hours to play 30 minutes, and introduces Red Mosquito as “a song about bugs.” Crowd chants for Stone, leading Ed to remark “that’s only gonna make Mike play harder.” The crowd then chants for Mike, and Ed asks a fan in the front row what his name is and chants “Scott” for him, going on to salute those who had to clean up after the floods in June and repair the Saddledome. I Am Mine is “about getting to higher ground.” Before I Got Id, Ed says “if you ever wanted to chant anyone’s name it should be this guy,” and mentions how important Neil Young was in “keeping us on track for the good shit,” and that they wrote the song with him, adding a couple of lines of Cinnamon Girl. Before Rats, Ed toasts “here’s to rat-free Alberta.” He throws the microphone down into the crowd during State and a fan sings the ending. Lukin gets the slow fake-out. During Better Man, Ed back-to-back solos with Mike and they fall down on each other.

To begin the encores, the meteorologist confirms that it’s still “pretty cold” outside, and Ed talks about going to the doctor and being asked about his drinking habits, “and then I realized, well, when I’m working…” After Hours makes another appearance in tribute to Lou Reed. Sleight of Hand is “for the long drive to work.” Ed says that Future Days is for Pete and Jen Lightbody, “you wouldn’t necessarily know…but this song is about a couple whose children have grown up and moved out and it’s all romantic again,” and Boom plays the intro. Ed sings “hush…hush now baby,” during Daughter, possibly playing off Pink Floyd’s Mother. A young boy named Jaxon in the crowd gets a shout-out for drumming in a video of Mind Your Manners, Ed introduces him to Matt and says that the band will be back to open for his band in twenty years. To begin the second encore, Ed toasts snowplow drivers and sings “Mr. Plow” from The Simpsons. Small Town is played for the back. Ed leaves with “…Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day…”

November 30, 2013 – Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA, USA

Show Covered by Podcast

Main Set: Pendulum, Release, Sirens, Corduroy, Once, Lightning Bolt, Mind Your Manners, Faithfull, Tremor Christ, Even Flow, Getaway, Present Tense, Daughter/(Blitzkrieg Bop), Swallowed Whole, After Hours, Let The Records Play, Push Me, Pull Me, Jeremy, Do The Evolution, Porch

encore 1: I Won’t Back Down, Nothing As It Seems, Footsteps, Severed Hand, Don’t Gimme No Lip, Brain Of J., Go, Black, Rearviewmirror

encore 2: Given To Fly, Eruption, Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

Pearl Jam visits the second most populous city in Washington for the first time since 1993. Helping curate the setlist for this show is Steve Gleason, who also created the setlist for Voodoo Fest in New Orleans earlier this tour. Mike is sporting a Defend Team Gleason t-shirt. Gleason must like Sirens early, it’s played in an unconventional spot third in the set, and it had opened the Voodoo Fest show. Corduroy and Once are where the crowd really gets to shine, Ed gives them a chance to sing a little of the verse in Once. Ed gives a nod to Jeff, saying he was the one who made this show happen. Holding a normal bottle of wine, Ed comments that this is a “Portland bottle of wine” and needs something more substantial for Spokane. He is handed a novelty-sized wine bottle that he says is “a full glass in every sip” as he and Jeff partake. Soaring version of Lightning Bolt with an emphasis on the “…towards the great northwest” line. Faithfull and Tremor Christ are played next to flawlessly, Tremor Christ especially sounding reminiscent of 1995. Ed gives a nod to Mudhoney, who opened, and notes they should’ve played there together back in 1992. He also addresses a music documentary about the local punk scene called Spokanarchy. Present Tense is a mid-set highlight with great crowd participation and an excellent build, and after the performance the crowd makes their request for Stone to sing. As Ed eggs him on, he promises that it’ll happen tonight, he just needs to “sharpen the sword before slaying the dragon.” Daughter has Ed attempting some vocal call and response droning, but it doesn’t really come off like he planned. Following, Ed references a couple of signs in the crowd. One reads “Jeremy Spokane class today” which was allegedly a joke referenced in their 1993 show. The other sign says “Will Shave Head For Brain Of J,” which Ed reads as:

“…will shave head…for a spanking? You’ll shave your head if we play that song? I can’t see you, do you have any hair? [fan shows their dreadlocks] Oh shit! I have to think that you’ve been thinking about shaving that shit off for some kinda time, and you’re just thinking how can you make it kind of a dramatic way to end this…dedication and test of your friends’ will to hang out with you…alright, let’s keep that in mind…”

