Pearl Jam Honors The Tragically Hip & Welcomes Steve Gleason At Wrigley Field

Pearl Jam held the first of two shows at the historic Wrigley Field in Chicago last night. During the event-filled show, frontman Eddie Vedder paused to honor The Tragically Hip and their leader Gord Downie who at the same time was playing his final show with the acclaimed Canadian band.

Once again plagued by bad weather, Pearl Jam’s appearance at the Friendly Confines opened with “Low Light” and “Release,” which were followed by a weather-referencing version of The Beatles’ “Rain.” After a mid-set performance of “Even Flow,” Vedder took a moment to recognize and commend Downie – who is battling terminal brain cancer – before Pearl Jam launched into “Light Years.”

After opening the first encore with “Bee Girl,” Army veteran Kyle Johnson was brought to the stage with his girlfriend Amy. During the following performance of “Just Breathe,” the soldier successfully pulled off a marriage proposal which was trailed by an acoustic rendition of The Ramones’ “I Believe In Miracles.” Friend of Pearl Jam and ex-NFL player Steve Gleason, who suffers from ALS, was brought to the stage to address the crowd ahead of “Inside Job.”

The show continued with Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” and “Interstellar Overdrive,” “Corduroy” and “Porch” filling out the first encore. The second encore was highlighted by “Black” and a take on “Surrender” by the nearby-Rockford, Illinois natives Cheap Trick. Vedder also led an acoustic rendition of his Cubs anthem “All The Way” with members of Cubs legend Ron Santos’ family on stage. The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” ended Pearl Jam’s first night at Wrigley Field. They’ll return tomorrow Monday, August 22 for the second and final night of the run.

Vedder pausing to talk about Downie and The Tragically Hip can be seen in this audience-shot clip of “Light Years” captured by zepcowboy:

Here’s footage via zepcowboy of Gleason taking the stage and the performance of “Inside Job” last night in Chicago:

Watch the surprise proposal and acoustic “Just Breathe” captured by Brian Ruschman here:

Photos by Jared Kelly