September 4, 2024 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA

Show Notes:

Night two at the Garden opens with…Garden. Mike gets a chance to get into the groove early and Matt pounds away like thunder, and Ed goes down front to sing the end. During the bridge of Corduroy, Ed wants to…

Show Notes: 

Night two at the Garden opens with…Garden. Mike gets a chance to get into the groove early and Matt pounds away like thunder, and Ed goes down front to sing the end. During the bridge of Corduroy, Ed wants to tell a story:

“I think it was two years [ago] when we played in this very building, and they had some event down below…like a TV thing, it was gonna happen the next morning. They focused all the lights, got all the lights ready for the TV show in the morning, and when they came in the morning…all the lights were falling off and all fucked up and all out of place because the building had been rocking so hard the night before…let’s do that again!”

Hail, Hail has a very cool smoke/flame visual. Ed says that it’s the band’s 50th show in New York City, and it’s Even Flow that shows up early tonight. Afterwards, he speaks again:

“This is a Public Service Announcement…because there’s some shit that will go down in the next couple of months that will dictate what will go down in the next three or four decades….and women, I’m speaking to you, but dads, you can listen too…the rights of women are not just being threatened, they are already being taken away. I know it’s a little early to be getting into this shit, but let’s get it over with! So the right to choose issue, it used to involve religious fanatics, and then politicians got involved, not because they care one way or another, they just would like the votes. And now, it’s evolved into judges…and women of all ages are up against a Supreme Court…it’s time to vote, and as the great Patti Smith said, ‘People Have the Power’, never have truer words been spoken…women, feel empowered, vote for your own interests, help a sister out while you’re at it.”

Daughter follows, with Ed again changing the lyrics in the tag, this time to “…politicians leave our girls alone/judges leave our girls alone/just to make sure, be your own.” Dark Matter again has the ambient intro and visual that we were used to seeing from Scared of Fear. Prior to Won’t Tell, Ed sees a fan named Rob wearing a Soundgarden shirt (at which point Mike plays a tease of “Superunknown”), and then points out that Steven Van Zandt (of the E Street Band and The Sopranos) is in attendance, mentions his SiriusXM radio show and that he had told the band that the song would be a huge hit, and it should be a single. After a powerful I Am Mine, Ed talks about how Jeff and Stone had been to NYC before PJ made it there, and talks about his first time being in a big building meeting with the record company, calling it “a dream come true.” He tells the crowd “…this one’s all you” before starting Small Town. He asks the crowd if they should play a request:

“…it’s for a good friend of ours, he wanted to hear it, and I realized…he said ‘Why don’t you like playing that song?’ I said, it’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that I…that I…and actually, you know what, I don’t like playing this song…because it’s about guns, and I hate fucking guns! Even if it’s a song criticizing guns, I don’t even…I hate fucking guns! It’s like the first day of school, and then today, in Georgia, where they don’t have as good gun laws as they do in New York City, there was another big shooting…every other fucking day, so why would I want to spend four minutes singing a fucking song about guns?”

The “friend” is Howard Stern, and Ed adds “this one’s called…well, you know.” He exhorts the crowd during Jeremy, interjecting “…c’mon, c’mon!” Andrew Watt is introduced and helps out on Waiting For Stevie, taking the solo, and then sticks around to play Ed’s guitar part on RVM.

I Am a Patriot, a Steven Van Zandt cover, opens the massive 10-song encore with Ed changing the lyric to “…I was walking/with my wife of 24 years…,” the song’s first appearance since Fenway 2018. After Just Breathe, Glen Hansard comes out on stage, and Ed talks about all the shoutouts they’ve had requests for, mentioning Andrew Greenhall, who’s a transplant patient, and Alison, a mom of a 13-year-old named Sam who has a rare disease, and dedicates Song of Good Hope to them and others. Ed gets worked up during Gimme Some Truth, and the unlikely combo of Setting Sun and Sonic Reducer follows. Leash is a surprise, and it looks like the band is rushing a little with the curfew approaching during Alive, but then Watt, Hansard (with his band), and Van Zandt all join on stage for the Rockin’ in the Free World party, with so many people on stage that Jeff ends up playing tambourine. Order is restored on stage, and Ed says “this is how we say goodbye” before Ledbetter, adding that in Hawaii they say “a hui huo, see you later.”


