Pearl Jam kicks off 2023 tour at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul
Pearl Jam returned to the Twin Cities for the first time since their 2014 performance at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The sold-out arena was buzzing for the band’s tour kickoff and first show of 2023. As an ode to the band’s MTV Unplugged performance from 1992, the band started with stripped down versions of several songs that had singer Eddie Veddar, guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, and bassist Jeff Ament seated.
“Indifference” from their excellent 1993 album Vs. started the show and was goosebump-inducing. Eddie Veddar’s voice was pure and beautiful. Five songs in they played “Black” from their classic debut Ten. Half-ways through the song guitarist Mike McCready kicked his chair back and stood up to play a bending solo that had everyone in the crowd cheering. Before the end of the song, the rest of the members stood one by one and it was a great way to transition into the more rocking part of the show.
Other big highlights of the show were “Even Flow”, “Daughter”, and a raucous “Superblood Wolfmoon” from their 2020 release Gigaton. All night the band was dialed in and sounded refreshed. Drummer Matt Cameron was a joy to watch and smiled frequently throughout the show as he bashed on his Yamaha kit and Zildjian cymbals. McCready is an incredible guitarist and his solos were spot-on throughout the show. Eddie Veddar’s commentary between songs was stammering and long-winded at times however, at one point touching on the recent weather tragedies in Maui and California.
After the encore break, Veddar returned to the stage solo with an acoustic guitar. He muttered on for several minutes about death and loss and how McCready used to hang out with Tom Petty and smoke weed, before playing a very loose rendition of Petty’s classic “Wildflowers”. It was a relief when the rest of the band joined him for an acoustic version of “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” which they played at the back of the stage facing those in the cheap seats. The band returned to their main instruments and rocked through the edgy and upbeat “Go” from Vs.. The night ended with lights on in the arena and everyone singing along to the band’s classic song “Yellow Ledbetter”.
Pearl Jam at Xcel Energy Center was good but there were plenty of boring moments that took away from the great ones. The band’s fanbase is fervent through it all and I enjoyed watching them sing along to nearly every song with enthusiasm. Although I’m a big fan of Matt Cameron’s drumming, Pearl Jam has never quite done it for me. Some songs during this performance were absolutely amazing and had me wondering if I was being converted over. But in the end, my viewpoint on the band didn’t change much.
Photos by Xcel Energy Center photographer Joe Lemke.
