Pearl Jam's US Tour History: Concerts, Setlists & Show Reviews

April 21, 2016 – Colonial Life Center, Columbia, SC, USA

Main Set: Oceans, Low Light, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Animal, Mind Your Manners, Do The Evolution, Lightning Bolt, Given To Fly, Immortality, Even Flow, Light Years, Marker In The Sand, Infallible, Jeremy, I Got Shit, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Rise, Sleight Of Hand, Footsteps, All Those Yesterdays, Corduroy, Got Some, Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, Porch

encore 2: (Purple Rain), Chloe Dancer, Crown Of Thorns, State Of Love And Trust, Black, Alive, Rockin' In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter/(Purple Rain)

Show Notes:

Oceans leads off, making its tour debut, as Low Light and Small Town make for a mellow opening. Mike has a fluid, expressive solo on Lightning Bolt, after which Ed does some a cappella call and response with the crowd. Plenty of jokes from Ed about “cocks” on the night, referring to the University of South Carolina, on which the venue is located. Immortality also makes its tour debut, with the soft, arpeggiated intro. Mike uses a delay/echo effect on his solo, and there’s a short jam on the ending led by Matt. Mike’s Even Flow solo is dark and mournful, perhaps inspired by the news that broke just hours before the show that Prince had passed away. Ed comments afterwards, saying

“all of us on this stage can tell you…that guy loved music so damn much, never stopped playing, never stopped creating…,” and continues, “…as musicians…and you just saw some great guitar playing…Prince was probably the greatest guitar player that you’ve ever seen…amazing…he will be missed.”

Much of the crowd on the floor has purple pieces of paper that they hold up in tribute, and Light Years follows. Marker in the Sand is a mid-set surprise, having not been played since 2014. Ed talks about climate change and not trusting politicians before Infallible. Powerful ending to the main set, beginning with an energetic Jeremy, Matt bashing away at the end and Ed leading the singalong. Jeff is a machine during the spacey RVM jam. After the break, Ed comes out solo with a mandolin, and there’s a sweet moment as Ed talks about how it’s his mom Karen’s birthday (and Glen Hansard’s), and asks the crowd to sing her Happy Birthday so he can send her the tape after the show. They oblige, and are treated to the first performance of Rise (from Into the Wild) at a PJ show. Ed thanks his mom again, saying that she had sold her wedding ring to pay for his first guitar, and talks about how the “clip-on world” line in the next song was inspired by his job at a drugstore in San Diego, and Sleight of Hand is dusted off for the first time since 2014. Corduroy makes a rare encore appearance. Ed takes the opportunity to talk about the cancellation of the Raleigh show (it was supposed to have been played the night before this show) before Wasted Reprise, to mixed reactions, saying that “it wasn’t taken lightly…we were truly and honestly trying to do everything we could do to play…we apologize…it takes a certain amount of sacrifice to take care of other people and their rights when they’re left out on their own, cause it could happen to you, it could happen to me…” Porch stretches out to over 9 minutes, Matt machine-guns the final beats. Ed calls out Jeff’s “Unfuck the World” t-shirt, and Jeff says he got it from singer-songwriter Angel Olsen, who is in attendance. Mike and Matt break into a little “Purple Rain” jam before Chloe Dancer, during which Ed says “Thinking about Andy…Andy Wood.” As Crown of Thorns comes to an end, he goes over and gives Stone a hug, then crosses the stage and does the same with Jeff. Black has the “time heals” improv. Mike pays one last tribute to Prince during Ledbetter, incorporating Purple Rain into the final solo of the night.

