Pearl Jam Austin, TX Concert History

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.

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.”