September 3, 2024 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA

Show Notes:

Ed raises his wine bottle as the band enters the stage and Matt counts off Pendulum. Better Man is a surprise in the two spot, just like Porch was at Wrigley…could this be a new trend? Ed gets the crowd…

Show Notes: 

Ed raises his wine bottle as the band enters the stage and Matt counts off Pendulum. Better Man is a surprise in the two spot, just like Porch was at Wrigley…could this be a new trend? Ed gets the crowd going as the song transitions into the Save it for Later tag, and starts a “don’t run away” call-and-response. More Vitalogy early as Immortality follows, bathed in red stage light. Mike introduces himself with a fantastic solo, Jeff has a nice run during the build, and Matt takes over, putting on an incredible percussive show. The opening Dark Matter run is back, and after Scared of Fear Ed talks about how they’ve played 71 shows in the state of New York, and 48 times in New York City (close, if you include TV performances and all the extra stuff), and mentions playing the Wetlands and CBGB’s in 1991. He continues, adding “you make us feel, New York City, like the luckiest fucking people in the world.” He says React, Respond could also have been called “Don’t complain, vote,” and comments “I like this one” before Wreckage. Afterwards, he points out that it’s Fashion Week in New York, and jokes with the band about their obviously fashionable attire, leading appropriately into a tight, fast Satan’s Bed. There’s a birthday request for a fan, Kim Cruz, from her daughter-in-law, and Ed says “Kim, Mike McCready’s gonna play a red-hot solo on this one.” Out Of My Mind appears for only the seventh time, but the second time this year and third in the last two years. Ed plays a short instrumental intro to Love Boat Captain, and the band joins in for a little while before Ed brings it back down to start the vocals, but has to take a few moments to remember the words. Black is the showstopper, Mike losing his mind during the solo, then going up against his amps. Boom is prominent on the piano at the end as Ed guides it in with a tender We Belong Together. After, Ed speaks:

“Adam, you’re here, it’s your second show…Adam’s 13! I was thinking about you, because between the last time we saw him, a couple of years ago, and this time, some hard kinda life has transpired, and Jesse [Adam’s dad] lost his wife, and Adam lost his mom…her name was Joanne…and I know there’s some healing power in music, but the fact that you can be in this room tonight and hopefully be with your people, that takes some courage and guts, and faith and trust, and this band is so grateful to have that trust from you. Adam, wherever you are, I’m sending love…[Adam is found by the cameras and shown on screen] Adam is one of those beautiful kids that has autism…and here’s the thing I wanna mention…he was bullied in school so badly, that he had to change schools…but you know what I really can’t believe, is a fucking parent who lets their kid get away with bullying another kid, a beautiful kid, what kind of fucking parent is that? You think you’re being Presidential or some shit? Fuck. You. So I wanna say ‘fuck you’ to those parents, and I also want to say ‘fuck you’ to the goddamn school who let that go on and didn’t do anything to protect [Adam]…come on now! So, back home, tell ’em Ed Vedder said so, tell ’em Pearl Jam said to fuck off!”

Given to Fly has the band silhouetted on the screen, and Ed changes the line to “…faceless kids…” and the “fuckers!” line has some extra juice behind it. McCready takes over again during Porch, holding the neck of his guitar out to the crowd at the end.

Ed comes out with an acoustic guitar after the break and talks about how we can’t let ourselves be divided and asks for the phone fireflies before Imagine. Steve Gleason is in attendance, which means a standout performance of Inside Job. Ed tells a story about being in NYC about 15 years ago and being out with some friends late and ending up in a hotel room and writing Unthought Known. Once leads into Alive, but no Footsteps. The Alive solo is incredible, Mike adding lots of extra brightness and color. Indifference finally makes its 2024 debut, closing the show. Ed changes the lyric to “…we will scream our lungs out…” and thanks the crowd one last time.


