Pearl Jam Austin, TX Concert History

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 smoked pot once in his life.” Matt holds up one finger, and Ed responds:

“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.

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.