May 17

May 17 Show Review: Pearl Jam Bring Outstanding and One-Of-A-Kind Show to Oakland

Pearl Jam
w/ Pluralone
Oakland Arena
Oakland, CA
May 12th, 2022

Photos and Review by Jared Stossel

This was my first time seeing Pearl Jam. I’ve had family members wax poetic about them for my entire life, I’ve heard their songs on the radio ever since I was a child. I worked at Live 105 (rest in peace) for four years, so I heard “Even Flow” and “Alive” more times than I could count. There’s something special about seeing a band like Pearl Jam in person. As I had noted in the review of the band’s Gigaton album last week, they are one of the only remaining acts from the grunge era that is still standing. They continue to put out new music and tour, and each of their shows is an event. Last Thursday at Oakland Arena in Oakland, CA, the five-piece act kicked off a run of Northern California shows, and the first of a two-night run at the iconic Bay Area arena.

The opening of the show surprised me, with Eddie Vedder himself walking out on stage in a hoodie and baseball cap, clutching an acoustic guitar. The Pearl Jam leader went on to perform two covers, one of Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done”, and one of the late Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”. Vedder went on to introduce Pluralone, also known as multi-instrumentalist Josh Klinghoffer, perhaps best known as the longtime guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers. Despite being an incredibly talented guitarist, Klinghoffer is a versatile musician, able to jump from one instrument to another with ease throughout his half-hour opening set. But this wouldn’t be the last we see of him that evening (more on that later).

Pearl Jam took the stage around 8:45 PM, with fans surrounding them on all sides of the arena. Neil Young’s music was prevalent throughout the evening, with the band launching into an electrifying cover of Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World”. The lights, the energy of the band, the intensity of the crowd singing every word back to the stage…we were witnessing something special that evening. The first actual Pearl Jam song to be played that evening came from the Vs. album, “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town”, before going into iconic songs from albums like Ten, Vitalogy, and Vs. I also appreciated the band incorporating tracks from Gigaton into the setlist, rather than relying solely on the hits. Standout tracks like “Superblood Wolfmoon”, “Quick Escape” and “Seven O’Clock” all made appearances.

As someone who has heard “Even Flow” a thousand times, to the point of being genuinely sick of hearing it, I can tell you that there is nothing quite like watching it being performed live. It changed the experience of that song for me entirely, in the best way possible. And that wasn’t even the most memorable part of the evening.

Remember how earlier I stated that Josh Klinghoffer would return to the stage in the evening? You see, Klinghoffer is a member of Pearl Jam’s live lineup, but for that evening’s Oakland performance, an emergency required both him and touring musician Richard Stuverud to step into a different role, as drummer Matt Cameron had tested positive for COVID-19. But for a band like Pearl Jam, the solution was relatively simple: have Klinghoffer and Stuverud rotate as drummers throughout the night. “Postponing again wasn’t an option, and cancelling wasn’t an option,” remarked Vedder to an enthusiastic crowd later that evening. Taking things a step further, Vedder told the crowd a story about seeing The Who when he was younger, when drummer Keith Moon ended up passing out behind his drumset and not being able to perform for the rest of the evening. The band got onto the microphone and asked, “so does anyone know how to play?” Mimicking the likes of Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend, the band invited anyone to submit a video of themselves performing Pearl Jam songs on the drums, for a chance to come out to the arena the following night and perform with the band. One enthusiastic fan, Bay Area resident Josh Arroyo, made his way to the band’s sightline, was able to get tested and got to join the band later that evening for an encore performance of “Yellow Ledbetter”.

All these drummers aside, I need to mention just how incredible of a live act Pearl Jam are. I’m genuinely surprised that Mike McCready isn’t included in the “greatest guitar players” conversation after watching him shred his way through song after song. Bassist Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard are exemplary musicians, and all round out a lineup that is headed by Vedder, a charismatic yet laid-back band leader. Vedder is an excellent performer, yet he speaks to the audience in such a casual manner; the rock star façade drops between songs as he speaks to the crowd. In those moments, he becomes a fan, just like everyone else in that room. The second the music starts up, he’s jumping around the stage, careening through song after song.

The band concluded the night with a seven song encore, comprised of five originals and two covers: “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” by The Beatles, and the epic “Baba O’Riley” by The Who. The aforementioned “Yellow Ledbetter” closed out the first of the band’s two nights in Oakland, turning drummer Josh Arroyo’s dream into reality as he joined his heroes onstage for the closing track. As I stated at the beginning of this review, I’ve never seen Pearl Jambefore, but I’m damn glad that this was the first one I got to see. Sorry it took me so long to get on board.

If you’d like to catch the band this week, they’ll be playing at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center on Wednesday May 18th. (Find tickets here).

Pearl Jam Set List

Rockin’ In The Free World (Neil Young cover)
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
Why Go
Corduroy
Quick Escape
Superblood Wolfmoon
Nothingman
Even Flow
Given To Fly
Wishlist
Black
Do The Evolution
Daughter (with The Stills-Young Band’s “Long May You Run” tag)
Not For You (with Sleater-Kinney’s “Modern Girl” as outro)
Seven O’Clock
Jeremy
Porch

Encore:
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away (The Beatles cover)
Better Man
Lukin
Animal
Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
Yellow Ledbetter (band joined by fan Josh Arroyo on drums)