Pearl Jam Welcomes Johnny Marr & Andrew Watt At Hyde Park

Famed The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr joined Pearl Jam for two classic rock covers at London’s Hyde Park on Sunday. The Seattle-based rockers’ second of two nights at Hyde Park as part of the British Summer Time event also featured a guest spot from Andrew Watt.

Johnny Marr was among support acts in London on Sunday. Marr led his band through a set heavy on The Smiths songs such as “How Soon Is Now?,” “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” and “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.” The 58-year-old British musician emerged towards the middle of Pearl Jam’s performance for “Throw Your Hatred Down.” Eddie Vedder introduced Marr and had the crowd sing “We love you Johnny, Oh yes we do” to the tune of “We Love You Conrad” from the Bye Bye Birdie soundtrack.

Marr took a fierce solo during “Throw Your Hatred Down,” a song Neil Young wrote for his 1995 album featuring Pearl Jam, Mirror Ball. Johnny Marr returned to the stage later in the night with Andrew Watt in tow for the evening’s “Baba O’Riley” finale. The Who cover has long been part of Pearl Jam’s live repertoire. Andrew Watt collaborated with Eddie Vedder in writing and producing the Pearl Jam frontman’s 2022 solo album, Earthling. Watt, a member of Vedder’s The Earthlings ensemble, has been working with Pearl Jam on their next studio album.

Pearl Jam opened the 22-song song concert with “Corduroy” off 1994’s Vitalogy and then looked to 1993’s Vs. for “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town.” The band continued an early focus on ’90s material with “Why Go,” “Deep” and “Garden” from their debut album, Ten. “Deep” and “Garden” were split by Yield (1998) favorite “Wishlist,” which came complete with a portion of The Rolling Stones’ “Waiting On A Friend.” Vedder first addressed the crowd after “Deep” and stopped the show for a few moments when he noticed a fan in need of medical assistance.

“Throw Your Hatred Down” featuring Marr followed “Garden” and led into Yield’s “Do The Evolution” and Vs. track “Animal.” Next, Pearl Jam finally played a more recent song in “Dance Of The Clairvoyants,” one of two tunes from 2020’s Gigaton performed in Hyde Park on Saturday. The ensuing “Not For You” came before the evening’s tour debuts as “Rats” saw action for the first time since August 10, 2018 while “Faithfull” had yet to make a setlist in Europe this summer.

Last night’s main set also featured Ten gems “Black” and “Porch” as well as Mike McCready channeling Eddie Van Halen on “Eruption” and “State Of Love And Trust” from the Singles soundtrack. Pearl Jam closed out the evening and two nights in London with a five-song encore that included the aforementioned “Baba O’Riley” with Marr and Watt along with “River Cross,” “Leash,” “Alive” and “Yellow Ledbetter.”

Pearl Jam continues the tour in Budapest on Tuesday.

Setlist (via PearlJam.com)

Set: Corduroy, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Why Go, Deep, Wishlist, Garden, Throw Your Hatred Down (w/ Johnny Marr), Do The Evolution, Animal, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, Not For You, Rats, Faithfull, State Of Love And Trust, Eruption, Black, Porch

Encore: River Cross, Leash, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter, Baba O’Riley (w/ Andrew Watt & Johnny Marr)