For Pearl Jam, the world is a darker place now than it was a week ago. Hope has yet to dip beneath the horizon, however, and the show must go on.
The Seattle grunge legends delivered this sentiment to the 20,000-strong Auckland crowd at Go Media Stadium on Friday (November 8th), the latest stop on their ‘Dark Matter World Tour’.
It marked their first New Zealand show in over 10 years, and it was also their first performance since Donald Trump’s reelection as US President, a reality that clearly weighed heavily on lead vocalist Eddie Vedder’s spirit.
As the last major voice of ’90s grunge still standing strong, showing resistance in the face of adverse forces was never a choice for the frontman, but an imperative.
Backed by local legend Liam Finn, influential US alternative rockers Pixies, and a soulful Māori Pōwhiri, Vedder took to the stage in a Walter Payton #34 Chicago Bears jersey, likely a nod to Pearl Jam’s recently celebrated 34th anniversary of their first concert. (Or, perhaps, Vedder was cheekily giving a wink to Trump’s felony counts?)
The remaining members of Pearl Jam – bassist Jeff Ament, lead guitarist Mike McCready, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, drummer Matt Cameron, and tour keyboardist Boom Gaspar – soon followed, determined to leave audiences more aspirational than they were when they arrived.
“These are times when you don’t take things for granted… to play music for you in this perfect weather is exactly what we want to do,” Vedder told the crowd early on.
Seemingly untouched by time, the band broke into a litany of classics, Vedder’s vocals continuing to soar on hits like “Not for You”, “Even Flow”, and “Jeremy”.
Critically acclaimed newer tracks like “Scared of Fear”, “Dark Matter”, and “Wreckage” energised the crowd, the latter’s lyrics being inspired by Trump “playing the victim,” according to Vedder.
The men on strings dominated on songs like “Spin the Black Circle”, “Porch”, and “Do the Evolution”, McCready in particular impressing the crowd as the spirit of Eddie Van Halen seemingly possessed him for a rendition of Van Halen’s “Eruption”.
Credit: Isabella Rose Young
No specific names or political ideals ever escaped Vedder’s mouth throughout the set, but those in the crowd understood the reasoning behind his words between songs and keenly tuned in.
“Growing up… I found a guitar, a way to express myself,” he said at one point. “We all find ourselves needing a guitar, needing an instrument, needing a way to express ourselves.”
Before a solo acoustic performance of “Just Breathe”, he pondered, “Maybe progress scares people… but there’s room for everyone… we’ve made progress and now we’ve gone a little backwards, so it just might take a little longer.”
As the show reached its last legs, the stadium’s floodlights suddenly came on. All the darkness in the world ceased to be, if only for a moment, as Pearl Jam played “Alive”, an anthem inspired by a dire chapter of Vedder’s life that now serves as a message of hope and perseverance.
“Rockin’ in the Free World” followed, a Neil Young cover critical of the conservative Bush Sr. administration, before a final bow from the band and one last misty-eyed gaze from Vedder, knowing the love and light he set out to sow had successfully taken root.
“It’s best to keep hope and use your actions in such a way to make a positive world,” he said during the show. “This is a life of challenges, and it’s certainly worth living.”
Pearl Jam’s ANZ tour continues in Gold Coast, Melbourne, and Sydney. Ticket information is available here.
