LIVE REVIEW + PHOTOS: Pearl Jam, Glen Hansard in Boston, MA (09.15.24)
Grunge rock legends Pearl Jam returned to Fenway Park earlier this week for a pair of shows at the iconic ballpark. This visit marks their third time at Fenway, having played shows there in 2016 and 2018. This time around, they arrive with a new album, Dark Matter, the group’s twelfth LP, that debuted at number five on the Billboard 200.
All Pearl Jam concerts are a unique experience and Sunday’s was no different. The setlist for each show is determined day of the show and a closely guarded secret until the show kicks off. With gates for the show opening at five o’clock and the band taking the stage at seven fifty, being prompt is a necessity when it comes to showing up for Pearl Jam shows.
The show’s opening number “Footsteps” featured dim lighting with a virtual ‘rising sun’ behind the band that grew as the song went through the song. The visual production would change throughout the night, though each song from Dark Matter featured only artwork and no video feed shots of the band members.
As he often does, Eddie Vedder began interacting with the audience during the third song, “Give to Fly,” taking two strings of artificial flowers from around his neck and tossing them to fans in the front row. Five songs into their set the group broke out a fan favorite in “Corduroy” though the song was never released as a singled it managed to climb to number thirteen on the Billboard Modern Rock charts back in 1995.
Shortly after that Vedder took some time to introduce “In My Tree” he began to get choked up talking about the song that he wrote about climbing trees with the late Chris Cornell in Seattle. The song is a deeply personal one to Vedder and he shared with the crowd that he and Cornell would climb a specific tree in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, he stated that for him and Cornell it was a chance to get above the noise and have some private conversations about life.
After working in one of the Dark Matter songs, “Wreckage” the band ripped right into the massive hit “Even Flow” during which it seemed the audience couldn’t get their phones out fast enough.
A bit further into the set, before “Glorifed G” Vedder took some time to speak about the need for gun control in the United States, and followed it with the devastating “Jeremy” which Vedder noted was also a song about gun violence.
They chose to close their main set with “Rearviewmirror” during which a fun production feature took place, with a video feed of the crowd in a mirror shaped spot on the screen, reversed as one would see in an actual rear view mirror.
As Vedder returned for the encore with an acoustic guitar he began to regale the venue with a story about the first time he met late Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. The two met once before a ball game, when Vedder was invited to the bullpen to experience what it was like to see a Tim Wakefield knuckleball. This was an introduction to the song “Just Breathe” a haunting tune about loss and friendship.
The rest of Pearl Jam’s set played out as their shows often to, culminating in a three song run of “Alive” – during which the stadium lights come on at the final verse – “Rockin’ in the Free World” where the band was joined by actor John Krasinski, and “Yellow Ledbetter” a fan favorite tune that drew thunderous applause from the Boston crowd.
Supporting Pearl Jam on their current date is Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, he performed a 40 minute opening set, during which he was joined by Eddie Vedder’s daughter Oliva for the live debut of a song called “My Father’s Own Daughter.”
Photos – Pearl Jam, Glen Hansard at Fenway Park in Boston, MA on September 15th:
