5. Sept. 20, 1992: The “Drop in the Park” concert in Seattle
In early fall of 1992, Pearl Jam—fresh off of Lollapalooza and with a gold record under their collective belts—returned to their hometown a bona fide rock-and-roll sensation. On Sept. 20, the band staged a free, ticketed concert for 30,000 fans at Seattle’s Magnuson Park which doubled as a “Rock the Vote” registration event; some 3,000 attendees ended up registering for that year’s presidential election. Footage of the frenzied concert confirms Pearl Jam was as tight as ever. Of course, Vedder was up to his usual death-defying trickery during the gig. At one point, he tossed his mic into the scaffolding above before climbing a railing at the side of the stage and careening across the rafters, like they were monkey bars. Hanging there, 20 feet above the stage, Vedder declared, “I can see you all from here!” before deciding to use the mic cable to rappel down into the eagerly awaiting audience.
4. Nov. 13, 2011: Estadio Unico La Plata in Buenos Aires, Argentina
By all accounts, there was something electric in the air the night Pearl Jam rocked the collective pants off of 50,000-plus Argentinians in late 2011. The ravenous, concert-deprived crowd reveled in every second of the monumental show—their enthusiastic, synchronized vocalizations even drowned out the band, at times. Bassist Jeff Ament would later remark that it was the “best crowd” Pearl Jam had played for, adding that it was the “first time in a long time that I couldn’t sleep after a show.” The pride of Seattle sounded crisp and in sync as they blasted through 31 songs, including superb covers of Pink Floyd’s “Mother” and “Interstellar Overdrive,” and “I Believe in Miracles” by The Ramones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwEFI9brK50
3. Oct. 31, 2009: Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia
Before being demolished in 2010 and 2011, the Wachovia Spectrum served as the site of all the home games for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Philadelphia Flyers as well as hundreds of rock concerts. Pearl Jam gave the arena a proper send-off the previous Halloween, melting their fans’ faces for more than three-and-a-half hours—making it the band’s longest concert ever. Pearl Jam took the stage dressed up as Devo; Vedder even had a bullwhip with him. The epic night included the live debuts of “Sweet Lew” and “Bugs”—with accompaniment by the Philadelphia String Quartet—and, of course, a rousing, loyal cover of “Whip It!” The last song to ever be played inside the Spectrum, by the last band to rock it, was “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Ask anyone who was there, and they’ll tell you it was the stuff of legend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5_H0RClfRY
2. June 8, 1992: The Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Netherlands
Nearly a year after releasing Ten, at a time when sales of their debut were just starting to surge, Pearl Jam ripped through a riveting 12-song set for tens of thousands at the annual Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands. At that point in Pearl Jam’s career, it was the largest crowd they had ever played for—and if you watch footage from the 45-minute performance, it’s obvious the boys were feeding off all that intense energy. With storm clouds closing in, Vedder leaped into the audience during “Porch,” and crowd-surfed the swells of adoring Dutch. Then, like an agile rhesus monkey, a spry Vedder climbed onto a camera crane that had been filming their set before scaling the stage’s scaffolding during the band’s performance of “Even Flow”—a stunt he’d repeat on Aug. 9, 1992, when Lollapalooza arrived at Jones Beach on Long Island. Pearl Jam’s iconic set even included stellar covers of Talking Heads’ “Pulled Up” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
1. Aug. 2, 2007: The Vic Theatre in Chicago
In 2007, Pearl Jam traveled to Vedder’s native Chicago where they would headline Perry Farrell’s Lollapalooza festival. It was a massive gig, before tens of thousands from around the country. But the night before, Pearl Jam delivered during an intimate warm-up show for less than 1,300 at the Vic Theatre. The group performed 24 songs, with nary a hit among them. Instead, just hours before doors opened, Pearl Jam decided to fill out the setlist with songs they hardly ever play live: tracks like “Sad,” “Low Light,” “Rats,” and “In Hiding.” The band sounded tight throughout the night, which closed with Ben Harper joining the band for “Indifference.”
