State of Love and Trust opens a show for the first time since 1992! The theme continues as the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros cover Arms Aloft is brought back for the first time since 2012, with the lyric altered…
Main Set: State Of Love And Trust, Arms Aloft, Mind Your Manners, God’s Dice, Setting Forth, Corduroy, Nothingman, In Hiding, Even Flow, Sirens, Unthought Known, Long Road, Daughter, Of The Earth, Last Exit, Porch
encore 1: Go, Inside Job, Given To Fly, Lightning Bolt, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Do The Evolution, Alive, The Real Me, Rockin’ In The Free World
State of Love and Trust opens a show for the first time since 1992! The theme continues as the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros cover Arms Aloft is brought back for the first time since 2012, with the lyric altered to “We were arms aloft…in New Orleans…” Ed addresses the crowd after God’s Dice, talking about how colorful they look, and references his arrest there back in the early 90’s. Matt shines on a dynamic, upbeat Setting Forth, which serves as an intro to Corduroy. Ed addressed the crowd again after In Hiding, talking about the recent passing of Prince, saying “We were lucky enough to be surprised to find out he actually did a version of this next song a couple of years ago…we were selfishly very honored to hear it, and he played the shit out of it, so we are going to try to play the shit out of it in his memory right now,” leading into a cathartic, impassioned Even Flow, with Mike wailing for nearly 3 minutes. Long Road is dedicated to Michael, who lost his brother John. Unusual Daughter, with no tag, jam, or call and response. The unreleased Of the Earth is prefaced with Ed saying “This is our version of jazz…about as close as we get…” The encore opens with a heavy-hitting Go, after which Ed then introduces Steve Gleason, and how they are honored to meet and play for him, and dedicates a powerful Inside Job to him. Mike carries that energy over into stellar versions of Given to Fly and Lightning Bolt. Ed takes a moment to gush about some of the other artists playing the festival, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Van Morrison, Beck, and Stevie Wonder. Following Alive, Ed welcomes a horn section to the stage, including Seattle-based saxophonist Skerik (Tuatara, Mad Season), Drew Baham, Carly Meyers, and Big Sam Williams (Dirty Dozen Brass Band). With the full brass accompaniment, the now 10-piece Pearl Jam stomps through a faithful, raucous version of The Real Me. The special guests keep coming for the final song of the night as RHCP drummer Chad Smith and Kings of Leon’s Nathan Followill join for Rockin’ in the Free World, leaving Matt to play guitar, and Skerik takes the final solo on saxophone. A diverse, unique setlist and a celebratory finish to the evening.
Written by: Scott Hetherington