After nearly a decade, Pearl Jam have returned to Australia and their first stop down under was Gold Coast last night (13 November).
With South East Queensland's famed thunderstorms once again playing havoc, causing a delay in fans entering People First Stadium (home of Gold Coast Suns), Teen Jesus And Jean Teasers support set is cancelled so the show can continue. I see their equipment being moved off stage and feel so gutted for them.We're told Pixies will still play ahead of Pearl Jam and they do, about an hour and fifteen after they were due to start. Punters have been so well-behaved; they're stoked that the stage is prepped and ready to go!
The rain eases significantly as roars from poncho-wearing and wet-clothed punters welcome Black Francis, Joey Santiago, David Lovering and Emma Richardson to the stage. The four-piece lead their set with 'Cactus' from 'Surfer Rosa', and its solid beat is perfect to get punters into the groove of its haunt.
Pixies - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Next is one of my favourites, 'Where Is My Mind?'; the sways kick in but things get jivey with the danceable classic banger 'Here Comes Your Man'. Black Francis' voice is as clear and as ruggedly staunch as I remember it many moons ago, and as a band they are playing as tight as a locked nut, while performing with a stoney separateness from the fans.
Black Francis is probably the most animated (don't get too excited, it's not much), but it's this aloofness that makes the listener focus on the music despite what the lyrics might be saying.
'Mercy Me', 'The Vegas Suite' and 'Chicken' follow as I lose myself in the nostalgia of Pixies' frantic energy shifts, unconventional guitar effects and the raw hum of acoustic feedback, against a backdrop of retro guitar amps and Lovering's snare packing an '80s punch to our ears.
Finishing up their set with 'In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song)', a Peter Ivers and David Lynch cover, ahead of mega fan fave 'Wave Of Mutilation' that had the crowd singing along loudly before leaving us with 'Vamos (Pilgrim)' – or perhaps alien abduction arriving under the guise of storm clouds!?
Pixies - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The lush red drapes covering the huge backdrop screen creep open to reveal a semicircle of opaque white light similar to the last light on the horizon left behind by a sun now below the horizon. The stage set is massive, the screens on either side are too and, although dimly lit, I see many light rigs that tell the show will have many visual delights.
Distinguishable silhouettes of Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Matt Cameron take their places onstage to deliver the first slice of their set, with track eight from their album 'Vitalogy', 'Corduroy'. From the minute they hit the stage fans go ape with a boisterous glee, many hit with the realisation it is really happening.
I'll confess I lost some water from my eyes when they followed with a classic from 'Vs', 'Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town'. Fans sang so loudly and sweetly: "Hearts and thought they fade. Fade away. . ." Man this hits hard at the hearts of many fans.
Pearl Jam - image © Clea-marie Thorne
I love how the set list for this tour changes based on the city and what they've played there before. So being unable to guess, I'm stoked we get 'Given To Fly', 'Why Go', and 'Quick Escape', which are lapped up by Pearl Jam-starved fans before 'React, Respond' is the first to be played from the 'Dark Matter' album. Fists are pumping, booties are shaking and heads are banging. It's glorious!
The visuals on the backdrop up to this time have added drama to the stage design, with multi-cam views and overlaying videos of the band with abstract light visuals.
However, for the title track from 'Dark Matter' they dialled up the fantastic a notch or three. This song kicks our asses back to the '90s – Pearl Jam are channelling themselves, Temple Of The Dog and even a touch of Soundgarden vibes resonating in this; it is '90s revisited and I'm in a rock rapture.
Pearl Jam - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The new and classic hits keep smashing us about the ears and McCready's solos reverberate in our souls as he goes from shred to riffing shred through 'Wreckage', 'Even Flow', 'I Got Id', and 'Daughter' (with a snip of 'Another Brick In The Wall' in the latter).
While 'Got To Give' and 'Severed Hand' hold us in a musical rapture that we do not want to escape; then it's one of my favourite heart-wrenchers, 'Black'; I join fans who are taking the vocal reins on parts of this one and Vedder let us, the wry grin on his face tells us he loved what we did, even the cat wailing!
Ending the set with yet another nostalgic trip 'Porch', the band kick some serious butt as they throw this out into the night air. Heads are moshing, shoulders shaking, fists are raised. If I couldn't have 'Rearview' on this set, this is my backup!
Pearl Jam - image © Clea-marie Thorne
With voices raised to the heavens, the immense sound falls into the lull before it builds back up with Vedder's amazingly huge vocals and the band behind him. With some resigned that 'Porch' may have concluded the night – and it was grand enough to be the finale – fans cheer and wait, just in case.
They are rewarded because here comes the encore we were not sure we would be getting due to the delay in starting the show, but a deal with local authorities got the band permission to play their entire show. Yeow!
It's not straight back into action though. Vedder, under a spotlight and I think an acoustic, commences the encore with some dedications including from Bobby and Peggy, Donna and Gabby, and also Jess who wants to declare her respect and appreciation for her man Nathan who is a great man, husband and dad who has a bunch of daughters. Vedder tells him: "Show your daughters not to settle for anything less! I'd like that!"
Pearl Jam - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Vedder then tells us the next story is sad and is for those who have passed and reminds us they continue to live within us. He mentions the song ('Man Of The Hour') is for an old friend Greg who lost his life saving someone else's life while away in Indonesia.
Gritty fuzzy guitar brings on 'Do The Evolution', which is backed by the dirty nebulous intro of 'Breath'. The Pearl Jam 'jam' keeps coming at us hard with two crackers that EVERYONE in the stadium must know because the Pearl Jam choir is in full force singing along to 'Better Man' and 'Alive'.
They end with a song for the ages, Neil Young's classic 'Rockin' In The Free World'. Pearl Jam really nail this with their signature sound, but with no disrespect to the original. It really is a song that represents what Pearl Jam does for fans and resonates with lovers of music and those, like me, who live for the live music sounds and who would be bitter, unhappy and incomplete without it.
Pearl Jam - image © Clea-marie Thorne
Pearl Jam is every bit the band they have always been. I'm blown away by the guts, energy and extreme musical chops that exude from a band I discovered so long ago (we won't mention the decade!).
However, I can't help but say to any fence sitters for this tour, Vedder's vocals have as much punch and emotive chops live as his younger self or any of their recordings, and he still holds commands over the stage, and you feel every word he sings.
Cready's guitar solos are simply nuts, full of energy and executed with precision. Gossard still cranks an unmistakable, groovy rhythm that's the backbone of their sound, while Ament's basslines are tight, thick and driving, and he keeps it all in total sync.
Pearl Jam - image © Clea-marie Thorne
And Cameron? He has been an absolute beast on the drums all freaking night. Not only relentless but also smooth, keeping the beats electrifying or pulsing. It's amazing how the lads have kept their fires stoked – they play like they've still got something to prove, when we know they don't. Pearl Jam's still got it, and then some.
More photos from the concert.