September 11, 2022 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA

Show Notes:

Release and Garden get the crowd going early, loud and energetic. Come Back is started and then stopped by Ed to talk about how they appreciate being there, and to thank the first responders in the city. The seats are…

Show Notes: 

Release and Garden get the crowd going early, loud and energetic. Come Back is started and then stopped by Ed to talk about how they appreciate being there, and to thank the first responders in the city. The seats are tossed aside during Present Tense, kicking the show into high gear a little earlier than the few previous. Afterwards, Ed references the 2003 Garden show, exclaiming “…feel the floor movin’!” Porch is always a surprise this early, sounding tight and intense. Ed sees a fan altercation going on in the crowd and takes a minute to address it and remove the offenders, then kicks back into the song. The first Gigaton song of the night is Who Ever Said, which surges with momentum, Ed sounding great. Following that, he talks about women’s basketball legend Sue Bird, who had just retired, and mentions that Venus and Serena Williams are in attendance. The Daughter tag is by the British indie rock duo Wet Leg. Ed and Mike lean on each other during Better Man. Ed does a couple of lines from “Tiny Dancer” before Chloe Dancer, changing the line to “…hold me closer Chloe dancer…” This is the first Chloe/Crown pairing since the May 1, 2016 Garden show. Afterwards, Ed says “…that one was for Andy, this one is for Stiv,” and they tear into Sonic Reducer. He again shouts out the first responders who are in attendance and says that as “traumatic” and “despicable” as 9/11 was, 9/12 was awesome because everyone came together and worked together. After the break, Small Town is played to the back. The crowd absolutely kills Why Go and Do the Evolution, leading Ed (donning the shiny black jacket we saw earlier in the year) to again reference the stage-shaking 2003 show. He thanks the first responders one last time “for showing us what courage looks like.” Chad Smith is watching side stage and comes out during RITFW to pound on Josh’s drums. Mike closes out the night with the Star-Spangled Banner, ending a momentous weekend in New York City.


September 10, 2022 – Apollo Theater, New York, NY, USA

Show Notes:

The seated portion of the show continues to be showcase for rarities, as Footsteps opens a show for the first time since the 1996 Bridge School. Ed checks in with Matt and Stone afterwards, adding that he’s feeling  “shaky…I’m feeling,…

Show Notes: 

The seated portion of the show continues to be showcase for rarities, as Footsteps opens a show for the first time since the 1996 Bridge School. Ed checks in with Matt and Stone afterwards, adding that he’s feeling 

“shaky…I’m feeling, just, energy already. Could be the energy of the people in this crowd, could be the energy of New York City…”

He goes on to mention that the show is being broadcast on SiriusXM (as part of the Small Stages series) and what an honor it is to play in this historic venue. Sleight of Hand appears for the first time since the Binaural album show in Toronto 2016, and Parachutes since the show prior to that! Before Parachutes, Ed says that he has a “secret” but he has to wait 2 songs to tell it. He adds that he has news that brought “tears of joy,” and says Glen Hansard and his wife had a baby today, After Hard To Imagine, the secret is revealed, the show has to be stopped because a computer needs to be rebooted, and the PA system goes out temporarily. Mike teases Little Wing, and then the crowd joins together to sing Daughter. Ed comes out with an acoustic guitar and plays Keep Me In Your Heart solo unplugged. They return with Who Ever Said, after which Ed says 

“Alright, is it back? Are we up out there?” 

Who Ever Said kicks off a run of seven Gigaton tracks in the next nine, only broken up by a stellar Even Flow, featuring Mike soloing on his knees at the front of the stage, and Spin the Black Circle, which is dedicated to Howard Stern, Gary, and Robin Quivers, who Ed says he got to meet for the first time tonight, adding “I love the sound of your voice, bringing us joy when we need it.” He tells a story about a girl coming up to him in an airport back in the early 90’s and saying “I hate to bother you…,” to which he replied “…then don’t.” He continues the story, adding

“…so, she looked at me and then the pools of water starting going up these little Bambi eyes, and she turned and walked away…about five minutes passed, and I went to all the gates, we had 10 minutes before we board, I went to all the gates and she was gone, I couldn’t find her. So, if you’re out there somewhere, I never got your name, I was just a rude individual at the time, I was under some stress…no excuses, but all apologies. If you’re out there somewhere 30 years later, I know you’ve forgot it, but I haven’t and I just want to say I’m sorry and maybe I’ll get to meet you and say hi to you another day in the future.”

Someone in the crowd jokes that that was their mom, to which Ed replies “fuck you,” laughing. Whipping falls apart a few seconds in but it’s restarted from the beginning without further incident. Mike shows off his technicality and shreds the Porch solo. Ed talks about Bessie Smith, a blues singer from the 1920’s who was in an accident and the doctors wouldn’t treat her because of the color of her skin. The heat inside the venue was unbearable for some, due to no air conditioning.