April 18, 2016 – Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA, USA

Main Set: Why Go, Mind Your Manners, Corduroy, Brain Of J., Faithfull, I Am Mine, Jeremy, Setting Forth, Not For You/(Modern Girl). Even Flow, Daughter/(It’s O.K.), Long Road, Wishlist, Sirens. Habit, Given To Fly, Lukin, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: I Am A Patriot, Sleeping By Myself, Come Back, Sad, Lightning Bolt, In My Tree, Breath, Do The Evolution, Porch

encore 2: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Inside Job, Black/(We Belong Together), Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World, Indifference

Show Notes:

Before Pearl Jam’s first ever show in Hampton, fans who waited outside the venue were delivered the unfortunate news that the show scheduled for Raleigh two days later had been cancelled. Ed speaks about the situation during the break, to…

Show Notes:

“We had to make a real tough call about what we would do about the situation in North Carolina, because they’ve got a law there that broadly discriminates against a whole group of people…and I can’t tell from here if you’re booing North Carolina, if you’re booing us for having to decide that we’re not going to play there…I would understand that too. It was a hard process because we thought we could still play and make things right and that we could fortify all the people on the ground working to repeal this despicable law. We thought we could take the money and give it to them and still play the show, but the reality is, there’s nothing like the immense power of boycotting…and it’s a shame because people are going to be affected that don’t deserve it, but it could be the way that ultimately is gonna effect change so again, we just couldn’t find it in ourselves in good conscience to cross a picket line when there was a movement…we apologize to those in Raleigh, we apologize to those who were going to Raleigh, we apologize to the locals who probably believe in the same things that we do…they have a reason to be pissed and we’re pissed off too but we gotta be pissed off at the right people and get them to change their minds cause they made a mistake, a big mistake, and they can fix it.”

The show gets off to a quick start with a 1-2 punch of Why Go and Mind Your Manners. Brain of J. and Faithfull back-to-back are a bit of a tease coming after the full Vs. performance in Greenville at the previous show. Ed talks about how beautiful Hampton is, and how they were in nearby Virginia Beach after Roskilde and wrote the next song in a hotel room, leading to I Am Mine. Carine McCandless (sister of Chris from Into The Wild) is acknowledged before Setting Forth, and Ed mentions that she lives in the area. Inspired soloing from both McCready and Cameron on Even Flow. “It’s O.K.” is tagged onto Daughter, and feels especially poignant, given both the band’s decision to cancel the Raleigh show and the previously referenced Virginia Beach 2000 show. Plenty of dedications on the night, as Long Road is dedicated to a local teacher, Habit is for a fan named Andrew who is at the show with his brother, and Ed introduces Given to Fly by saying “this one goes out to the local guy who just got out of prison after thirty-three fucking years on April 8th…Keith Allen Howard…I wish I could buy that guy a drink.” The RVM jam gets a little spacey. After the break. Ed makes another dedication, this one for a father who lost his son Nathan in the military, and plays I am a Patriot solo electric. Sleeping By Myself is a trainwreck and has to be stopped twice, Ed can’t remember the words, but they make it through eventually. Continuing the dedication theme, Come Back goes out to Dr. Michael Richter. A fan gets the microphone during Breath to sing the last line. During the second break, a crew member named Liz joins the band on stage and everyone sings Happy Birthday to her. Small Town is played to the back. Ed dedicates the first performance of Inside Job since 2013 to Jennifer Jaff, an activist who had recently passed away. Short, restrained We Belong Together tag on Black. Indifference returns to its usual closing spot after being in the middle of the main set at the previous show.

Written by: Paul Wirt

April 16, 2016 – Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC, USA

Main Set: Corduroy, Go, Animal, Daughter, Glorified G, Dissident, W.M.A., Blood, Rearviewmirror, Rats, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Leash, Indifference, Mind Your Manners, Swallowed Whole, Sirens, Let The Records Play, Spin The Black Circle, Do The Evolution

encore 1: Future Days, Nothingman, Given To Fly, Present Tense, Comfortably Numb, Lightning Bolt, Porch

encore 2: Last Kiss, Breath, Comatose, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Alive, Baba O'Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Show Notes:

