I’m the biggest Pearl Jam fan you’d ever want to meet. After 52 shows, I was astounded to find the band tearing into a high-energy performance at Voodoo Fest 2013 that easily ranked among the top ten performances I’d ever witnessed from the Seattle rockers. Frontman Eddie Vedder was in wildly high spirits, while the band – in full touring mode these days – delivered the goods like a well-oiled machine of freakin’ unbelievable rock greatness.
Rather than lose out on Day Two of Voodoo 2013 for the sake of recounting the play-by-play, here are the top ten moments from Pearl Jam’s set on Friday night. This one won’t be forgotten anytime soon…
The former New Orleans Saints player, sidelined with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, introduced the band and sat sidestage throughout the performance. Eddie Vedder called Gleason part of the band and credited him with the night’s setlist, which included a hugely celebrated “Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns” alongside a number of songs from the new album Lightning Bolt. Guitarist Mike McCready wore a “Defend Team Gleason” T-shirt as well.
Nos. 2-10…
Check out the rest of our Voodoo 2013 coverage below, and check back later for our Day Two recap!
Voodoo 2013: Pearl Jam's Top 10 Moments
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2. Vedder's flirtation with furries
While checking with the crowd to make sure everyone was comfortable Vedder spotted a man in a bunny suit, dancing with a girl in a unicorn mask. Ed inquired about the furries fetish, mentioning that he'd read about it in a Sonic Youth record. "Something about how people can’t get sexually excited unless they are dressed up like that. Is that you? I knew I would never see anything like this… until I got to New Orleans. Okay, I am in room 518 at the Hudson Arms or whatever it is. I'll bring my teddy bear.”
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3. Mike. Fucking. McCready.
Absolutely on fire, ripping an unbelievable solo to "Even Flow" behind his head, McCready showcased a continuing evolution of fret-shredding excellence that adds a new gear to every Pearl Jam track played live. His crowdwork is unparalleled, his total immersion in the energy of the music is nearly hypnotic. This man is a living legend.
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4. Rearviewmirror
Closing out their main set before an 8-song encore, PJ tore off what may be the best live version of Rearviewmirror in history. With added lyrics (such as the repeated "I'll forget but I won't forgive") and an explosively intense finish, the 20 year-old song was given an entirely new vitality.
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5. VIP teasing
Ed commenting multiple times about the "jacuzzi section or whatever the fuck that is over there," referring to the gigantic VIP area, was flat-out hilarious. As longtime fans of the band can confirm, Vedder's never been too big a fan of elite holding pens for high-paying attendees.
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6. Giving out Macklemore's phone number
Asking the audience who'd been arrested in New Orleans, Vedder confessed, "I should raise my hand," referring his own arrest outside a French Quarter bar in New Orleans 20 years ago this week. He then asked the crowd who planned on getting arrested that night, and told of a guy they could call: fellow Seattlite Macklemore, who played just prior to PJ: "He'll pay your bail or give you $10 to buy some big, floppy, old man shoes." Then he dedicated Given To Fly to him.
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7. This face
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8. A dose of legalized reality
Ed introduced "Severed Hand" as a song about "all the overdoses on marijuana in Seattle since it was legalized. Obviously I'm joking, 'cause thats never fucking happened, ever."
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9. Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns
As mentioned above, Steve Gleason's dream setlist included this Mother Love Bone offering, resulting in ecstatic, tearful singalongs by diehards in the crowd, alongside bewildered fascination by less invested fans. It didn't matter that Boom Gaspar kept falling out of time in the intro (to which Vedder forced drummer Matt Cameron to stop keeping the beat) – the song(s) was exhilarating, beautiful and tremendously well received, even by those who'd never heard it before.
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10. Swinging on the lights
Giant bulbs came down at points throughout the show, but as the night ramped up to its Ledbetter-climax finale, the band started messing around with the props.
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10. Swinging on the lights
As McCready batted one lamp around with his guitar...
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10. Swinging on the lights
Vedder climbed atop one of them and rode around like he was on a jungle gym. Ah, memories.
