Review: Pearl Jam honors lost friends and lost time in first of two St. Paul tour openers

You could see it in Eddie Vedder's responsive grins and twinkles. You could feel it whenever Mike McCready kicked into a guitar solo. You could hear it every time the sold-out audience roared out a familiar lyric.

Nine years since they last played in Minnesota and one year since their last gig anywhere, Pearl Jam proved at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday night that it remains the too-rare band that thrives off live shows and excels at them — one that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as its heroes the Who and the Clash.

This was exactly the sold-out show Twin Cities fans had waited impatiently for. It featured just enough songs off recent records and deep cuts to feel fresh, an abundance of older fan favorites such as "Alive," "Even Flow" and "Daughter" to feel nostalgic, and exactly the right amount of intensity. Yes, a lot.

Outside the arena, the preshow scene felt a bit like Taylor Swift all over again, except dads of Swifties were the ones lining up for hours to buy T-shirts and other tour merch on opening night of the group's 2023 schedule. The itinerary continues again Saturday at Xcel Center after a night off in between, then it heads to Chicago for another two-nighter next week (with many Twin Cities fans following the tour buses).

After a riveting opening set from Seattle music wiz Jessica Dobson and her band Deep Sea Diver — well worth an on-time arrival for Saturday's show — Pearl Jam started its nearly 2½-hour set on a mellow note: All the band members remained seated on stools through a string of five songs that slowly increased in tempo, starting with the 1993 nugget "Indifference" and newbie "Buckle Up," and then peaking with "Black."

It was an effective way of building up the energy in the room. The stripped-back start also assured the nearly 18,000 fans that Vedder — who has struggled with voice issues on recent outings — was starting out strong on this tour. Very strong, in fact. "Black" was chills-inducing, along with McCready's lengthened and drama-heightened guitar solo.

When the band finally kicked in and turned it up, it did in a big way; first with the anthemic "Born to Run"-style rouser "Given to Fly" and then the heavy, punky blasters "Mind Your Manners" and "Why Go." There wasn't much worry Pearl Jam on the whole can still crank like a bunch of flannel-clad 20-somethings, but here, too, came assurance.

Between songs, Vedder was all over the map topically and emotionally. The singer talked about everything from the band's "MTV Unplugged" taping ("We didn't know what the [expletive] we were doing") to their first time in town to play First Avenue in 1992 (setting up the rare oldie "State of Love and Trust"). He also dedicated songs to Duran Duran (playing a few miles away at the State Fair) and his "all-time favorite Minnesota Twin, Justin Morneau (who tipped his ball cap toward the stage from a club seat).

From cheers to tears, Vedder wiped his eyes as he talked about the fire devastation on Maui, where he lives part time. It's also home to the band's longtime auxiliary keyboardist Boom Gaspar.

"It gave me songs, isolation, inspiration," he said of the island before launching into a wrenching "Love Boat Captain."

Several songs from the band's latest album, "Gigaton" — "Released three days before COVID hit," Vedder dryly noted — also added some dramatic twists to the set, especially the anthemic "Seven O'Clock."

As serious as things got at times — the oldies "Insignificance" and "Porch" still came off ultra-intensely, too — the concert mostly offered good, old-fashioned, get-your-rocks-off fun. That was especially the case in the half-hour-long encore, which included "Go," "Alive" a spirited "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (sung facing the fans seated behind the stage) and finally "Yellow Ledbetter" (with the arena's house lights turned on).

In a sweet but also gut-punching start to the encore, Vedder mentioned Sinead O'Connor, Robbie Robertson, Prince and a newly widowed audience member before doing a solo spin through Tom Petty's "Wildflowers."

"I'm grateful for the friendships and the music they left behind," he said in honor of Petty and his Heartbreakers. But he also could have been summing up the general vibe at what proved to be another unforgettable show by a band that refuses to be taken for granted.

Here's the set list from Pearl Jam, Night 1:

1. Indifference

2. Buckle Up

3. Sometimes

4. Wishlist

5. Black

6. Given to Fly

7. Mind Your Manners

8. Why Go

9. Seven O'Clock

10. Even Flow

11. Dance of the Clairvoyants

12. I'm Open

13. Insignificance

14. Daughter

15. Superblood Wolfmoon

16. Love Boat Captain

17. State of Love and Trust

18. Porch

19. Wildflowers (Tom Petty cover)

20. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

ENCORE:

21. Go

22. Crazy Mary (Victoria Williams cover)

23. Alive

24. Yellow Ledbetter