Ed lets the guitar harmonics ring out to open Corduroy, and the crowd is up for it from the beginning, loud on the call and response, leading Ed to exclaim “Live from Greenville, it’s Saturday night!” and mentioning Record Store Day during the breakdown, saying “we’re gonna play some records…” Go and Animal follow, keeping the furious pace up, until Daughter appears next, with no tag or extended jam, and there’s a buzz of recognition in the arena when the next song starts, it’s Glorified G and we’re off, it’s Vs. front to back! Mike pumps his fist at the end of the song, from excitement at the occasion or just getting through the song unscathed, which they do, or both. Matt and Jeff lock down a stellar W.M.A., giving Ed and Mike freedom to let loose. Blood is surprisingly intense for the era, Ed gets growly for the “…one of my fuckin’ enemies…” line, and Mike finishes with a raging solo. Matt caps off the RVM jam with some heroics, with Ed adding the “forgive/forget” improv. He talks about the writing of Small Town prior to playing it, giving full credit to Stone for recognizing the potential of the song, and the crowd is again loud for the “hello.” Ed runs all around the floor during Leash, and teases “alright, so that was it, that was our second record right there…” before Indifference makes a rare mid-set appearance. 4 songs from Lightning Bolt immediately follow, capped off with Let the Records Play into Spin the Black Circle, continuing the Record Store Day theme. Future Days is brought back for the first time since 2014, played with just Ed, Jeff, Matt, and Boom. Mike jumps the gun and starts Given to Fly afterwards, leading to some confusion, and they play Nothingman instead, then Given to Fly, and the payoff is worth it, as he sounds unleashed on Present Tense and Comfortably Numb that follow. Breath is introduced as one “that might be as old as the Temple [of the Dog] songs, too.” The celebration is on late, as the crowd gets another chance to get loud during Better Man, and Mike lets the Ledbetter outro linger, before finishing the night the way it started, with some tender harmonics.

April 13, 2016 – Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL, USA

Main Set: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Mind Your Manners, Hail, Hail, Last Exit, Lightning Bolt, Nothingman, Army Reserve, Given To Fly, Rival, Setting Forth, Corduroy, Even Flow, Of The Earth, Glorified G, Unthought Known, Let The Records Play, Spin The Black Circle, Porch

encore 1: I Won't Back Down, I Am A Patriot, Just Breathe, Jeremy, Ghost, Do The Evolution, Better Man/(Save It For Later)

encore 2: Smile, Once, Black/(Thumbing My Way), State Of Love And Trust, Alive, Rockin' In The Free World, Yellow Ledbetter/(Star-Spangled Banner)

Show Notes:

Ed counts off the familiar “1-2-3, 4-2-3” lead in to Small Town, a crowd-friendly opening. After a delicate Nothingman, he notes that they’ve never played in Jacksonville before, and talks about veterans, spotlighting (literally) his friend Col. John McDonough, who’s in the crowd, and Army Reserve follows, with Mike’s solo ascending higher and higher. Rival is a surprise, having not been played since 2010, and has a bluesy feel to it. Setting Forth is for “the travellers…Italians, Greeks, the Aussies….” and then sees a South African flag and calls it out as well, and leads right into the new, extended Corduroy. Ed tells a story about Stone and Mike in the old days, and says their kids were born on the same day 9 years ago. Rabid solo by Mike on Even Flow, then Matt takes over before they crash back in to the last chorus, Ed giving the mic to the crowd. Ed prefaces Of the Earth with “this here song’s about having a good seat to the end of the world…” Both songs about vinyl get a spin near the end of the main set. After the break, Ed comes out alone and talks about his “all-time favorite Floridian,” and plays a tense I Won’t Back Down on electric guitar, turning it into a crowd singalong. I Am A Patriot follows, also Ed solo electric. The Fixer is on the original setlist, but scratched in favor of Ghost, a request from Dimitris, Ed saying it’s “…for the Greek!” In the middle of the floor, someone is spotlighted dancing in a pillowcase and Ed asks for the spotlight to be put on them, then changes the lyric to “Dimitris, he talks to me…” Ed praises the crowd’s singing during Evolution, and lets them sing the beginning of Better Man. Smile is played to the back. A fan up front has a sign for Thumbing My Way, Ed notices and shrugs, but it ends up being tagged onto Black! Stone has a long solo on RITFW, and Mike finishes the night off with the Star-Spangled Banner.

