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Originally scheduled to perform St. Louis in April 2020 to support their Gigaton album release, Pearl Jam pulled the plug on their tour early on due to COVID-19. Last night was their long-anticipated return. And it was worth the wait.
Performing to a sold-out Enterprise Center, Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Matt Cameron, along with Boom Gaspar and Josh Kinghoffer, filled their two-hour concert with impassioned pleas, stories from Vedder, and, of course, a spectacular show.
The night started with a short set by Pluralone, AKA talented guitarist John Kinghoffer, who previously performed with the Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019. He showed off his skills by changing guitars for nearly every song, and broke up the set with a joke about a misspelling on his tour merch. Cameron joined Kinghoffer during his cover of Big Star's “The Ballad of El Goodo,” and Ament came out for “Life Kills.”
After a brief delay, Pearl Jam began the long-awaited concert seated and bathed pink and blue light. As they began their third song, a single white light shone on Vedder, who said he wanted to honor St. Louis music, which he thinks “sometimes gets overlooked.” He then launched into “Sleeping by Myself.”
The energy surged as the band rose to their feet for "Last Exit," and elated fans jumped, swayed, and high-fived their new neighbors throughout the remainder of the performance.
Vedder spent much of the show traversing the stage, stepping on or over the low amps and speakers that took up a good chunk of the simple stage set up while belting out dozens of fan favorites, as well as a few newer songs from Gigaton such as “Dance of the Clairvoyants.” Several times Vedder appeared as though he wanted to jump off the amps into the crowd, but restrained himself, opting for a jump onto the stage instead. Fans became uproarious during “Corduroy,” with the entire stadium joining in on every word. They were also treated to a long jam session during “Even Flow.” Vedder’s voice sounded strong and shined on many songs, including “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” for which the entire band turned around to perform to those seated behind the stage.
The singer addressed the crowd at several points, acknowledging everyone seated high atop the stadium and giving a short, serious speech about overdosing and the band's partnership with Project RED. Vedder also took time out to acknowledge several of their friends in the audience, that at least one Cardinals player was in attendance, and, as a die-hard Cubs fan, he could never be friends with the Cardinals. He did, however, give a shout-out to Albert Pujols for “fixing my ear once.” “It’s good to have friends,” he said as the band slid into “Go.”
After a dramatic mic drop, the band left the stage, only to reemerge five minutes later for a five-song encore, which Vedder prefaced by reminiscing about the first time they played in St. Louis. “It was December 3 or maybe December 4 of ’91, and we probably opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers,” he said. “This is the greatest St. Louis crowd we’ve had. Thank you for bringing it.” They then performed “State of Love and Trust” and “Breath,” which Vedder reminded everyone they were both released 30 years ago.
What fans thought was the final song, “Alive,” began with all red and white strobe lighting before the house lights came on, illuminating the entire crowd for the rest of the song. Vedder tossed several tambourines into the audience, added one final jump, and added a “Thank you, St. Louis, for taking this journey with us.” After a brief pause, the band officially closed the night with “Yellow Ledbetter" before sending the faithful, sated fans home.
To see more photos from the night, visit bit.ly/PearlJam22cz. Find the full setlist on setflist.fm.
