Pearl Jam Plays Rarities & Honors Lost Friends At 2023 Tour Opener

Pearl Jam took the stage last night for the first time in nearly a year to kick off their 2023 Fall Tour in St. Paul, Minnesota. The band’s first of two shows at Xcel Energy Center mixed plenty of staples with a handful of deep cuts for their 24-song, 150-minute concert.

Frontman Eddie Vedder and his bandmates shocked fans by opening with Vs. cut “Indifference” for the just the third time ever and first time since 1994. Pearl Jam then offered “Buckle Up,” one of four songs from their latest album, 2020’s Gigaton played on Thursday in St. Paul. The members of the group were seated for both tunes as well as the ensuing versions of “Sometimes,” “Wishlist” and “Black” before standing for the rest of the evening.

Vedder told a story between “Wishlist” and “Black” of his daughters watching Pearl Jam’s 1992 appearance on MTV Unplugged for the first time and noted that while he didn’t recall much from the night it was “really fucking good.” A big surprise came in the 13-slot when Pearl Jam dusted off “Insignificance.” The song off 2000’s Binaural was last played on May 10, 2016. Another rarity followed a few tunes later as “Love Boat Captain” saw action for just the second time since 2018.

Eddie Vedder took time to discuss the devastating wildfires in Maui before performing Gigaton standout “Superblood Wolfmoon,” noting his family owns a house on the island and touring keyboardist Boom Gaspar hails from Hawaii. Pearl Jam closed their main set with oldies “State Of Love And Trust” and “Porch.”

After returning for the encore with a 12-string guitar, Vedder talked about those musicians and friends that have died over the years including David Bowie, Sinead O’Connor, Prince and Robbie Robertson. He also mentioned his experiences performing with Tom Petty before playing a solo rendition of “Wildflowers.” The rest of the band then came back out for a show-closing string of “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town,” “Go,” “Crazy Mary,” “Alive” and “Yellow Ledbetter.”

Watch a series of fan-shot videos from last night’s Pearl Jam show below:

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Setlist (via PearlJam.com)

Set: Indifference, Buckle Up, Sometimes, Wishlist, Black, Given To Fly, Mind Your Manners, Why Go, Seven O’Clock, Even Flow, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, I’m Open, Indifference, Daughter, Superblood Wolfmoon, Love Boat Captain, State Of Love And Trust, Porch

Encore: Wildflowers (Eddie Solo), Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Go, Crazy Mary, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

Source: JamBase.com