The Freedom Mortgage Pavilion lies in Camden, NJ where Pearl Jam on Wednesday night completed a three-show run through New York and New Jersey to open the U.S. leg of the band’s 2022 North American tour. Sitting on the bank of the Delaware River and facing Philadelphia across the span of the Ben Franklin Bridge, this will technically go in the ledger as a Jersey show, though it was played with Philly energy to be sure (less the charge on your EZPass, of course).
Pluralone–which still fits whether you pronounce it plur-alone or plural-one–is the cleverly titled name of Josh Klinghoffer’s one-man band. Pearl Jam’s newest member has been tapped with set opening duties for the majority of the Gigaton tour. After falling flat with failing equipment that led to a botched set at Madison Square Garden, he recovered admirably on Wednesday night with a set that justified arriving early. During the set, he separately invited Matt Cameron and Mike McCready to join him, the latter appearing for a cover of grunge contemporary Alice In Chains‘ “Nutshell”.
Pluralone w/ Mike McCready – “Nutshell” – 9/14/22
[Video: Marc Komito]
Pearl Jam—Eddie Vedder (guitar, vocals), Mike McCready (guitar), Stone Gossard (guitar), Jeff Ament (bass), Matt Cameron (drums), Boom Gaspar (keys), and Josh Klinghoffer (multi-instrumentalist)—took seats under a dimly lit blue haze after stepping onstage. Following Sunday’s greatest hits banger on 9/11 at MSG (more on that later), this setlist was more geared to those who live for the thrill of the chase, though not so deep as to alienate the tour’s largest crowd. After a set-opening “Wash”, the b-side pairing to “Alive” from 1991’s Ten, “Oceans” followed. Vedder contemplated his barolo, questioning, “Are we in Jersey? Are we in Philly? I know it ain’t The Spectrum because we blew that place up!” Truth.
“Daughter” loosened the crowd up with mass familiarity as Vedder then remarked, “We got one more with a bit of composure until we turn it up.” “Hard To Imagine” gloriously followed, a second cut from the Lost Dogs compilation of b-sides and rarities that rounded out the early part of the evening.
True to Vedder’s word, a breathless run of “Animal”, “Mind Your Manners”, “Do The Evolution”, “Deep”, “Interstellar Overdrive” > “Corduroy”, “Given To Fly”, and “Quick Escape” was only punctuated by the dedication of “Given To Fly” to slam dunk champion and Philly legend Julius Irving. “Retrograde”, one of the slower-tempo songs from the tour’s eponymous album, Gigaton, came next.
Eddie Vedder’s energy is a drug that demands proximity. He has the ability to make anyone in a reasonable radius feel like the most important person in the world with a simple glance, nod, or smile. “Even Flow” followed, wild as ever, and Vedder looked straight into my eyes in the second row as he pointed and sang, “faces that he sees time again ain’t that familiar.” If the lyric fits, wear it, and while Ed and I certainly don’t “know” each other, he surely could have recognized me after I spent had the evening directly in his frame of vision on the rail at MSG on Sunday—in the same shirt, no less.
Speaking of familiar mugs… “It’s nice to see faces out there after everyone being masked for so long,” said Vedder. “It’s nice to see your face, too,” he continued, looking at Stone Gossard who had just shed the mask he had been wearing for most of the night and since the beginning of the tour. A relatively rare but classic pairing of “Untitled” > “MFC” fit well within the evening’s unusual-pairing theme. A powerful “Not For You” followed suit, while “Who Ever Said” preceded a rare rendition of Van Halen’s “Eruption”—a Mike McCready solo treat coaxed out by Vedder after “a recent dream about a volcano in Philadelphia.”
Pearl Jam – “Eruption” (Van Halen) – 9/14/22
[Video: Marc Komito]
After “Why Go” and before “Porch”, both of which kept energy at a boil, Ed talked about the erosion of rights and freedoms and our imperative to vote. As information was relayed on the jumbo screens about how to get registered, Vedder continued, “One of the most important issues is women’s right to choose,” imploring everyone to vote for freedom as he vocalized the conspicuous connection between “Porch”—a song very much open to interpretation—and women’s rights, a history dating back to MTV’s Unplugged (1992).
With a highly memorable main set now in the books, things would only get better down the home stretch with the McCready-penned “Inside Job” leading the way.
Pearl Jam – “Inside Job” – 9/14/22
[Video: Marc Komito]
The always welcome “State Of Love And Trust” brought crowd energy back up before “Breath” exceeded those levels yet again, perhaps in a nod to those who felt it had gone missing on 9/11 at MSG. “Crazy Mary” followed, Boom Gaspar beaming in all his glory, before before Pearl Jam then launched the show into the stratosphere as Vedder held up and then honored a fan’s homemade sign to play “Leash” (sure, it was written on the setlist before the show, but the best way to get your request played is to request a song they want to play).
Returning to the topic of 9/11, Vedder then took a minute to remember the band’s most recent MSG show three days prior: “You really brought it and allowed it to be one of the most memorable shows in all the times of us playing. It was very, very powerful to be in that room with you that night, in that building, in that proximity, and on that date and we’re so very grateful for that energy.”
As he spoke, a stagehand adorned the monitors with two hockey jerseys—one dangerously close to a New York Ranger design given its proximity to Broad St.—gifted from New York City Fire Department Ladder Company 3. Vedder then welcomed Frank Healy and his daughter to the stage. Frank was one of just 12 of the 24 members who responded to a call at The World Trade Center twenty-one years ago to return to his company with his life intact. A solemn “Alive” followed in his and Ladder Company 3’s honor. Neil Young‘s “Rockin’ In The Free World” capped the festivities two hours and forty-one minutes after they started.
Pearl Jam’s North American Gigaton tour continues this weekend with arena shows in Nashville (Friday) and St. Louis (Sunday) in addition to a set at Louisville, KY’s Bourbon & Beyond. For a full list of upcoming Pearl Jam dates, head here.
Setlist: Pearl Jam | Freedom Mortgage Pavilion | Camden, NJ | 9/14/22
Set: Wash, Oceans, Daughter, Hard To Imagine, Animal, Mind Your Manners, Do The Evolution, Deep, Interstellar Overdrive (Pink Floyd), Corduroy, Given To Fly, Quick Escape, Retrograde, Even Flow, Untitled, MFC, Not For You > Modern Girl, Who Ever Said > (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (Rolling Stones), Eruption (Van Halen), Why Go, Porch
Encore: Inside Job, State Of Love And Trust, Breath, Crazy Mary, Leash, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World
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