Seven years after Pearl Jam last performed in Indiana, the band’s return to the Verizon Wireless Music Center was met by unfriendly weather that nearly resulted in the show’s cancellation. While a tornado warning was in effect for much of the day leading up to showtime, the near capacity crowd of just over 24,000 stood strong to give Pearl Jam their largest show (so far) on its brief North American tour.
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Pearl Jam
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Verizon Wireless Music Center
Indianapolis, IN
May 7, 2010
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Friday proved to be an endurance test for both fans and the band. Stretches of construction work around the Indianapolis area along with the wet road conditions turned traveling to the amphitheatre a slow, excruciating crawl. For this writer, what normally would be a three hour drive from Chicago turned into five and a half hours of bumper-to-bumper hell. To Pearl Jam’s credit, the band delayed its set time by 30-40 minutes in order for fans to arrive safely; the box office suspended its 9:15 PM distribution curfew to allow all fans to claim tickets. By the time the band took to the stage, the rain had ended but the gusting winds remained for the rest of the night, which, at times, weakened the sound system.
From the slow surge of “Release” into the pounding kick of “Last Exit,” Pearl Jam stuck its collective chin out as if to test Mother Nature’s punch. The minor delay seemed to energize the sextet. The high tempo crunch of “Got Some” gave way to the venomous “Why Go” before rolling into the hypnotic hymn of “In My Tree.” Guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard sliced the night sky with every guitar chord, while the interlocking rhythmic combo of bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron provided the musical weight to keep the songs standing tall. Eddie Vedder fought the elements to maintain his usual depth and range, but his revelrous manner kept building as the show progressed. Behind the keyboards, the always reliable Boom Gaspar painted rich textures of sonic colors, each note flowing into one another and elevating songs like “Daughter” and “Wishlist” to fresh musical dimensions. The band was running in full stride and would never let up throughout the show, as evidence by dominating performances of “Even Flow,” “Insignificance” and “Jeremy.”
The band dug into most of its recent release, Backspacer, while crafting the majority of the show around the pre-2000 backlog—completely excluding 2002’s Riot Act and 2006’s self-titled album. Vedder often praised the audience for their orderly arrival to the venue and showing such patience during the show delay. The Evanston native gave the night some added poignancy when mentioning the band’s concerns regarding the audience’s safety in light of the tornado warning. Next month will mark the tenth anniversary of the horrible events of the Roskilde Festival in Denmark in which nine concertgoers were killed during Pearl Jam’s performance. Clearly, that dark chapter was on the minds of the band members, and Vedder’s talk to the crowd while recalling that moment showed him at his most emotionally open.
For two and a half hours, Pearl Jam showed why it should still be regarded as one of the best live acts on the music scene. The band could have easily shortened its show to meet the venue curfew, but, instead, fans were rewarded with eleven more songs spread across two encores. A mix of the band’s acoustic side (“Just Breathe,” “Off He Goes”) with its bulldozing electric force (“Do The Evolution,” “Garden,” “Whipping”) created a sense that a whole new show had begun. Pearl Jam savored the last three songs for all that they were worth. McCready squeezed and twisted each note during his solo in “Alive” as the winds grew in force. Vedder played up his Roger Daltrey role during a celebratory “Baba O’Riley,” and the band gave its final curtain call with a gentle rendition of “Yellow Ledbetter.”
After twenty years, there’s still no stopping Pearl Jam.
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