Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers open for Pearl Jam on Friday, May 16, 2025.
Is there any rock band, playing at the arena level, that is more versatile than Pearl Jam?
The veteran Seattle rockers - who have moved far beyond their grunge days - continued to make their case in a sold-out show Friday night at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
Visiting the city for the first of two shows (the other is Sunday and also sold out), Pearl Jam went almost two and a half hours, with the house lights turning on around 11 p.m. and the band going on for three more songs.
About that versatility claim? Friday's Pittsburgh show marked the band's 10th of their current run on this leg of their Dark Matter tour. In the previous nine shows, which included four pairs of two-night stands and one festival appearance, the band has played 85 different songs, including 41 only one time each.
After Pittsburgh, those totals stand at 90 different songs, with 46 of those making one appearance. Five songs made their debut Friday in this leg: "Sleight of Hand," "Grievance," "Man of the Hour," "Comatose" and "My City of Ruins," a Bruce Springsteen cover.
Beyond that, Pearl Jam cast a wide net on their career, hitting eight albums, several compilations and a pair of covers. How could they not do their big hits like "Alive," "Even Flow" and "Jeremy" from their breakthrough "Ten" album? They played two more from that record -- a scintillating version of "Porch" bookended the main set, while "Black" -- which could have been their biggest song had they chosen to release it as a single back in the day -- fit right at home in the encore.
Singer Eddie Vedder and company -- guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament, drummer Matt Cameron, keyboardist Boom Gaspar and multi-instrumentalist Josh Klinghoffer -- showed their love for Pittsburgh early and often.
"We are so glad to be in the City of Champions tonight. Since we were kids -- I'm not just saying this -- the black and gold has always meant a lot to us. Pirates, Steelers, Penguins," Vedder said. "... We came in for soundcheck earlier today and for some reason, it just sounded better than it ever had before. And then I realized that since the last time we were here 10, 12 years ago, you've put up some more flags thank you to the Pittsburgh Penguins."
Those banners came from the Penguins' Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, raised long after Pearl Jam's most recent show here in 2013.
Vedder dedicated "Even Flow" to the late Steelers running back Franco Harris, with one of his jerseys draped over an amp near the drums. (A Chuck Tanner Pirates jersey hung nearby, too.) Vedder also name-dropped Roberto Clemente later and donned a Pirates batting helmet during "Porch."
After opening with an early B-side ("Footsteps) laced with Vedder on harmonica, a subtle "Low Light" led to a soaring "Given to Fly." A hard-edged "Mind Your Manners" featured a melting solo from McCready, one of the night's many from him, followed by a heavy "React, Respond" off their latest album, and a jubilant "Corduroy." The band expertly weaved peaks and valleys: a crunchy "Dark Matter" followed by the mid-tempo "Wreckage;" a muscular "Even Flow" with a stellar McCready solo, including a chunk played with his teeth, before the chill "Sleight of Hand," which hadn't been played in more than two years.
Pearl Jam completed its "hand trilogy" for the first time, with "Sleight of Hand" followed by a rocking "Severed Hand" and an atmospheric "Upper Hand."
Midway through the show, Vedder solicited advice from the crowd on what to play next. While the audience shouted out suggestions, he deadpanned "this is why democracy can be messy." He selected one woman from the crowd to pick the song, and she suggested "Grievance," a song they hadn't played live since 2016.
"And if we (expletive) this up, I'm not gonna blame me," Vedder said. "I'm actually gonna blame her."
Pearl Jam pulled it off strongly on "Grievance," which came off of the "Binaural" album that reached its 25th anniversary Friday. An extended "Daughter" had the crowd enthusiastically helping out on the "It's OK" tag, before the band started, stopped and restarted "Jeremy" because of a fan down in the crowd. The break gave Vedder a chance to lament that "Jeremy" is still relevant today.
"The one tricky thing is, all these years later, and there's no better gun laws," he said, "there's no better safety for kids going to school or going to university or going to Carnegie Mellon or going to the University of Pittsburgh."
Ament's bass got the spotlight on "Jeremy," with Gossard taking a solo on "Got to Give" before the energy built back up with "Porch."
For the encore, Vedder returned by himself, taking an acoustic guitar and a stool at center stage to play Springsteen's "My City of Ruins" before the band rejoined for a moving "Man of the Hour."
"Just one more quiet one," Vedder said before the band ripped into the decidedly not quiet but powerful "Comatose" before a rollicking "Do the Evolution." McCready unleashed another emotive solo on "Black," dropping to his knees, with Vedder later making sure to credit Gossard for writing the iconic "doo doo doo doo doo doo doo" singalong section.
The encore rolled right along, with a grungy "State of Love and Trust" back to back with "Alive," which had another epic McCready solo, as the lights turned on. The Who's "Baba O'Riley" saw Vedder banging away on tambourines and flinging them into the crowd before the show ended with a stirring "Indifference."
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Female rockers Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers came from halfway around the world in Australia to opened this leg of the tour.
With catchy melodies and gang vocals, the high-energy band balanced the softer-sounding "Salt" with the 20-second punk blast of "Cayenne Pepper." Their set was highlighted by a raucous "Treat Me Better," "Girl Sports" -- a reaction to a sexist comment from a dentist -- and their bouncy new single, "Balcony."