November 20, 2015 – Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, BRA

Show Notes:

After a long day of rain, most concertgoers were soaked, or at least prepared to be, while donning rain gear. Rumors of the stage being struck by lightning earlier in the evening,but as Pearl Jam enters the stage, the rain…

Show Notes: 

After a long day of rain, most concertgoers were soaked, or at least prepared to be, while donning rain gear. Rumors of the stage being struck by lightning earlier in the evening,but as Pearl Jam enters the stage, the rain stops. As an acknowledgment (or maybe an offering, considering), a cover of the Beatles’ Rain opens. Ed seems playful tonight and begins the set playing his vintage Martin 000-15. They transition seamlessly into Sometimes, with impassioned vocals. Playing off the crowd energy after Small Town, Ed rips off his overshirt, and the band throws it down literally and figuratively with a bass-heavy Go. Matt’s drum kit is lit up with an image of the Eiffel Tower as a tribute to the Paris terrorist attacks that took place a week prior. Ed’s voice cracks on Once, but makes up for it by belting out the rest and throwing his mic into the crowd for help on the final chorus. Unusual early Rearviewmirror, with a very short jam and some fumbled lyrics by Ed and impeccable drumming. Stone gets a spotlight and the volume turned up for his groove in Even Flow, Ed making shadow puppets on the side-stage wall, then after the song, grabs a piece of paper and attempts a longer speech in Portuguese bringing attention to the local dam/mining tragedy near Bento Rodrigues, stating “It’s tough when these large companies use and abuse the land just for profit, with no respect for the environment. Accidents that take lives and destroy rivers so they can still profit. We hope and expect them to be punished harshly and never forget the sad disasters they caused.” Before I’m Open, Ed grabs a custom green sparkly guitar and tells the crowd it was a gift “made by one of your countrymen in Brazil…one of my favorite things”. The guitar is inspired by Ed’s black holoflake Telecaster, and made with local wood and hardware by a man dubbed “Sergio Vedder.” Satan’s Bed is “about somebody that I don’t believe in, but it makes for a good song…one thing Satan’s been good for is music like Black Sabbath, Jimmy Page, and Robert Johnson.” Sirens” has some echoing notes at the end and inspires a vow from Eddie to get a fund going for the toxic mine/dam disaster (PJ donates $100,000 to the cause shortly after the show). The mood is lifted from somber to scathing with Do The Evolution, Stone getting the literal spotlight on this and Ed accenting the vocals with guttural bits, high notes and screams. A cover of “I Want You So Hard” by Eagles of Death Metal is debuted as a tribute to the Paris attacks, one of which was during the Eagles of Death Metal performance days prior. Comfortably Numb appears again, having debuted in Porto Alegre. Mike’s solo is tight and Ed salutes the heavens. Ed ties up Black with an eerie, repeated whisper of “hey, hey, it’s okay, it’s okay.” Mike throws in a short tease of Little Wing into the Yellow Ledbetter ending, and the crowd serenades the band with the Ole chant as they exit the stage. Pendulum and Wishlist are on the setlist but not played.