(Editor’s note: The Week Ahead will run on Wednesday this week.)
(Photos by Ron Elkman)
After a 20-year hiatus from Broward and Miami-Dade, Pearl Jam returned to South Florida this past weekend to launch its eagerly awaited 2016 North American Tour with an impressive 32-song set list. Led by frontman Eddie Vedder, the group played tirelessly and with raw aggression for almost three hours, taking the massive crowd back to the days when flannel shirts were in style for the first time. Guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron all delivered performances worthy of their rock-legend status.
Friday’s tour kickoff at the BB&T Center in Sunrise took a grand total of 12 minutes to sell out. Those lucky enough to purchase face-value tickets or begrudgingly reach deep into their pockets for the ludicrous resale prices arrived in droves of thousands—all happy, smiling and reminiscing about previous concert experiences.
Once the Seattle-based band appeared, fans were treated to an emotional rollercoaster of an evening. After a minute or two of riffing, the raucous opener “Go” kicked in. Any fears of a poor performance began to subside. It all came together, with Vedder’s infamous voice unmarred by the considerable span of years. McCready, Gossard, Cameron and Ament all played their hearts out; the sound was nearly impeccable.
Songs from the debut album “Ten” through Pearl Jam’s latest release “Lightning Bolt” were played with precision and met with relentless enthusiasm from the crowd. Old favorites such as “Alive,” “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” “Black,” and the requested “Given to Fly” mingled among countless lesser-played songs, including “Footstep,” “Porch,” and “Help, Help” which was last played live in September 2011. Given this year’s electoral climate, a political moment of sorts was somewhat expected, and during “Do the Evolution,” Vedder danced around in a Trump mask. Every word of the megahit “Even Flow” was chanted by the masses, and heck—we even got to sing “Happy Birthday” to McCready, who celebrated his 50th last week.
In typical Pearl Jam style, the band covered a few select songs: Van Zandt’s “I am a Patriot;” “Surrender,” in a brief tribute to Cheap Trick’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; and The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” which would have made even Roger Daltrey impressed. The cover of Wayne Cochran’s “Last Kiss” prompted Vedder’s venture into the crowd, where he looked to be teetering precariously along seats in a lower-level section to the left of the stage.
The thrashing drums and rip-roaring sounds of both guitarists kept the near-capacity arena of fans on their feet throughout the evening. Once in their early 20s during the band’s first tour, the majority of the concertgoers were now middle-aged, some bringing their children along for their first concert experience.
“Last time we performed in Fort Lauderdale was 1996. You weren’t born yet,” Vedder joked, pointing out a few youngsters in the audience, followed by a couple of older guests in their 90s, and then took a moment to acknowledge several birthdays. It was not something you’d expect from the lead singer who, like his fans, has obviously matured over the years. He laughed about telling a story that would make no sense at all, and then proceeded to reflect on how earlier he was brushing his teeth in the hotel and saw an old man who appeared to be judging him in the sink’s reflection—lightheartedly noting that perhaps the crystals in his toothpaste may not be flavoring after all. He finished the oration by warning people about keeping an eye on their drinks and to be wary of any strange substances that could get slipped into them.
Sounding more like a concerned dad then a legendary rock star, and eschewing his traditional long curly locks, Vedder still wears a plaid flannel shirt. Twenty-five years later—and luckily, for the one of the pioneers of grunge—they are back in style once again. But unlike the flannel shirts, it was a privilege to experience the return of Pearl Jam.
SET LIST
1. Go
2. Mind Your Manners
3. Corduroy
4. Given To Fly (for Shawn Thorton-Panthers hockey player)
5. Help, Help
6. Deep
7. Nothingman
8. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
9. Severed Hand
10. Unthought Known
11. Sirens
12. Surrender-(Cheap Trick {one chorus of the song only})
13. Evenflow
14. Amongst The Waves
15. I Am Mine
16. Swallowed Whole
17. Who You Are
18. Do The Evolution
19. Why Go
FIRST ENCORE
20. Yellow Moon
21. Footsteps
22. Last Kiss (Cochran)
23. Black
24. Comatose
25. Lightning Bolt
26. Porch
SECOND ENCORE
27. Light Years (dedicated to Tim “Skully” Quinlan and his wife and children)
28. Betterman
29. Alive
30. Baba O’Riley (Townshend)
31. I Am A Patriot (Van Zandt)
32. Indifference