May 2, 2016 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA

Show Notes:

Ed mentions that he can feel the stage rocking during the Corduroy outro. Following Given to Fly, Ed notes it’s their 36th time in the city and 10th at the Garden, and continues, “…here with this garden party you never…

Show Notes: 

Ed mentions that he can feel the stage rocking during the Corduroy outro. Following Given to Fly, Ed notes it’s their 36th time in the city and 10th at the Garden, and continues, “…here with this garden party you never know what’s going to happen, like this next thing we didn’t know was going to happen until not too long ago…” He then introduces Rick Nielsen and Tom Petersson from Cheap Trick, who were “newly anointed, appointed, indentured” (according to Ed) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, leading to the first full performance of Cheap Trick’s “Surrender.” After the song, Rick Nielsen is seen taking a picture of the crowd to which Ed notes, “this is amazing…Rick’s been at it so long, I didn’t know he’d know how to work an iPhone.” Nothingman begins the “man” trilogy, played for the first time in nearly 5 years, and 10 years since they’ve done it in this order. Before Leatherman, Ed talks about the Leatherman and equates it to Chris McCandless from Into the Wild in the early 1900’s, noting “I know that’s exciting…history.” Ed plays to the crowd during the Save it for Later tag, with a frantic finish. Mike is playing out of his mind on the 2 ½ minute Even Flow solo, and then Matt also takes a solo! Ed throws the mic into the crowd for the finish. Sirens is dedicated to Lance Corporal Tom Rorke who “lost his life tragically last year at the age of 23 and he’s got a lot of family and friends here tonight, like a lot, maybe a hundred of them. He put himself in harm’s way in a dignified manner, and tragically got lost in a crazy accident.” Big moment as the crowd gets loud at the end of Jeremy. Ed slips one “get out of my fuckin’ face” in the middle of Leash. Stone gets a spotlight for both solos in Do the Evolution. After the break, Ed jokes about going to Canada next, and how “they might not even have the internet up there.” You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away is Ed solo with the harmonica. Mike gets soulful on the underrated All or None solo. A fantastic Present Tense leads into both songs from Singles, with the crowd getting another chance to grab the microphone during Breath. Last Kiss’ is played to the back. Surprise guest Sting comes on stage during the first chorus of Driven to Tears and takes over the rest of the song, after which Ed gushes “let’s hear it one more time, that’s incredible…that’s all time favorite singer, favorite bass player, favorite activist, favorite humanist…that was a real honor…what do we do next?” House lights are up for Baba O’Riley, and at one point, Ed chastises someone for not giving a tambourine to a kid, muttering “give it to the kid you fuck.” Mike plays a long, feedback-drenched The Star Spangled Banner tag to close out the evening.

Written by: Nick Smith


May 1, 2016 – Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA

Show Notes:

Go opens with the classic album version intro. Ed mentions towards the end of the extended Corduroy that “I can feel it rocking,” referring to the infamous 2003 Garden performance. Following Given to Fly, Ed says he was going to…

Show Notes: 

