Pearl Jam Concert Chronology

1997

November 12, 1997 - The Catalyst - Santa Cruz, CA, USA

attendance: 800 (sold out)
opening acts: Odd Numbers

setlist: Sometimes, I Got Id, Corduroy, Hail Hail, Dissident, Even Flow, Brain Of J., Given To Fly, Wishlist, Off He Goes, Last Exit, State Of Love And Trust, Do The Evolution
encore: Happy Birthday, Immortality, Once, Alive

Pearl Jam plays a surprise warm-up show, billed as the "The Honking Seals". Eddie stops "Sometimes", saying "Such a nice song; I want to be able to hear it" and it is picked up where left off. This show features a really pretty version of "I Got Id". Pearl Jam premiers "Brain Of J.", "Given To Fly", "Wishlist" and "Do The Evolution", from their forthcoming studio album, Yield. Eddie is screaming during parts of "Corduroy", pausing at the end to ask, "How ya been?". After "Last Exit", Eddie says, "OK, humanoids. This is your first chance to do the evolution, but first we're gonna play "State Of Love And Trust". Returning for the encore, Stone says, "Thanks a lot, that's very nice". Eddie encourages the crowd to be quiet so he can phone Neil Young and sing happy birthday to him. The crowd is mellow and respectful but very psyched.

dgr series: Pearl Jam - 1997-11-12 - Santa Cruz ● info-file

November 14, 1997 - Oakland Stadium - Oakland, CA, USA

attendance: 60 000 (sold out)
supporting: The Rolling Stones

setlist: Hail Hail, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Jeremy, Last Exit, Given To Fly, Daughter/(Hey, Hey, My, My), Corduroy, Wishlist, Better Man, State Of Love And Trust, Do The Evolution, Black

This marks the first of an unusual four-show series where Pearl Jam opens for The Rolling Stones. Pearl Jam appears really nervous, taking a while to loosen up. Eddie quips, "There'll be more rain tomorrow night than groupies at Altamont", and later, "We're gonna try a new one on ya and see if it fits", leading to "Given To Fly". After "Better Man", they do a funny bit. Eddie asks "Where's the biggest Rolling Stones fan?" and looks out over the crowd and then over at Mike and points to him. He makes a crack about how Mike used to count all the grooves in his Rolling Stones vinyl records and asks him how many grooves there are in Some Girls and Mike makes up some bizarre answer like "24,402". Cheesy, but effective! Prior to "Black", Eddie says, "OK, we've got one more... then the real party starts. Piece of cake!". The sound system is good, they play wonderfully, are very pumped, Eddie's voice sounds great and they are on!

November 15, 1997 - Oakland Stadium - Oakland, CA, USA

attendance: 60 000 (sold out)
supporting: The Rolling Stones

setlist: Long Road, Last Exit, Animal, Hail Hail, Even Flow, Jeremy, Brain Of J., Daughter/(Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying), Corduroy, Wishlist, Better Man, Do The Evolution, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter

The band is much more confident and taking more "chances" tonight. Stone is back to his marching and Eddie a lot happier, loose and talking more... moving up to the front of the stage. Eddie changes the "Animal" lyrics to "I'd rather be with an English boy". After "Even Flow", Eddie makes a mini anti-war political speech and talks about about how this show is the first time he can smell cigars from the crowd. "Brain of J." rocks! Eddie brings out the maracas during "Daughter", and the tag "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" is a song by Gerry and the Pacemakers. Pearl Jam doesn't have a lot of room to move around on the stage - it's blocked off... they seem to have less room to move than at the Letterman show last year. Still, an even better performance than last night!

November 18, 1997 - Oakland Stadium - Oakland, CA, USA

attendance: 50 000+
supporting: The Rolling Stones

setlist: I Got Id, Hail Hail, Animal, Dissident, Even Flow, Jeremy, Brain Of J., Daughter/(Rain), Better Man, Corduroy, Immortality, Do The Evolution, Alive, Black

In absolutely pouring rain, stage hands come out to sweep water from the stage just before Pearl Jam's set. Surprise... one of the people sweeping is Eddie! The whole band is dressed in grey and blue rainsuits and Eddie notes, "We came prepared". After "Dissident", Eddie removes the rainsuit, balls it up and tosses it to the crowd, saying someone probably needs it more than him. During "Even Flow", Eddie leans back trying to catch the raindrops in his mouth and Mike goes running down the side ramp. After a killer version of "Jeremy", Eddie says, "I used to think this song was old but the last three nights we found it again". Stone plays his ass off during "Brain Of J." while Eddie is doing the swim. During "Corduroy", Jeff removes his raincoat and he and Eddie do the "Eddie and Jeff lean". After "Alive", Eddie makes reference to winding down for The Stones to begin ("We're as anxious to see them as you are...") and "Black" ends the show, with Eddie tossing in all of the emotive "we belong together" phrases. Despite the downpour and sound problems due to wind and rain, the crowd is really into it and cheering and Pearl Jam performs with a "let's do it" attitude.

November 19, 1997 - Oakland Stadium - Oakland, CA, USA

attendance: 50 000+
supporting: The Rolling Stones

setlist: Sometimes, Hail Hail, Animal, Do The Evolution, Dissident, Even Flow, Given To Fly, Better Man, Off He Goes, Corduroy, (Start Me Up)/(Beast Of Burden), Go, Black, Alive, Yellow Ledbetter/(Sympathy For The Devil)

The band is apparently really on again tonight. Eddie plays maracas once again, this time during "Animal". "Even Flow" is a long, extended jam with the band members all facing Jack, their backs to the audience. "It was so fuckin' pretty last night" Eddie says just before "Given To Fly". After Mike plays a little "Start Me Up" teaser riff, a nearly complete cover of "Beast Of Burden" is performed, though Eddie kind of looks down and mumbles when they reach the "all I want/is for you to make love to me" lines. During "Alive" Eddie loses his place and substitutes "I forgot the words to the song, she said". He then dumps wine on people in the audience and runs the ENTIRE length of the Stones' stage, from left to right. They close with an awesome version of "Yellow Ledbetter", ended with Mike just soloing (and including a bit of "Sympathy For The Devil"), and the rest of the band applauding him at the finish. Stone was brave enough to wear his glasses tonight, even. Later, Eddie comes out and duets with the Stones' on "Waiting An A Friend". The Stones make a total mess of the song, but Eddie kisses Mick, Ronnie and Keith on the cheek at the end.