Pearl Jam Oklahoma City, OK Concert History

Pearl Jam returns to Oklahoma City for the first time since 2003 and the night opens with Wash, accompanied by a crowd who sounds like they’ve been waiting 10 years for this moment.  Sometimes offers up a prayer with the lyric change “…help us repair, dear god,” referencing the recent tornadoes that devastated the area. The band’s absence in the area is acknowledged by Ed on Small Town with another lyric change, “…it’s been 10 years…” “Everybody ready?” introduces Lightning Bolt, to which the resounding answer from the crowd is yes. Following a grooving version of Let the Records Play, Ed offers a quick “we’re just getting going, how’s everybody?” After a loud cheer, Ed tells Jeff:

 “I told you we should come down here and play here more often…I keep telling you. Now when we came here today when there were no people, there was a sign that said ‘Welcome to the home of the Oklahoma City Thunder.’ I asked Jeff, ‘Do you think that’s always up there or are they just rubbing it in?’” 

He goes on to joke about how they all went to therapy to deal with their anger issues and that they’ll talk about that later to clear everything up, but now they have a lot of songs to play, “so here’s a little MFC for OKC,” which not only has great backup vocals from Matt but his drums drive the song. Continuing with Yield, In Hiding is next, with Ed sounding great and some backup vocals from the crowd.  Mike looks like his mind is on another planet during the Even Flow solo. During the solo, the screens show Jeff and Stone giving Mike space and jamming together. After the song, Ed introduces “Mr. Mike McCready” to recognize the experience. He then introduces Stone (“he’s the one who wrote that one”), “and while we’re at it, Mr. Jeff Ament,” and with the crowd’s encouragement, “Mr. Boom Gaspar.” Ed then talks about how it has been 10 years since they played here, and the time before then was 10 years before and so they should play the most songs they can as they might not see them until 2023…he was almost right, they did finally return in 2022, but “seeing as how this is going so far, we may be back next summer.”  He mentions a benefit concert that Kings of Leon helped organize (for the tornado victims) and mentions they were thinking about them and it’s great to see everyone doing good. After a great jam to finish Immortality, Ed talks about the drummer’s seat not being called a stool or a chair, but a throne, which he was confused by until meeting Matt Cameron, “definitely the king.” Wishlist is dedicated to someone “who over the last seven years is a great friend whose title got upgraded, Colonel John McDonough,” with a lyric change “as fortunate as his family…” A blistering 8-minute RVM begins with a bit of noodling by Ed and has an incredible jam.

Out of the break, Ed offers that the room sounds great and that there are kids in the front which means it’s safe. He checks with the parents to make sure it’s cool to keep going, as the kids have to go to school. He continues, adding that Jeff went to college, Mike went to “how-to-make-pizza school,” and Stone went to art school, making him the grooviest, which they all stick in his face. A woman then asks to propose to her boyfriend which they agree to, he says yes, and Just Breathe is added for them. Parting Ways makes its tour debut, the first in over 4 years. Following Jeremy, Jeff dons a Sonics jersey (Kevin Durant #35). Ed tells a story from “a long time ago, in a city very far away, there was a team, a great team,” which seems to get a mixed reaction. Mike is taking polaroids of Jeff with his jersey. Ed asks, “it’s your team, are you booing? It’s all confusion.” Jeff points to the back of the jersey which changes the tone of the crowd. Ed explains:

“See, here’s the deal, it has nothing to do with Oklahoma City, or Tulsa, or the people; it simply is like your long time relationship: you were a great person in the relationship, you wouldn’t like her new husband. If it was Fresno, I’d be pissed off at Fresno. The people that are really fucked and who fucked us over, fuck Sacramento is what I meant to say. If you think about it and you’ve ever been to Sacramento, they’re already kind of fucked. But you know something we will stand by, there’s this guy Howard Schultz [owner of the Supersonics who sold the team] in Seattle, fuck him, I’ll stand by that one. Fuck him.”

They go on to say they were rooting for the Thunder in the playoffs, and maybe they’ll have a team in Seattle by the time they come back so they won’t be mad about it anymore. Fittingly, Supersonic follows, another tour debut, followed by “a song about Sacramento,” Satan’s Bed.  After the second break, Ed offers to write a note for the kids tomorrow at school and says they are going to play this next one to the back, and it’s Last Kiss. Ed mentions crew member “Big Pete” and says that his family is here and he means so much to the band. Following, Ed talks about how on their first tour, their name was Mookie Blaylock, but when they were trying to come up with a real name, they thought about Daron Oshay, Mookie’s real name, which is met with confused silence. After Alive, he comments “so many great faces, after 10 years we don’t deserve it,” and the last words from Ed before exiting the stage are “Go Thunder.”