September 19, 2023 – Moody Center, Austin, TX, USA

Show Notes:

For the first time on this run, Ed comes out before Inhaler and plays Throw Your Arms Around Me, thanking everyone for coming early, adding “since summer’s ending, although you may have summer weather all year long…here’s one more for…

Show Notes: 

For the first time on this run, Ed comes out before Inhaler and plays Throw Your Arms Around Me, thanking everyone for coming early, adding “since summer’s ending, although you may have summer weather all year long…here’s one more for the sky.” He changes the lyric to “…the blue Texas sky…” Wash is the 8th different opener in the 8 shows this tour. On Sometimes, Ed changes the lyric to “…you got big hands…like a Texan” and “…put you on the list, dear god…” He holds the last note of Low Light until the song ends. Another incredible Black performance, the 600th, with Mike somehow still staying seated and Boom sounding fantastic at the end. Ed points out that this is the last night of the Gigaton tour, because:

“…we’ve made a record for next year, and I don’t want to give anything away, but what I can tell you is if you like the musicians in the group…it just came out really good, you’re going to hear them playing at the highest level, so we’re excited about that and to see the end of summer with you all…”

He conducts the band on the powerful ending to Retrograde, Matt and Josh bringing the thunder and Mike bringing the lightning. Ed hangs on the mic stand and conducts with it again during Once. Never Destination makes its tour debut, another showcase for Mike. Prior to 1/2 Full, Ed says “this song is about saving the world, might as well start in Texas…” The Daughter tag is “Poor Girl” by X. He introduces the first Unemployable since Pittsburgh 2013:

“…we’re gonna do a song we don’t play a lot. it’s a song about religion, greed, dedication to a job…when it doesn’t work for you, the bottom line is you still get the shaft…”

Before Habit, Ed and the band practice it briefly in order not to screw it up. Who You Are returns for the first time since Philly 2016. Double shot of Vs. closes the main set with Glorified G and RVM. The 10-song encore (!) starts with Ed asking for the fireflies for Imagine, adding a quick “…thank you, John,” afterwards. Ed does the “…hold me closer, Chloe dancer…” tease before Boom starts the Chloe intro on piano. Ed dedicates it to Mike’s wife Ashley. After Jeremy, he asks for a woman named Monica in the crowd, saying that in Dallas he had reached into the crowd and she gave him a book:

“…I didn’t know what was going to be in it, sometimes, you know, it’s a little scary to open up a homemade book…I’m glad I took the challenge, it’s just filled with incredible stories and beautiful stories…of her hearing the band in ’96 when she was 15, and the journey begins. And she’s from Poland, she waited for us to come there, she was young, she couldn’t just be traveling around by herself, meeting friends which became family, which is these people here [points to them in the crowd], and it really illustrates the power, the pictures of all of you together, waiting in line three days before the damn show…we really care about the people that come and travel and it makes us work harder and we really try to make everyone happy, it blows our minds and the best part is you all get along and have an experience and the music is just an excuse to be out in the world and traveling…we appreciate the support, we love you, we’ll miss you until next time. Monica, it’s a beautiful book, by the end she’s had two incredible kids…a great job, a really great life, and it started with just a fifteen-year-old who happened to hear a couple of songs…”

As he starts Better Man, he adds “oh, and the art’s good too…” John Doe of X (who lives in the area) and Inhaler join for Rockin’ in the Free World. Ed throws in a “…happy birthday Tom…” as he finishes Ledbetter, and Mike adds a pair of Stevie Ray Vaughan tags on the end – “Couldn’t Stand The Weather” and “Scuttle Buttin”. Ed tries to get “Little Wing” going but it doesn’t materialize. 10 more tour debuts tonight, ending an incredible, too-short 2023 tour.


September 18, 2023 – Moody Center, Austin, TX, USA

Show Notes:

Nothingman opens, the first of many Vitalogy tour debuts. Ed, sounding fantastic, stands up early to get the crowd going, and they do, continuing into Small Town, where they take over vocals at the end. Ed comments after that it’s…

Show Notes: 

Nothingman opens, the first of many Vitalogy tour debuts. Ed, sounding fantastic, stands up early to get the crowd going, and they do, continuing into Small Town, where they take over vocals at the end. Ed comments after that it’s their 10th time in Austin, but it’s been 10 years, so they’re going to “play some songs we don’t usually play.” He continues, noting that everyone in the band’s wife is at the show except for his, and it’s their anniversary. Thumbing My Way is played for the first time since Fenway 2018. Mike has a lovely solo on Footsteps and is the first one out of his chair on Present Tense, leaping up and stalking around his side of the stage. Ed’s timing is off a little on Who Ever Said, but it gets worse on Save You, which is a complete trainwreck and is almost abandoned before Stone rights the ship and gets it home. Corduroy again has the angular jammy intro, this time with Matt adding some touches as well, and reaches the 7-minute mark. Josh gets a shoutout after, Ed points out that his two favorite bands growing up were the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, and he’s gotten a chance to be involved in both. The first solo in Quick Escape is different, moodier, but Mike absolutely demolishes the ending in feedback and chaos. Ed points out that Matt has “Fuck off COVID” written on his drums, and Matt flips the double middle fingers out to indicate his feelings on the matter. Ed continues, telling a story about the band going to London to mix Ten in 1991, and says one of the engineers, Tim Palmer, is at the show tonight, and he’s found and shown on the screens. Mike, having an absolutely outstanding show, smokes on Even Flow. Ed teases the next one:

“I’m guessing, and I haven’t been to ALL the Pearl Jam shows, but I’M guessing that we’ve played it less than 5 times? 3 times? The lyrics were never even written, they were just sung…okay, that’s the clues! It’s been a few…decades, but I absolutely still relate to what it’s saying…”

For only the 5th time, Out Of My Mind is played, and Ed is looking down at lyrics, but it’s a full, complete, rehearsed version, complete with a little guitar solo section! In My Tree is a request, dedicated to Jeff and Laura who’ve been together for 20 years. Josh is again the unsung hero on this song, adding guitars and then pounding out extra percussion at the end. Mike extends his guitar out to the front row at the end of Porch. The phone fireflies are out after the break, and Ed comes out and puts on the sparkly jacket and mirrorball helmet for Wishlist, with Ed, perhaps blinded a little, asking a few times for only one light on himself. He points out someone with an Oklahoma Sooners shirt on, to boos from the Texas crowd, and they play Smile to the back, Ed adding “usually we’d play this one tomorrow…but we miss you already.” He brings up a woman’s right to choose, noticing all the women and girls up front, and how they’d have to leave the state to exercise their right, closing with “I hope you can fix that soon,” leading into Whipping. A furious Spin the Black Circle is dedicated to the people with the sign from Fort Worth, and Mike goes out front again. Ed calls out “Austin…Texas…you’re still alive!” during Alive, and Mike and Jeff groove together for a long time. The house lights are up for Baba, and they build up to a big finish as Ed introduces the band one more time, leaving with “Goodnight…we love you.”


October 12, 2014 – Austin City Limits Music Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX, USA

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: 

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.


October 5, 2014 – Austin City Limits Music Festival, Zilker Park, Austin, TX, USA

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…

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.