Live Review: Pearl Jam kicks off tour at Ft. Lauderdale's BBT Center (4/8) (2024)

“What’s your Ten Club number?”

Community is priceless. It’s not something that can be bought. It’s not even something you can create. It’s something you earn. Pearl Jam has spent over two decades cultivating that privilege, and they’ve never once abused it. Ten albums later, they’re stronger than ever, having amassed a die-hard following that doesn’t care if Lightning Bolt mightbe their weakest album to date or if over half of their setlist capitalizes on post-2000 material. They’re not there for the music; they’re there for the people.

On Friday night, as the springtime Florida sun dwindled over Ft. Lauderdale’s BB&T Center, thousands upon thousands of fans walked toward the venue at the same pace, smiling, joking, and trading anecdotesabout one another’s tour shirts. A few lucky soulsjoggedthe opposite way, clutchingon toa poster tube, which only proved that they’d arrivedhoursahead of time to snatch the prized merchandise. Nobody was jealous, though; in fact, mostcongratulated them on their efforts.

Photo by Chris Hill

Inside, the already pleasant scene escalated intoa balmy cohabitation. As the minutes inched by, those same fans found their seats and eschewedwhat traditionally boils down to bland pleasantries in favor of what could best be described as Pearl Jam Small Talk. One nearby couple showedoff their Pearl Jam onesie to a pair of newfound friends while another digressed on how he likes every album they’ve put out, to which his new neighbor contended, “It depends on the mood.”

Such positivity is rare at any concert, but especially rock ‘n’ roll. Look, I’ve spent the majority of the past decade rallying against the drunk idiots that treat every live giglike a mid-life crisis, flailing around and arguing as if they either don’t know or don’t care that everyone around them thinks they’re an asshole. Maybe that happened somewhere in theBB&T — it’s entirely possible; after all, the odds were quite high given the near-capacity crowd— but that just wasn’t the overall atmosphere.

Photo by Chris Hill

There’s a reason I’ve spent half of this review highlighting the fans and not the band: they’re one and the same. The symbiotic relationship between Pearl Jam and its chummy, devoted fanbase is stronger than whatever oak spurred that metaphor, and by recognizingthat bond, one can actuallyunderstand the truest talents ofEddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Matt Cameron. (Okay, and Boom Gaspar.) They’re not onlybrilliant musicians to everyone; they’re old friends.

“We’re so grateful for the energy coming from you,” Eddie Vedder admitted late into the set, adding: “We got some rough news today.” Visibly shaken, heexplained that the band lost a former member of their crew that morning, Tim “Skully” Quinlan. The late husband and father of two had originally served as a guitar technician for Gossard and Vedder back in the ’90s, and the humble frontman waxed nostalgic about their time together, contending that his crew has always been like family.

Photo by Chris Hill

And so, they dedicated their performance of Binaural cut “Light Years” to Quinlan, but not before the crowd offered a deafening standing ovationfor the man they neverknew. Again, there’s an inherent quid pro quo between Pearl Jamand their fans, and after they hugged Vedder, he returned the favor. Towards the very end, Vedder honored one of the dozens of signs floating above the GA crowd — a request for his cover of Little Steven’s “I Am a Patriot”. By who? A proud father of a fallen veteran.

Now, it should be noted that Vedder saw this sign and agreed to play it prior to his homage to Quinlan. He also kept his word after they ran through a sweaty, vivid, and epic series of anthems: “Better Man”, “Alive”, and their incendiary cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”. To be fair, the night could have ended there — they were also way past curfew— but Vedderremained steadfast and urged the technicians and his bandmates to continue. There was no way he was leaving after he promised the man.

Photo by Chris Hill

“Let’s see if I remember it,” he thought aloud, thumbing a little on his acoustic. Never one to shy away from politics, he added, “You’ve got more veterans in Florida than anywhere in the country,” to which he justly criticizedAmerica’s “shameful”neglect for its own soldiers. When he was ready, he looked the man straight in the eye and said, “This is for your son, Tyler.” Mind you, this was all in front of a still-packed arena that was catching their breath after screaming, “We’re all wasted!”

It was surreal, but so was the entire night.

Going into a Pearl Jam show, you never know what to expect, and thatmysterymostly stems from their uncannysetlists. Yet Vedder tookFt. Lauderdale on an emotional roller coaster that went above and beyond another unique entryfor Setlist.fm. We laughed at hiswine-fueledshort story about hotel tiling, we sighed when he brought one woman to tears on-screen during “Footsteps”, and wequickly cheered ashe serenaded her during “Last Kiss”. Hell, we sang “Happy Birthday” to McCready.

Photo by Chris Hill

“We’re just trying to be as good as the f*cking Booby Trap,” Vedder joked earlier in the night, referring to the asininep*rn shop that greets tourists coming into town. It was all in good nature, to be sure, the type of local barb that lets you know he’s been around the block. And considering Pearl Jam hadn’t actually played Fort Lauderdale in 20 years — although they’veperformed inthe surrounding citiessince then — it was nice to knowthe Surfer from Evanston neverforgot about us.

Indifference? Hardly.

Setlist:
Go
Mind Your Manners
Corduroy
Given to Fly
Help Help
Deep
Nothingman
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
Severed Hand
UnthoughtKnown
Sirens
Happy Birthday
Surrender (Cheap Trick cover)
Even Flow
Amongst the Waves
I Am Mine
Swallowed Whole
Who You Are
Do the Evolution
Why Go
Encore:
Yellow Moon
Footsteps
Last Kiss (Wayne Cochran cover)
Black
Comatose
Lightning Bolt
Porch
Encore #2:
Light Years
Better Man
Alive
Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
I Am a Patriot (Little Steven cover)
Indifference