Pearl Jam 2024 Tour Reaction: Ep. 32 – Auckland Night 1

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back. It’s the final leg of a great tour run that we’ve had this year, and we’re celebrating the band’s return to both New Zealand and Australia for the first time in 10 years! The setlist was very much like a welcome back set. The band came out there and hit this crowd with a barrage of their biggest hits and got a warm reception for their troubles. From the emotion of Small Town to the excitement of the Dark Matter songs being played for the first time down there to the surprise of Hard To Imagine, there is a lot of good takeaways from this show to set the tone for the next six.

We get to hear from one of our favorite Kiwis, Chris Warne, and one of our favorite Englishmen, Alex Hoggard, who will do their fair share of reacting and responding. They’ll discuss everything from the energy, to expectations and how a song like Quick Escape maybe didn’t quite hit with this crowd (how dare they!). Glad to hear from the both of them, and you can expect them to be staples of the reaction episodes every night on this tour.

So, there is a bit of an elephant in the room in regards to some events that happened in America earlier this week. Some people may feel ecstatic over the outcome, others may feel fearful of the future ahead. Even though they are not in the US right now, it seemed pretty clear that they would address it somehow, as they are a band that always tackles the issues head on. While there was no naming of any names, Ed’s speech before Just Breathe was consistent with his statement the entire year – let’s stand united. Now in discussing this, I suppose I could not help but add in my own personal two cents. The intention is not meant to shame any one, but just like Ed, I’m putting forth a way where the next four years may not have to be a nightmare for us like the last 8 were, and it comes with one simple presence… respect one another. As many of you know, I’m not gonna shy away from using my voice, and I promise that this will not be a common thread throughout the foreseeable future. But I felt like if there were any time to say something, it’s right now…

And Javier is on this episode!!!