April 11, 2016 – Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL, USA

Main Set: Why Go, Mind Your Manners, Animal, Got Some, Corduroy, Love Boat Captain, Low Light, Red Mosquito, Hard To Imagine, Even Flow, My Father’s Son, Daughter/(Another Brick In The Wall (Pt. 2)), Getaway, In The Moonlight, Jeremy, Do The Evolution, Blood

encore 1: Pendulum, Off He Goes, Come Back, Lightning Bolt, Lukin, Porch

encore 2: Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, Imagine, Wasted Reprise, Life Wasted, Better Man/(Save It For Later), Sonic Reducer, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Little Wing

Show Notes:

It’s all rockers to start, until Ed slows it down on the new Corduroy, leading a call and response, asking “…you gonna make us work for it?” Love Boat Captain starts with an upbeat jam intro, without the organ, before going into the song. Ed holds out the last note of Low Light, which garners a huge audience reaction. Red Mosquito is dedicated to Nash. During the intro to a powerful Hard To Imagine, Ed dedicates the song to a fan named Bill who survived brain cancer. My Father’s Son is for “all the dads out there…no no, hope it doesn’t apply, it’s for all the shitty dads out there.” After Getaway, he tells a story about working as a security guard at a fancy hotel, and stealing the keys to fancy cars to take them “for a little spin.” The crowd cheers, but he comments it was a “stupid fuckin’ thing to do.” In the Moonlight is brought back for the first time since 2011, and is dedicated to all the surfers who like to surf at midnight. The famed cow statue, which he says Stone used to have on his amp back in the early years, appears from the crowd, and Ed uses it to intro Blood, saying “this is when you milk a cow for blood…” Beautiful renditions of Pendulum, Off He Goes, and Come Back to start the encore. At the end of “Come Back,” Eddie starts listing hockey teams, including Red Wings, Blackhawks, Rangers and the Penguins, among others, but “none of those guys we named a record after,” referring to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they proceed to play the title track, Lightning Bolt, with a Tesla coil special effect. Small Town is for the back, and during this time, the screens play drone footage of everyone standing and waiting for the show earlier in the day, causing the crowd to erupt. After an explosive Life Wasted, Ed asks to see the Tesla Coil one more time, but it doesn’t go off. At the end of Better Man, Ed smashes his guitar into pieces. Sonic Reducer is loud and fiery. After Baba, Mike plays the opening notes of Yellow Ledbetter and the arena explodes in cheers, but then he stops and goes into Little Wing instead.

April 9, 2016 – American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL, USA

Main Set: Corduroy, Do The Evolution, Mind Your Manners, Save You, Pilate, Dissident, W.M.A., Even Flow, Infallible, Daughter/(It’s O.K.), Sad, Down, Tremor Christ, Wishlist, Jeremy, State Of Love And Trust, Rearviewmirror

encore 1: Good Woman, Just Breathe, Sleeping By Myself, Comfortably Numb, Sirens, Once, Given To Fly, Porch

encore 2: Soldier Of Love, Spin The Black Circle, Black, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World

Show Notes:

