Episode 166: Stockholm, SWE – 7/7/2012

After a 12 year absence, Pearl Jam returned to Sweden in 2012 for the first time since the Binaural tour. Today’s episode will focus on that show and how a fanbase that had been deprived of their band came through and surprised a lot of people, basically forcing their hand to return in two years. This is a Patreon request from Michael Jonsson who was ecstatic to see them in his home country for the first time, and we’ll share his story here.

This Stockholm set defines a pretty typical Pearl Jam move whenever they play a play they haven’t visited in a while and that’s to hit the crowd with the Ten record. Eight songs off of Ten were played, but possibly considered the rarity of the bunch, Garden is a highlight in a set that was looking for a standout moment. We also get the second and last performance of Kinks cover Better Things that was released as a Ten Club single in 2011, but we’ll debate over whether or not their rendition is the best take on the song.

In addition to the show, Randy and John once again discuss the Earthlings performances from the past week elaborating a little bit on the previous reaction episode. This time we’ll talk about why maybe we were a little bit too harsh on Andrew Watt who is set to produce the next Pearl Jam record, whenever that may be.