Eddie Vedder Addresses ‘Frightening’ Illness During Pearl Jam’s Tour Return In Barcelona

Pearl Jam resumed their European trek in Barcelona on Saturday after canceling shows in London and Berlin “due to illness in the band.” The first of two concerts at Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi saw frontman Eddie Vedder addressing the illness ahead of “Wasted Reprise” and “Life Wasted” tour debuts during the encore.

Pearl Jam are touring around their new album, Dark Matter, which arrived on April 19. After kicking off the Barcelona concert with “Footsteps,” PJ included six of the LP’s 11 tracks in the setlist: the title track, advance singles “Dark Matter” and “Wreckage” along with the first two tracks “Scared of Fear” and “React, Respond” as well as album closer “Setting Sun.”

Pearl Jam also performed classics “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” “Corduroy,” “Even Flow” and “Better Man.” Additionally, PJ offered the tour debut of “Habit” off their 1996 album No Code. The main set came to a close with “Porch.”

The encore got underway with Eddie Vedder solo acoustic on “Just Breathe,” which was perhaps fitting as he addressed the audience on the illness in the band that led to the show cancellations after “Just Breathe.”

“Let me just say that the last week, it almost felt like a near-death experience. It was very uncomfortable. It got frightening. It felt like maybe you couldn’t breathe and maybe you wouldn’t make it through the night. And maybe you’d have to go to the hospital.

It just made you realize how precious this life is. How lucky we are to have been living on a planet where we can go around and play to incredible people like the people in this room here tonight. So, it was a poignant experience. I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon. And we won’t be forgetting tonight anytime soon.

Vedder, who seemed upset about something other than subject matter during his speech, then broke into “Wasted Reprise,” with longtime touring keyboardist Boom Glaspar coming in on Hammond organ. On Pearl Jam, Vedder performs “Wasted Reprise” on pump organ as the 10th track on the album. PJ then launched into the record’s opener “Life Wasted.” Both songs were written by guitarist Stone Gossard.

The encore also contained classic “Alive” and came to a close with a cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” Watch full show video of the Barcelona concert below:

Pearl Jam returns to Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona tonight (July 8). Find their full tour routing with ticket info below.