PEARL JAM LIGHTS UP NASHVILLE ON DARK MATTER TOUR
Bridgestone Arena was packed on Tuesday night for the first of two Nashville performances by 90s grunge icons Pearl Jam, who hit Music City on their Dark Matter tour, in support of last year’s album of the same name.
Starting the night was femme rock band Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, an Australian four-piece that brought a taste of Riot Grrrl energy to the stage. The band engaged fans with chants of ‘I love you’ during the title track of their 2023 album, and gave their most recent single “BALCONY” live debut. With a punchy sound that had a touch of sour and sweet, it was a youthful act that fans of Olivia Rodrigo or The Regrettes would relate to.
Pearl Jam took the stage silhouetted against a vast white backdrop, shadowed and shrouded as vocalist Eddie Vedder sang the first haunting calls of “Indifference”. The buzz of the arena was high, though the chant from center stage held all eyes on him.
The 25-song setlist covered the band’s entire career, spanning 12 studio albums including the tour’s namesake, Dark Matter. Songs from the new album included ballad “Wreckage”, which saw Vedder come down to the front of the stage’s platform as glittering waves cascaded on the back screen, “Got To Give”, and “Scared of Fear”. For the first time on the tour, the band broke out the 2002 song “Green Disease”, during which a guitar gifted by Jack White was played.
Vedder was vocal and interactive with the crowd throughout the show, sharing stories of their career, bandmates, and memories with fans. One standout story became a full-circle moment: A young girl once begged her parents for Pearl Jam’s second album on the day of its midnight release. While the parents did not allow her to attend the release at the record store, she awoke the next morning to her father dropping the CD in front of her at the breakfast table. That young girl was in attendance, now celebrating her 46th birthday with the band. For her and the memory of her father, the band dedicated the song “Daughter”. The song also featured an outro cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In the Wall Pt. 2”, with the lyrics changed to “Government, leave our kids alone”.
Pearl Jam is known for their outspoken politics; Vedder even wrote “PRO-CHOICE” on his arms for their 1992 MTV Unplugged performance, and has since participated as an activist for various social and political movements, including pro-choice movements, Earth First!, and the fight for gun control.
The band’s seven-song encore featured three covers, starting with the heartfelt acoustic “Keep Me In Your Heart”, originally by Warren Zevon. The song was played in dedication and memory of Shane Herring, an Australian surfer who recently passed away. In his memory, the entirety of the arena lit their phones, bringing a night sky of stars indoors to the show.
The concert felt as though it had an overarching theme, a moral that they brought to life with every song and story told: love, acceptance, and never taking life for granted. In a time of political upheaval and social division, it is the memories made together with others that are the most important.