Pearl Jam Welcomes Neil Finn & 17-Year-Old Kiwi Guitarist In Auckland

Pearl Jam returned to Go Media Stadium on Sunday for the second of two shows in Auckland, New Zealand to start the Oceania leg of their Dark Matter Tour. The band brought out a pair of special guests during the encore as Neil Finn teamed with frontman Eddie Vedder for a duet at the start of a bonus frame that also saw Vedder pluck a teenager out of the crowd to join Pearl Jam on a Neil Young classic.

The action-packed encore followed Pearl Jam’s 17-song main set. Eddie Vedder discussed his love for New Zealand upon emerging for the encore. He then introduced hometown hero Neil Finn of Crowded House/Split Enz fame. The pair performed a cover of Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors’ “Throw Your Arms Around Me” in a reprise of a collaboration that took place during Crowded House’s set at the Ohana festival in September.

“Throw Your Arms Around Me” was originally released by Hunters & Collectors in 1984. Eddie Vedder and Neil Finn traded verses and connected on harmony vocals throughout a cover they recorded for the 2023 tribute album Crucible: The Songs of Hunters & Collectors.

Eddie Vedder first noted a youngster in the crowd while he was introducing Finn. “There’s a young guy who has been holding up this sign all night,” Vedder told the audience. “It’s a pretty well-made sign. It says, ‘Ed can I play guitar with you?’ You want to play this guitar? Well, I’ll find out your name later but, I’m sorry, kid. It was either you or Neil Finn. I had to go with Neil Finn.”

After the band came back to tear through “Smile,” “Animal,” “Rearviewmirror” and “Alive,” Vedder gave the teenage guitarist a nod. The fan with the sign was identified by Stuff as 17-year-old New Zealander Leon Fenemor. “We went to the back of the stage and a guitar tech handed me his guitar and Eddie gave me a pick and turned up the volume,” Fenemor explained to stuff.

The 17-year-old sat-in on a raucous version of Neil Young’s 1991 gem “Rockin’ In The Free World.” Fenemor focused on rhythmic work as Mike McCready ripped it up.

“I got to go around all the guys, Eddie came up a lot and was jumping around with me and handed me a few picks while I was playing to put them in my pocket and asked me what’s my name while I was playing,” Fenemor revealed. “And then I went over to [bassist] Jeff [Ament] and Mike and had a jam with them in that kind of breakdown solo section.”

Watch Pearl Jam and the Kiwi guitarist perform “Rockin’ In The Free World” last night via fan-shot footage below:

Pearl Jam next plays on Wednesday, November 13 in Carrara, Australia. The Dark Matter Tour is currently scheduled to end on November 23 in Sydney.