Pearl Jam played Madison Square Garden (Night 2)

Long-standing grunge icons Pearl Jam played their second sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in support of this year's better than expected album Dark Matter.

For the past thirty years, Pearl Jam have contended for, and at times held, the title of the world's biggest band and night two of their stay at the world's most famous arena also happened to be their 50th show in New York City. Naturally, the band made it count. As they do, they reached across their catalogue and busted out some tour debuts as well as some stellar covers and all-time classics. Opening with Ten's "Garden" and immediately following it up with "Corduroy" from Vitalogy was an excellent start to the show and hitting us with "Even Flow" early on only increased the intensity of the night. Mike McCready was in top form as he dashed around the stage, flexing his skills by playing his guitar behind his back and ripping through some killer solos while Stone Gossard kept things cool and collected, his prowess and composure providing the proper balance in their mix. Taking the moment to pledge for women's rights and bodily autonomy, Vedder called for the crowd to stand by women in the coming election and as he did so, an unpleasant murmur of boos seeped out from the crowd, an appalling and rather shocking incident to see at a Pearl Jam concert that nearly soured the mood before the band leapt into "Daughter," steering things back into their control. Playing a long segment from their latest record, the band tore through their elevated rock anthems with righteous dexterity that dazzled the crowd at every moment, in particular when they cut into Sleater-Kinney's "Modern Girl" to close out "Not for You." Building up the night, the back-half of the evening was jam packed with bangers that had the crowd eating out of the band's hands and shouting along with stunning conviction. The die-hard fans were in full force and the loyalty to the band was present throughout the entire night as fans flooded the arena already decked out in Pearl Jam shirts, wearing them like badges of honor from previous shows and tours, building a community like all classic rock acts do. "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" was a beacon in the show and led to a massive sing-a-long that captivated the crowd in regal form. Sadly, as Vedder introduced the next song by calling for gun control, stating how much he hates to play the song because it's about guns, a topic he despises, more jeers poured out from the crowd, even as he referenced the school shooting that had occurred earlier in the day. Still, "Glorified G" made its tour debut and cemented its importance as a track bringing attention to the problems at large, shutting down those who somehow have mistaken any message the band has ever delivered through their music. Doubling down on the message, the band tore through "Jeremy" with a raging passion, Jeff Ament's bass ringing through the arena with a new found purpose. Eddie came out for a solo performance to start off the encore, giving us a cover of Little Steven Van Zandt's "I Am a Patriot" (Little Steven was in the crowd) to further shut down the haters that had somehow made their way to the show before switching over to an acoustic guitar for a soaring version of "Just Breathe." After inviting opener Glen Hansard back to play his track "Song of Good Hope," the rest of the band rejoined and hit us with a cover of John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth." Following their standard take on Dead Boy's "Sonic Reducer" and a revved up "Leash," the band pulled an all-time move and turned on the house lights for a rousing rendition of "Alive" and kept them on as they invited Little Steven to join them in a blockbuster take on Neil Young's timeless "Rockin in the Free World." All of Madison Square Garden was on their feet for this one as the band let it rip with massive riffs and solos launching into the night with epic fashion. Still, the band knew that the only way to cap off such an incredible evening and celebrate their 50th ever show in New York, they had to deliver a mesmerizing version of "Yellow Ledbetter." And as expected, they crushed it. Nearly thirty-five years into being a band and Pearl Jam have remained at the top of their game since the beginning and seeing them, the last remaining heroes of their era, is something to cherish.

Set list:

01 "Garden"
02 "Corduroy"
03 "Hail, Hail"
04 "Even Flow"
05 "Daughter" [Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" outro]
06 "Dark Matter"
07 "React, Respond"
08 "Won't Tell"
09 "Not for You" [Sleater-Kinney's “Modern Girl“ outro]
10 "Wreckage"
11 "I Am Mine"
12 "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town"
13 "Glorified G"
14 "Do the Evolution"
15 "Jeremy"
16 "Waiting for Stevie" (with Andrew Watt)
17 "Rearviewmirror" (with Andrew Watt)
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18 "I Am a Patriot" [Little Steven cover]
19 "Just Breathe" 

20 "Song of Good Hope" [Glen Hansard cover] (with Glen Hansard)
21 "Gimme Some Truth" [John Lennon cover]
22 "Setting Sun"
23 "Sonic Reducer" [Dead Boys cover]
24 "Leash"
25 "Alive"
26 "Rockin' in the Free World" [Neil Young cover] (with Little Steven, Glen Hansard and Andrew Watt)
27 "Yellow Ledbetter"