Ed references the Velvet Underground and how their records were the first they listened to that made them feel like they were on drugs. He plays a very nice solo rendition of After Hours as a tribute to Lou Reed’s recent passing. Push Me, Pull Me is teed up as a serious collector song, only the 11th performance. A big trio ends the main set with Jeremy, Evolution and Porch. During Porch, Ed reflects the stage light into the crowd off his reflective pickguard before chucking his guitar in the air and catching it. In the encore, Ed is tossed a mega joint that has some words scribbled on it and calls it a one-hitter these days. Gleason and his family are mentioned as being extraordinary people, they are introduced to the crowd to a massive ovation before playing I Won’t Back Down for the first time since 2006. Nothing As It Seems bursts with electricity from Mike right from the start, and Footsteps follows with more of a moody presence. The crowd gets their wish from earlier as Stone, somewhat reluctantly, gets on the mic to sing Don’t Gimme No Lip, also for the first time since 2006! The dreadlocked fan from earlier, Sean, is invited on stage, Jeff has an electric razor and Mike takes some polaroids. Ed says:

“…this is a professional operation up here…this ain’t the first time we’ve given a haircut on stage, if you remember the infamous mullet episode in Detroit, 1993…”

Sean asks Ed if he can headbang just one last time to Brain Of J. The request is fulfilled, and as they get into the bridge, Ed takes the electric razor and begins to shave the dreads off. After the song ends, the band starts playing a bluesy jam as Ed continues to shave the massive locks of hair off his head, with one being nearly impossible for him to get off. They send Sean off stage with parting gifts (pieces of his hair and polaroids) and Go is introduced as the first song he can headbang to “without all of that weight” on his head. A Van Halen tribute section takes place in the 2nd encore as Mike blows the crowd away with Eruption before segueing into the first Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love outside of Hartford, CT. The night ends with Mike walking off the side of the stage and serenading Gleason with the final notes of Yellow Ledbetter.

November 29, 2013 – Moda Center, Portland, OR, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Low Light, Sometimes, (Interstellar Overdrive)/Corduroy, Lightning Bolt, Mind Your Manners, Animal, Deep, Sirens, Even Flow, You Are, Given To Fly, Infallible, After Hours, Spin The Black Circle, Rats, Lukin, Last Exit, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: The End, Yellow Moon, All Those Yesterdays, Just Breathe, Mother, State Of Love And Trust, Why Go, Porch

encore 2: Better Man/(Save It For Later), Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, Black/(We Belong Together), Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World

Show Notes:

Pendulum starts off on the wrong note, but it doesn’t sidetrack the song. Low Light is powerful leading into a fast, shouty Sometimes, with Ed asking “…are you laughing here, dear god?” Matt is on fire during Lightning Bolt, driving and muscular. Mike solos over Stone’s lead as well, to great effect. MYM keeps getting faster, played at a breakneck pace tonight. Ed says that the last time they played Portland was a benefit for “the Pacific Northwest School…am I saying that correctly…the Northwest School?” and then jokes “no, don’t embarrass me in front of all these people, just go with what I’m saying…I don’t know what the FUCK I’m talking about…” Sirens is dedicated to Tomas Young and his wife Claudia, who are in attendance, and it includes a long acoustic reprise at the end with Ed really going for the vocal inflections and the crowd loud, leading Ed to utter “thank you for that” quickly afterwards. He sees a couple of people in the crowd and calls them out:

“…what’s that thing you’re doing there, there’s like two confetti machine people here, nice! I was wondering what you symbolized…it’s like, they’re the military-industrial complex and they’re tearing money and throwing it up in the air…are we paying you money to do that for the whole show? We should…thanks! It’s making it exciting for me, you’re picking really good spots…”

He continues, pointing out the Yankees hat on the fan, causing the crowd to boo, and joking about the rivalry between the Yankees and the (non-existent) Portland baseball team, “it’s a crazy one I know, I just can’t remember…,” and adds “we’re going to play another new one” leading into Even Flow. Matt has a tremendous drum solo on Even Flow, a full minute long, Ed exhorting the crowd immediately after “…come on! He did that for you…” and shouting out “Matt fucking Cameron!” before the very end instead of Mike. He points out after that while everyone yesterday was celebrating the “pilgrims stealing Indians’ food, whatever that thing is,” they were giving thanks for Matt on his birthday, leading to the Cameron-penned You Are, the first performance since 2011. Ed asks for the lights up, pointing out a fan with a hat and a “Luv Co.” shirt, and Jeff interjects “that’s Concert Dave!” Ed says Jeff has the only other Luv Co. shirt and teases Jeff, “do you know ALL these people?” Infallible is “for Earth.” Lukin is started but abandoned before Ed starts singing. He runs through the riff a couple of times and then teases “you know, when you hear the song played and you hear the technicalities involved, it’s very intense…” He continues, talking about how he hates when people from Seattle call Portland “P-town,” adding “but Portlandia, I think that’s great…which is funny because this song came to me while having a bit of chamomile tea at the feminist bookstore,” and Lukin is restarted. Jeff and Matt highlight a frenetic RVM jam. After the break, Ed wants another bottle of wine and jokes “give that one to that little kid, he looks like he’s five years old or something.” He adds that Jeff noted there hasn’t been a Portland crowd this good since 1992 or ‘93, “and you figure that was a while back so most of those people are dead, this is like a new crowd, a new generation.”

To start the encore, The End is played by Ed solo and by request. Just Breathe is dedicated to Jason Baldwin of the West Memphis Three, also in attendance, who’s getting married soon. The crowd makes their feelings known on the “Mother” lines about running for president and trusting the government. Everyone sings Happy Birthday to Matt, with Ed asking Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney to count it off and pointing out Matt’s kids Ray and Josie and wife April before starting Better Man. Over the Wasted Reprise chords, Ed talks about all the friends they have there and thanks everyone, adding that Tomas Young had left, having decided that he didn’t want to continue on, moving to Portland, “the end of the Earth for happiness.” He continues, talking about how he mentioned Dick Cheney in Oakland and someone thought he should have moved on, leading Ed to rant passionately about Cheney and getting worked up about Tomas’ condition, closing with:

“…there are some things that even if you forgive you should not forget, just so we don’t let them happen again…we can’t let that happen again…and if Tomas sits there, all of fucking…34 years tomorrow, he’ll be 34 years tomorrow, and now I think he weighs about 65 pounds, look, if he can go through all this, and that makes a difference towards this never happening again he’ll be alright with the whole situation, he will have felt like he died a life…lived, and something that made a difference and it’s all up to us to make his life make a difference, thanks for listening.”

Stone starts Alive instead of Black and stops, the band going into jazz mode and Ed adding “I’m good either way…Portland jazz alley…come on it’s Matt’s birthday, let’s play some jazz…” Prior to Rockin’, Ed asks for reinforcements, calling on Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein, Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey, and Janet Weiss to help “take it home,” an impromptu Sleater-Kinney reunion onstage.

November 26, 2013 – Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Main Set: Pendulum, Nothingman, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Why Go, Hail, Hail, Lightning Bolt, Mind Your Manners, Dissident, Faithfull, Setting Forth, Corduroy, Even Flow, Sirens, Daughter/(W.M.A.), Unthought Known, Let The Records Play, Down, State Of Love And Trust, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

encore 1: After Hours, Yellow Moon, Last Kiss, Just Breathe, Thin Air, GIven To Fly, Untitled/MFC, Big Wave, Do The Evolution, The New World, Porch

encore 2: Smile, Crazy Mary, Black, Alive, Fuckin’ Up, Indifference

Show Notes:

The crowd takes the “into the sun” line in Nothingman and then Ed gives it to them one more time at the end. Hail, Hail has the “…I refer to those in front” lyric change. Before Faithfull, Ed explains to the audience that the song was requested by a fan who was part of a group from Brazil that was following the band from Southern California, and a woman in the group was mugged outside the venue and lost all her money and her passport. The Pearl Jam fans outside the show pitched in to help her out though, and Faithfull is her thank you. Mike has some noticeable tuning issues during the song and he stops playing until the solo, when he rips back in. Before Sirens, Ed says:

“…this next one, it’s a little bit I suppose about the fragility of life…and never take it for granted…there’s nothing better than getting news that you’ve beaten cancer or something….when we started out, none of us were parents, probably none of you were parents, I mean we were barely kids, becoming adults, but when I hear things about Dick Cheney not understanding that his daughter wants to be involved in same-sex marriage and he doesn’t support that, his own daughter, that’s a mystery to me…”

He continues, saying that Cheney should go one more level and be able to marry himself, so that “he can go fuck himself.” Sirens goes off without a hitch, Ed’s guitar perfectly in tune, and Jeff, Mike, and Stone all up at the front doing backup vocals at the end. Ed and Mike do the back-to-back lean and Jeff’s bouncing around on a show-stopping, almost 9-minute Better Man. After the break, Ed comes out, mentions Lou Reed’s recent passing (“Thanks Lou. Thank you Lou. We miss you Lou.”), and plays After Hours. Following Yellow Moon, the band goes over to the side of the stage where a group of Bridge School kids are sitting, and Ed says, with a huge smile:

“…this is my friend Maricor’s favorite song, so I’m going to go over here and hang out with my friends…here’s Maricor, here’s Alan…everybody’s here…”

Ed, Stone, Jeff, and Mike all go up onto the rail where the Bridge School kids are and sing Last Kiss right in front of them, Ed says something in Maricor’s ear and interacts with the kids while singing, a very touching moment to see. Thin Air returns to the set for the first time since 2008! John Doe from X joins for “The New World,” the first time it’s been played since PJ20 in 2011. Ed runs around the arena floor high-fiving the audience during Porch. Celebratory encore 2 opens with Smile and includes a powerful version of Black. Ed showers praise on the crowd before leaving, adding “…we love you…beautiful faces, every one of you…thanks.”

All Episodes

Shows by Year

Europe Shows

North America Shows

South America Shows

New Zealand Shows

Australia Shows

Concertpedia Contributors

Site Builders

Writers/Contributors