Pearl Jam Begins North American Spring Tour With Bust Outs In Sunrise

Seattle rockers Pearl Jam kicked off a North American Spring Tour last night at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The performance marked the band’s first of the year and first in the Fort Lauderdale area since 1996. Eddie Vedder & Co. mixed rarities, classics and live staples for their 33-song tour opener.

Pearl Jam began the festivities with a 20-song main set cleverly book-ended by opener “Go” and set closer “Why Go.” In a testament to the career-spanning nature of last night’s setlist, Friday’s tour opener included six songs off Pearl Jam’s first album (1991’s Ten) and five songs from their most recent album (2013’s Lightning Bolt). One of the biggest surprises came early on, when the band dusted off bassist Jeff Ament’s “Help Help” from 2002’s Riot Act for the first time since September 3, 2011. Later in the set, Vedder led a round of “Happy Birthday” in tribute to guitarist Mike McCready who recently turned 50. Pearl Jam honored Cheap Trick, who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame on the same night, by covering a bit of “Surrender” ahead of “Even Flow.”

Eddie Vedder took aim at presidential candidate Donald Trump by sporting a Trump mask during “Do The Evolution” and talked about the passing of longtime former crew member Tim “Skully” Quinlan. He also honored a request from the father of a veteran by performing a solo acoustic cover of Little Steven’s “I Am A Patriot” for the first time at a Pearl Jam show since 2004. “I Am A Patriot” came as part of a 13-song encore, split into two sections, that also included “Baba O’Riley,” “Last Kiss,” “Alive,” “Better Man,” “Black” and more. The tour continues tonight at American Airlines Arena in Miami.

Videos

[Betterman | Captured by Surfmiami]

[Black | Captured by Surfmiami]

[Indifference | Captured by Concertaholictshirtz]

[…Alive, Baba O’Riley, I Am A Patriot | Captured by Christopher Gratz]

[Surrender, Even Flow | Captured by Concertaholictshirt4]

[Footsteps | Captured by SuperLawGuy]