The night kicks off with a charging Corduroy. Stone and Jeff shine during the early set mainstays, Do the Evolution, Save You and Dissident. Ed welcomes the crowd and recognizes that this is the band’s first Miami show in over 20 years before launching into Pilate. Before the first full performance of W.M.A. since 2012, Ed apologizes for the late set start time due to “traffic”, but reassures the crowd that the venue’s curfew is set up for a “late night town.” Ed thanks Dead Moon for writing It’s O.K. A spirited Sad makes its tour debut, followed by Down, both songs making their first appearance in nearly 2 years. The show takes a comical turn during the lead up to Tremor Christ, as Ed sees two fans in the front row with the song written on their foreheads and adds it to the setlist, joking “no chance in hell these guys are getting laid tonight.” High-flying rockers SOLAT and RVM close out the main set before Ed returns to kick off the encore with a solo acoustic rendition of “Good Woman” by Cat Power, the first time he’s performed it at a PJ show. Next up, Ed dedicates Just Breathe to a friend and community member who had just lost his wife to breast cancer. The crowd continues singing Sirens after the song is over and they play a little full band reprise of it. The intense Porch jam goes on for over 4 minutes, Mike soloing like a madman then Stone takes over and finishes it off. The band returns for the second encore with the first Soldier of Love since 2010 (performed for the audience situated behind the band). Ed brings out Kevin Shuss and has the crowd sing Happy Birthday to him. Matt bashes through the end of the Black solo, adding some intensity, then Ed brings it down quiet with some improv lyrics, stretching the song past 8 minutes. Mark Zupan, captain of the U.S. Wheelchair Rugby Team, is brought on stage to share in the Rockin’ in the Free World jam with a tambourine, and Ed triumphantly concludes the show by slamming his microphone stand on the stage.

Written by Jeff Benanto

April 8, 2016 – BB&T Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

Main Set: Go, Mind Your Manners, Corduroy, Given To Fly, Help Help, Deep, Nothingman, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Severed Hand, Unthought Known, Sirens, Surrender, Even Flow, Amongst The Waves, I Am Mine, Swallowed Whole, Who You Are, Do The Evolution, Why Go

encore 1: Yellow Moon, Last Kiss, Footsteps, Black, Comatose, Lightning Bolt, Porch

encore 2: Light Years, Better Man, Alive, Baba O'Riley, I Am A Patriot, Indifference

Show Notes:

With little fanfare, the band walks to their instruments, fiddle through the intro to Go and then roar into the song with an eruption of sound and green light, and just like that, the tour has begun. Ed teases the audience early with, “I can hear you, but barely!” As Corduroy rips through, the crowd answers, taking over a verse. Mike is burning through guitar picks like notes, filling the fans’ treat bags early and often. Help, Help makes its first appearance since 2011. After Small Town, Ed tells a funny story about brushing his teeth in his hotel room, saying “toothpaste with flavor crystals…it might not just be flavor crystals, it might be a little more…” Ed announces that it’s Mike’s birthday and the crowd decides to do an impromptu Happy Birthday singalong, but Ed stops them, imploring “if you are going to do it…all together!” and then the crowd and band sing Happy Birthday. Ed continues: “When you are Mike McCready…you get Cheap Trick to play at your birthday party!” With this, the band plays a little over a minute of Surrender, the first time they have done so, and then follow up with a fantastic version of Even Flow. Mike’s guitar work is on fire here, taking center stage. After I Am Mine, Ed acknowledges some of the local adult establishments nearby, saying “We’re just trying to be as good as the fucking Booby Trap!” Who You Are is bumpy but they find their groove. After the break, Ed hits both ends of the age gap, as he points out a 5-year-old and two gentlemen, Frank and Joe, who are 90 and 91. Band is seated for Yellow Moon and Footsteps, then Last Kiss is played to the back. Mike comes in scorching on the Black solo, the long quiet outro captivating the crowd, but Ed wakes them back up with “a loud one,” Comatose. Mike kicks into overdrive on Porch, with Jeff showing off his ninja lantern-dodging skills and Ed leaning down to the rail. After the break, Ed addresses the recent loss of friend and crew member Tim “Scully” Quinlan, leading to an emotional Light Years. House lights come on for Baba and stay on through the rest of the show. Ed comments how there are more veterans in Florida than anywhere else in the country, and bemoans the lack of care and support they receive when they return. I Am A Patriot is played solo acoustic, the first performance since the Vote for Change tour in 2004. Mike breaks out the bow for Indifference, closing the opening night of the tour.

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

Main Set: Mind Your Manners, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Lightning Bolt, Daughter/(Blitzkrieg Bop), Unthought Known, Better Man, Alive, Redemption Song, Rockin’ In The Free World

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.

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.

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