A Fan’s List Of Requests For The NZ Shows.
About bloody time.
Pearl Jam are finally hitting up Aotearoa again after an extended break away. This November will see the band packing out Auckland’s Go Media Mt Smart Stadium for two shows on the 8th and 9th– and it can’t come fast enough.
10 years have passed since Eddie Vedder and the crew last played New Zealand with an iconic headline set at Big Day Out 2014. Their last stand alone tour was 2009 supporting the album Backspacer. For context, babies born then are almost allowed to vote now. So we’ve got a lot to catch up on, and we know they are going to deliver the goods. Pearl Jam gigs are legendary for a reason – the setlists are vast and varied, constantly surprising and delighting die hard fans.
We know the hits, the staples, the must haves – ‘Better Man’, ‘Daughter’, ‘Yellow Ledbetter’, ‘Corduroy’, ‘Elderly Woman’ etc etc (seriously, the list of ‘Must Haves’ is massive, this group is incredible) – But what about the ‘Want To Haves’? Yes I want to sing ‘Black’ at the top of my lungs towards the heavens, and lucky for me the chances of that are quite high. So let’s go with some less likely options.
To get us ready for our big nights out, I’ve chosen 10 songs I want to hear at the Auckland shows. Honestly, whatever they do is going to be awesome, but I reckon me and the 24,999 other attendees would transcend space and time if they rocked out all of these as well.
Here the 10 songs I humbly request Pearl Jam to play live, pretty please.
1: Scared Of Fear
I’m skewing new PJ quite a lot for this list, because we’ve never had a chance to hear the last couple of albums live yet. And there was some great stuff on them.
We can be confident they will play the title track from 2024’s very good Dark Matter – but I am keen to hear the opening riff of the album blaring through the stadium speakers. I can imagine Stone running around the stage early on the night, building a sweat with the propulsive swirl of the chorus. The GA section will get a good work out from this tone setter.
2: Superblood Wolfmoon
The most fun song from 2022’s Gigaton. This will probably make an appearance on at least one of the nights. Practice your Da Da Da Da’s at home, because we’re going to be belting them out if we get the chance.
I haven’t checked the Moon forecast, so I’m just going to assume it will be a Full One to add to the vibes.
3: Waiting For Stevie/Running
And I’m already cheating. But the one/two punch of ‘Waiting For Stevie’ and ‘Running’ is my favourite part of Dark Matter. They will 100% rock out ‘Running’, the most vigorous and vital track from the album. Jeff Ament’s bass is going to set us off when they launch into it.
But how good would it be to get a full version of ‘Stevie’ before it, the soaring spiritual anguish morphing into the punk rock head rush of ‘Running’. Sign me up.
4: Who Ever Said
One more stand-out from Gigaton. While my favourites from that album are near the backend of the track list (eg ‘Comes Then Goes’ and ‘River Cross’), I’ve got more emotional and thoughtful PJ tracks in mind for later in the list.
I love late career hard rock Pearl Jam, and ‘Who Ever Said’ is the epitome of that. If this chorus isn’t the biggest eff you to anyone who thinks music has an age limit, I don’t know what is…
“Whoever said it’s all been said
Gave up on satisfaction”
5: I Am Mine
Now we’re getting to the earlier stuff. Yes this is an obvious song from Riot Act, but they didn’t play it the last two times they were here! So it’s time for what I can only assume is the NZ debut thank you very much. (Apologies if you’ve been to one of Vedder’s private shows/dinner parties and he busted it out on acoustic guitar).
Bonus Riot Act request: ‘Can’t Keep’ but the version from Vedder’s ukulele album that has somehow become one of my favourites, please don’t judge me.
6: Nothing As It Seems
Just the guitar solo. That’s all I need. And do it for as long as you can. I will take an hour of this solo.
7: Of The Girl (Acoustic)
The sun has set, a chill is crisping the air. Let’s break out the acoustics and get a bit emotional. They’ve done full acoustic concerts, and this Binaural track is one of the few that is better than the original version. It somehow gets even grimier and more skeezy as the acoustic guitar and bass run off each other.
I hope they do an entire acoustic portion – to inspire all of us amateur strummers to keep on noodling away at home.
8: Present Tense
As much as you can have one, this is my favourite Pearl Jam song. They are undoubtedly a catalogue band – an ocean of notes, riffs, lyrics, and harmonies that washes over you in ways that can sometimes be hard to differentiate.
It’s like for birthdays how they say giving someone an experience is better than giving them a thing. Pearl Jam is an experience.
But this song is a standalone object that I adore. So if everyone could please be quiet so I can experience it as an individual, just me and the band, I would appreciate it.
9: Crazy Mary
This is as close to a ‘Must Have’ as this list gets. I just want to be part of a stadium sing-along of this magnificent morality tale.
Originally a Victoria Williams song, it’s a soaring reminder of humanity and connection. So after my moment of individual spiritual affirmation, I would love nothing more than to reconnect with my fellow humans.
If you see me, give me a high five. We’re all in this together.
10: Man Of The Hour
Let’s go a bit left field and get some of their Movie Soundtrack work in here to finish the list off.
They’ve done quite a few one off tracks for creative endeavours (see: The Bear Season 3, or covering The Who’s ‘Love Reign O’er Me’ which is officially the best thing about that Adam Sandler movie no one talks about) but none have held on quite as well as ‘Man Of The Hour’ from Tim Burton’s Big Fish.
It’s a song about the movie, but really it’s a song for anyone that has ever had a Dad or Dad-like figure in their life. I’m starting to get teary just thinking about it…
Bonus Cover:
They’re definitely going to sprinkle some Liam Finn and Pixies riffs into their set, and probably bring them on stage for some extended jam sessions (yes please). But what other covers would we love to see?
My vote is a Split Enz cover. I adored when Neil Finn brought Vedder out for ‘Stuff And Nonsense’ (one of the most original romance songs of all time) at the 7 Worlds Collide show.
Also getting votes: ‘Fall At Your Feet’ (aka a surprise contender for unofficial National Anthem of Aotearoa), or Bob Dylan’s ‘Masters Of War’ (a sneaky cross promotion for the new Chalamet movie coming out, and also Vedder absolutely eviscerates it every time he covers it).
In Conclusion: These concerts are going to be amazing, they can play whatever the hell they want, and let’s make sure to let them know not to leave us for another 10 years.
Can someone send this list to Pearl Jam now?
