Pearl Jam Take Over Apollo Theater for SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series: Recap, Photos and Setlist
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The post Pearl Jam Take Over Apollo Theater for SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series: Recap, Photos and Setlist appeared first on Consequence.
Pearl Jam have stayed vital in their fourth decade. Their most recent albums, like 2020’s Gigaton and 2013’s Lightning Bolt, feel sturdy and reassuring — music for functional adults, performed by functional people. They’ve successfully dodged the demons that tragically felled their grunge-era peers. You get the sense that these industry linchpins have shiny trucks, adorable dogs, loving families and spectacular homes — all while enjoying the love and respect of their global music community.
So it was appropriate that their first-ever performance at Harlem’s beyond-historic Apollo Theater, which took place on Saturday, September 10th, was thrown by SiriusXM, for subscribers, contest winners and other assorted VIPs. Prior to the show in the lobby, aproned waitstaff handed out IPAs and rosé while weekend-warrior Gen Xers lined up for free tee shirts, against a slick-looking, wall-sized timeline of their albums.
Onstage, a chirpy host — flanked by technicians — announced that the show would be broadcast to millions, which added to the once-in-a-lifetime feeling of the gig, one night before a more conventional show at Madison Square Garden (grab tickets to their upcoming tour dates here). The still-muscular Pearl Jam seem incapable of playing a lackluster show; you got the sense that barrels of money were poured into this deal. This means that this intimate show would be a slick, predictable affair, right? An Instagram-ready romp shared between finance-bro types? Wrong.
First, Pearl Jam almost never play the same setlist twice; second, they’re human beings playing instruments through cranked-up amplifiers with maximum energy, which engenders a far more unpredictable atmosphere than would usually befit an event like this.
Fresh from vocal-cord recovery following damage from European wildfires, Eddie Vedder led an initially seated band through a series of very deep cuts. First off was a harmonica-flecked “Footsteps,” which dates back to the pre-Ten demos; guitarist Stone Gossard wrote it as an instrumental before they even had a singer. “I’m feeling energy!” Vedder said, referring to both the lineage of the Apollo — Ella Fitzgerald! James Brown! John Coltrane! — and the buzzing (with booze and anticipation both) audience.
Pearl Jam, photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM
“Pendulum” from Lightning Bolt followed, with a gorgeously washy and atmospheric feel — drummer Matt Cameron locking it down on the toms, guitarist Mike McCready bowing his guitar. And it was a real treat to hear “Sleight of Hand” from the eternally underrated Binaural; this journalist didn’t know that Vedder wrote the song about a “job where you have to wear a clip-on tie” from his distant past.
At this stage, Vedder got sufficiently loosened up, swigging from a bottle of red wine. The feeling grew evermore convivial, especially when Vedderhappily announced that his friend Glen Hansard and his wife had just had a baby. (Most know Hansard from the music film Once; deep heads know he plays in Vedder’s solo band the Earthlings.
The energy continued escalating with “Parachutes,” from their Dubya-era self-titled album — the one with half an avocado and an unfortunately-placed dropshadow on the cover. To superfans’ delight, “Hard to Imagine” followed — a Mariana Trench-deep cut from the 1997 film Chicago Cab, with John Cusack and John C. Reilly. With the guitarists ditching their stools and ex-Red Hot Chili Pepper Josh Klinghoffer augmenting the band with multiple instruments in the back, the show was building to something — everyone could feel it.
Pearl Jam, photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM
And then the bad news… something to do with the PA, the stream, or both had unraveled. Or, in Vedder’s words, those in charge had to “restart the computer.” “I’m pretty sure John Coltrane never had to say that when he played here,” Vedder cracked. (God, we wish Trane had lived to be able to say that.)
What was supposed to be an easy fix turned out to be no such thing — as the momentum ratcheted down, the somewhat-blotto audience began stirring uncomfortably. Making matters worse was the lack of air conditioning; a couple of baseball-capped gentlemen within earshot threatened to leave. Vedder looked pissed while talking to someone in charge; other members awkwardly milled around, perhaps awaiting instruction.
Soon after, Vedder brought out an acoustic guitar and sang an unamplified, barely audible cover of Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me In Your Heart” — which was most definitely not in the script. (The audience hissed at each other to shush.) Was this to be an impromptu busking session that bootleggers would treasure forever, a la Alex Chilton’s Electricity by Candlelight?
Pearl Jam, photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM
It would be no such thing: The band soon returned, and the frustration added a deliciously pent-up aggression to the following performance. When Klinghoffer strapped on a guitar, there were four in total, counting Vedder — and miraculously, it never sounded cluttered or overdone. Give it up for these pros: they know how to expertly arrange a song, even (or especially) when a song is a slab of riffs and yowls.
Once they were back in business, Pearl Jam played a litany of Gigaton songs, which served as a reminder that New Yorkers were supposed to see this show back in 2020, right as the pandemic hit. But given the unenviable task of playing years-old songs as if they were brand new, they handled it with aplomb — especially after such a glaring technological breakdown.
Not only did they refuse to make a big promotional deal out of the new material, but Gigaton tunes like “Who Ever Said” and “Quick Escape” hit just as powerfully as many of the agreed-upon classics. (The four-on-the-floor groove underpinning “Dance of the Clairvoyants” remains a fresh and vibrant color on their palette — more quasi-disco from Vedder and the boys!)
Pearl Jam, photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM
As new songs rubbed up against still-stellar oldies like “Even Flow,” “Porch,” and “Whipping,” it became increasingly clear that the power of rock was bulldozing the boundaries of what could have been a slicked-over concert. Instead of the canned chatter another major act could have delivered, you had Vedder waxing about meeting Ray Charles as a youngster (who psyched him out by complimenting his mohawk) and standing on the hallowed stage where blues progenitor Bessie Smith once sang her heart out.
The setlist ended both satisfyingly and surprisingly; the audience got the still-sublime “Better Man,” but no “Alive” or “Rearviewmirror.” After a customary cover of the Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” they suddenly got solemn and mystical again, with the droning “Indifference” from Vs. This didn’t lead to a crashing conclusion; the band departed to the strains of Tom Waits’ “I’m Your Late Night Evening Prostitute.”
Despite the hiccups, it was encouraging to be in a crowd of mostly diehards. There was definitely more than one Mookie Blaylock jersey in the sea of attendees filing out — a nod to Pearl Jam’s past name, itself a tribute to the NBA point guard. (Fun fact: Ten was named after his jersey number!) And even those who don’t pore over the bootlegs didn’t take the deep-cut filled setlist personally.
Pearl Jam, photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM
The fact remains: these sometimes-snickered-at, almost-classic-rock giants have an entire canon you may not know about. And it was their steadfast refusal to just play the hits — as well as their vulnerability and lack of artificiality — that made their Apollo show an oasis of genuineness in an ever-blander, ultra-branded entertainment landscape. The fact that they have done this night in and night out for more than 30 years means they get an opportunity few other rock bands receive: to band together, strap in and take the long way.
Grab tickets to Pearl Jam’s remaining tour dates here.
Setlist:
Footsteps
Pendulum
Sleight of Hand
Parachutes
Hard to Imagine
Keep Me in Your Heart (Warren Zevon cover)
Who Ever Said
Even Flow
Dance of the Clairvoyants
Quick Escape
Spin the Black Circle
Alright
Retrograde
Never Destination
Take the Long Way
Whipping
Porch
Encore:
Better Man
Do the Evolution
Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
Indifference
Pearl Jam Take Over Apollo Theater for SiriusXM’s Small Stage Series: Recap, Photos and Setlist
Morgan Enos
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