We’re Back In Philadelphia for Pearl Jam’s Night 2 at the Wells Fargo Center. Night 1 was pretty EPIC and the best show of the tour I’ve seen so far, so returning for night 2, there was an amazing vibe and energy in the building!
Pearl Jam took the once again dimly lit stage just after 8:45pm and we were gifted an opener off their Binaural record, Of The Girl. I love this song as an opener and I think the last time I heard them open with it in person, was in Newark, NJ – back in 2010. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town was next and the whole crowd was immediately singing along with Ed and this continued into the next song Corduroy!
This was a full house of Pearl Jam fans and you could feel that PJ fan energy in the room. It was very different than MSG Night 1 & 2 which were still awesome, but had a lot of Industry people and VIP’s in attendance; that just don’t sing or put their energy and attention to the show, it was noticeable by me and other fans I spoke with that were at both shows.
I must once again say how amazing Ed’s Voice and the band sound on this tour, the full sound they have with Josh and Boom, I feel like it’s the best I’ve heard since the 2010 tour. We were gifted 2 back to back songs off Dark Matter Scared Of Fear & Dark Matter which both rocked hard! They transitioned into a classic version of In My Tree playing it more like the record version vs the slower version of the chorus that has been played these past few years.
Ed introduced the song by saying “I do remember the day though, I had a little platform made out of lumber and an old door…. and um, I was up in the air, up in the branches, and I had a guitar and a piece of paper…. and oh, and a Typewriter!…. and when I finally came down, um, I put those things to use. This one is dedicated to Pierre, Nick and Matt.” – This was one hell of a version of In My Tree that became another great big sing along. Mike McCready was jumping up and down for most of the song and brought such great energy throughout the show. Another great sing along was Better Man, Ed at times holding the mic out to the crowd during the chorus as everyone in the room was singing! They haven’t been playing many songs off Gigaton, was really hoping for Quick Escape but got Dance Of The Clairvoyants which is very cool as it features Stone on Bass with extra fuzz and Jeff on guitar.
Ed brought up on the screen behind them, a flyer from their first show in Philly at JC Dobbs (July 12th 1991) and talked about how the next song they were going play has been around so long they played it back in July of 1991. They went into deep cut and fan favorite Alone! Alone was actually on the setlist for Philly Night 1, but was crossed out and replaced with Breath so it was awesome to have them play it night 2!
PJ took us back to Ten for the final 2 songs of the first set with Jeremy & Porch back to back, it was pretty EPIC close our to the first set, it totally blew away the MSG Shows!
Ed returned to the stage with his Jumbo Acoustic and as he sat down, he began telling a story about playing the last 4 Spectrum shows in Philadelphia and how prior to that show, they did no repairs or updates for a few years, as they knew they were tearing it down, and that the toilets didn’t work and there were Rats everywhere during those shows.
A group in the section next to me started to scream RATS holding up letters that spelled RATS and they were screaming RATS to Ed as a request…. and Ed turned to his left and saw the signs and laughed. Ed responded “Ok, this is how we do it.. cause Pearl Jam, we’re a democracy. So I’m listening to the lobbyist, I’m going to bring it to the senate, and I’m going to see if I can get this law passed”. After a few other dedications Ed, Boom, and Josh, played a soothing version of Just Breathe with many fans also singing along.
Glen Hansard was then invited to the stage to play guitar and sing beautiful harmonies for his song, Song Of Good Hope. EV dedicated this song to the 3 Men who were wrongfully convicted of murder (The West Memphis Three), whom Ed was advocating for and helped get their conviction overturned and the 3 men released. Just before Ed Started playing the song, he addressed the crowd.
“I’m just going to say… this song, if you need it, it’s like medicine and I prescribe it to you wholeheartedly…. It’s called The Song Of Good Hope.” This was a highlight of the night and something you might catch at an EV solo show but super special to be at a PJ show and in such a large room to hear the silence of the audience that was roaring just a short while ago during Jeremy & Porch.
After a very short break, the full band returned to the stage (Jeff donning a 76ers Jersey to play Waiting For Stevie which is one of my favorite tracks off the new record Dark Matter. It just has everything classic PJ in it and Ed’s melody, lyrics, and vocalization are just amazing! And you get a EPIC McCready Solo!
The Encore went all over the PJ spectrum with another amazing fan favorite, a Victoria Williams cover Crazy Mary; a song I originally discovered on the Pearl Jam 1990’s bootleg CD No Fuckin’ Messiah! that I had purchased at my local record shop (Tapeville USA – Nanuet, NY). If you haven’t listen to this Bootleg, DO IT NOW! I legitimately might have worn out this CD I played it so much, even has Sitting on the Dock of the Bay on it!
Animal was really rocking and awesome late in the Encore and then Ed spoke again saying they had a vote and if we played this next song, everyone promised to vote in 58 days.. on November 5th! Then Jeff started playing the bass riff for RATS and the Wells Fargo Center went crazy, especially the section next to me holding the signs! If you’re in the USA and not registered to vote, you can Register here: headcount.org
Alive came late in the Encore similar to Night 1 at MSG with the house lights coming on at the last chorus with the crowd singing at the top of their lungs, Eddie once again was holding the mic out to the crowd to sing. This was one hell of a performance probably in the top 15 shows I’ve ever seen of theirs. The band brought out Glen Hansard and his full band to join them for a rocking group jam playing Rockin’ In The Free World. Ed thanked the awesome Philadelphia crowd and the amazing Pearl Jam Crew for being so amazing!
“We Don’t Say Goodbye, We Say See Ya Later” Ed said, just before Mike McCready played the Yellow Ledbetter guitar intro on his trademark 1960 Stratocaster. Many fans with their arms around each other or arms raised to the sky singing their hearts out; feeling grateful to be in the room for this amazing show and experience in Philadelphia.
Pearl Jam’s tour continues in Baltimore this week and then Fenway Park in Boston, MA!
SET LIST Wells Fargo Center Night 2
1. Of the Girl
2. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
3. Corduroy
4. Mind Your Manners
5. Scared of Fear
6. Dark Matter
7. In My Tree (dedicated to Pierre, Nick and Matt)
8. Wreckage
9. Even Flow
10. Better Man (with The English Beat’s Save It for Later tag)
11. Wishlist (with The Beatles’ Norwegian Wood tag)
12. Dance of the Clairvoyants
13. Once
14. Upper Hand
15. Alone
16. Jeremy
17. Porch
ENCORE:
18. Just Breathe (Eddie, Boom and Josh only)
19. Song of Good Hope (Glen Hansard cover w/Glen Hansard) (dedicated to West Memphis 3)
20. Waiting for Stevie
21. Crazy Mary (Victoria Williams cover)
22. Animal
23. Rats (tour debut; crowd request)
24. Alive
25. Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young cover) (with Glen Hansard & His Band)
26. Yellow Ledbetter
Michael’s first offical photo pass was given to him by Team Chris Cornell in 2011. Shortly after that (in honor of his dad who had recently passed away) Michael launched WATERMRK Studios (2012), his freelance design & photography company based in Monmouth County, NJ. Since his first offical gig in 2011 Michael has had the pleasure of working with Blind Melon, Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam, G. Love, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Ohana Music Festival and the Sea Hear Now Festival, and many more.
Michael’s photographs have been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, Variety, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Daily News, Time Out NY, The Asbury Park Press, Artists Websites, Artists Newsletters & National Marketing Campaigns.