Go opens with the classic album version intro. Ed mentions towards the end of the extended Corduroy that “I can feel it rocking,” referring to the infamous 2003 Garden performance. Following Given to Fly, Ed says he was going to request that the crowd shake the stage again, but it already happened! Low Light features a ridiculously long hold on the last note. Release makes a rare mid-set appearance, dedicated to Jen and Tim. For the last lines of Even Flow, Ed throws the mic to someone in the crowd for the last chorus, getting it back at the end, saying “yeah, you’re in the band man.” Matt is introduced as “the assassin, the thoroughbred, the Lamborghini,” and then Ed points out Kenneth, the fan who sang on Even Flow, on background vocals: “Nice job Kenneth…in about 2 and a half hours you might have to sing a couple because I might be gone…I’m glad I got back up.” An extra line is added to In Hiding, “…cracks along the walls…I was tripping balls.” Rats is dedicated to Enrico Salvatore “Ratso” Rizzo, Dustin Hoffman’s character in Midnight Cowboy. Ed sings some of “Dangerous Business” (from Ishtar, another Hoffman film) before Wishlist, in which Ed gets political during the outro. Before Do The Evolution, Ed says, “Alright this is the song, this is where we get seismic…see if we can feel it,” and almost immediately he mentions they can feel it bouncing. After some South American-style call and response, Evolution goes right into Why Go without missing a literal beat. RVM features some forgive/forget improv by Ed. Out of the first encore break, Ed is sporting a Marathon Man shirt, another Dustin Hoffman film. The End is played for the first time since 2013. Future Days is dedicated to Kevin, who’s fighting an autoimmune disease, and his wife Kim. This leads Ed to talk about EB, and says the song was written about his wife, leading to a piano-driven, sparse performance of the song. Crowd is singing loud and strong for Chloe Dancer, and continues into Crown of Thorns. “Takin’ It to the Streets” is an unusual choice, Ed says it was requested by an old friend, saying “Happy birthday Jack, you motherfucker,” and they run through just a couple of minutes of it. Ed goes off on the Townshend guitar windmills at the end of the Save It For Later tag. Small Town is played to the back of the arena. Black is haunting and beautiful over 8 minutes, with an epic solo by Mike, who then takes a trip into the crowd during the Alive solo, getting close to the top of the first level. Matt Cameron’s son Ray gets Mike’s guitar roughly halfway through RITFW, leaving him to help out on tambourine duty. Mike gets the guitar back for Indifference, using a bow to add some effects.


September 26, 2015 – Central Park, New York City, NY, USA

Show Notes:

Ed greets the crowd with a “Good evening…I think a toast is in order, here’s to New York City, here’s to Central Park, here’s to you,” before hitting the ground running with Mind Your Manners and Do The Evolution. Before…

Show Notes: 

Ed greets the crowd with a “Good evening…I think a toast is in order, here’s to New York City, here’s to Central Park, here’s to you,” before hitting the ground running with Mind Your Manners and Do The Evolution. Before launching into Given to Fly, Ed says, “Hey, this one’s for Malala” (referencing Malala Yousafzai who had been on stage just prior to Pearl Jam). Before a beautiful Unthought Known, Ed tells the story of how the song was written:

Just so happens that four or five years back, between about 4 or 5 in the morning, overlooking Central Park right over there in that corner…I was still awake at four in the morning and I saw the most beautiful evening sky over Central Park, the streets were empty, the stars were out which was very rare, I’d never seen it. and then, and then, I should have been gettin’ some sleep but I started scribbling lyrics and it felt like you couldn’t walk out of there, I couldn’t go to sleep because there was magic happening in front of me…and um…and then I got to see the sun rise over this beautiful part of this great city. And when I woke up in the morning, I thought it was just going to be a bunch of scribble and uh, which it was, but I was actually able to record a bit of it and and it was kind of nice to play it back and it wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever done…it could never capture what I saw that night but to have the opportunity to play it in the middle of the thing that inspired it is something I would have never anticipated.  

Stone starts to play the opening lick to Alive, and then Ed promptly stops him, saying I just wanted to say something before he played that song. You know this is really an incredible experience, because you’re surrounded by all these incredible activists on stage, in the back, world leaders, heads of business, people who have chosen to become resolved and decide to make change, but never before have we played for an audience full, 100% full of activists, and it’s an incredible feeling and we just want to thank you for making this wave of hope that can ride and it can grow and I hope it smashes on the shore of cynicism and apathy and we make global poverty…that in the near future, we make global poverty a thing of the past…so, uh, thanks for having us here, it’s been a blast…

Ed unsuccessfully tries to lead the crowd in the “yeah” (fist pumping) chant during what was an incredible solo by Mike, perhaps due to their inexperience (by PJ standards). After a short break, Ed comes out with an acoustic guitar and gives a very heartfelt tribute to John Lennon before playing Imagine. Beyoncé is introduced as the crowd erupts, and they play Redemption Song, its first appearance at a PJ show since 1995! During the bridge, Ed continues strumming while Beyoncé does some improvisational scatting and a video of Nelson Mandela’s famous “Make Poverty History” speech plays in the background. Ed thanks Hugh Evans, the organizer of the festival, and invites “everybody that wants to come play, come play, good night, this is it!” and as the band launches into Rockin’ in the Free World, the stage fills up with people, including Sir Richard Branson, Kerry Washington, Olivia Wilde and so many more, with Stone getting a real kick out of one-time Seattle resident Bill Nye fanning his fingers during the solo.