“You know, we don’t get here as often as we like,” Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder recently told a sold-out crowd at Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena in-between songs. “And now, feeling your energy right off the bat, we are seeing the errors of our ways.” 

The arena’s energy was off the charts. And it’s no surprise. The last time the Seattle band visited Charm City was in 2014, but that wasn’t for trying a handful of times since that time. “We’ve been waiting five years for this one,” Eddie said.

And it just happened to be a rather auspicious day given this is the day 60 years ago when another wildly popular band [The Beatles!] took to the, then, Baltimore Civic Center in the same spot where Pearl Jam performed. 

After a brilliantly soulful and energetic performance by Glen Hansard (The Frames, Swell Season) and his band, the lights dimmed and it was time for Vedder, Stone Gossard (guitar), Mike McCready (guitar), Jeff Ament (bass), and Matt Cameron (drums) to take the stage at CFG Bank Arena.

As the red curtain parted on Sept. 12, the back of the stage was completely bathed in white light, as the opening drum pattern by Matt Cameron signaled the start of “Can’t Keep” from the band’s 2002 release, Riot Act. 

The band became silhouetted against the screen as the light slowly crept up and over the horizon like a dawn over this rock show. 

Things really kicked up during “Given to Fly” from 1998’s Yield as the crowd really got into it, singing along, and it was only up and over at that point. Dripping his jacket and showing his Walter Payton  Number 34 jersey (signifying Pearl Jam’s  34 years as a band as he told the crowd). 

The newer songs from Dark Matter, “React and Respond” and the title track, released earlier in the year, sounded just as frenetic and powerful as some of the older tunes and fit perfectly into the muscular set. 

Eddie Vedder, acting as a sort of MC took to speaking directly to the fans in the crowd. Looking over and calling out hand written signs and song requests, Vedder was endearing and personable. 

One surprise to hear was a cover of the Ted Nugent song, “Stranglehold.” And even if it wasn’t the entire song, it just went to show how off how these guys like to have a bit of fun.  

Watch Pearl Jam perform “Wreckage” (live in Las Vegas, 2024) on YouTube:

The latter half of the set was dedicated to older hits like “Even Flow” and “Jeremy.” And one brilliant use of the massive screens framing the stage was the video for “Do the Evolution,” with its animated history of violence. I remember watching the video when it was released for Yield thinking it was so different than any other music videos of that time. And it still had that feeling over 25 years later.

In a rare break before performing “Daughter,” (including and excerpt from “Another Brick In The Wall Pt 2” where he replaced the lyrics with “Judges leave them girls alone”) Eddie Vedder told the crowd about the recent court vacating of the North Dakota abortion ban. For the uninitiated Pearl Jam, and Vedder in particular have always been on the side of a woman’s right to choose. As far back as the 1992 MTV Unplugged session, I remember as the band played “Porch” he wrote out “Pro Choice” on his arm in Sharpie as the cameras rolled. A powerful message then that still reverberates. 

Returning to the stage after the regular set had finished, Eddie Vedder sat in a stool and reintroduced Glen Hansard as the two went into a particularly beautiful version of “Falling Slowly” from Hansard’s band with Markéta Irglová called The Swell Season. 

Returning to the stage, the rest of the band joined Vedder for a string of high energy songs, including The Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer” and The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” in between hits like “Alive” (which was paused for an emergency situation in the crowd) and “Yellow Ledbetter.”

I have to say, this Pearl Jam have grown an incredible community of fans and admirers. And the band really do have this connection that’s visible in how Eddie Vedder and the rest of the band interact with their fans on-stage. I’m sure going from one show in one town (or one country) to the next could make things feel routine, but this band did make this experience feel unique or special.

Pearl Jam continue their world tour with a stop at the Ohana Festival before heading to Australia.

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Here are more photos of Pearl Jam performing at the CFG Bank Arena on Sept. 12, 2024. All photos copyright and courtesy of David LaMason.

And here are photos of Glen Hansard opening for Pearl Jam on Sept. 12, 2024 at the CFG Bank Arena.