Pearl Jam, a band that led the grunge movement during the 90s, have evolved into genial dad rockers over the past 30 years, injecting humour, positivity, and a penchant for distinctive hats into their performances. Having not performed in Ireland for over ten years, although their lead singer Eddie Vedder has staged numerous solo gigs, the band filled their recent return with fan favourites during their extended stage-time at Dublin’s Marlay Park.
Starting off with a bang, they kicked off their performance with a tour-de-force from their inaugural album ‘Ten’, the track ‘Release’, an unfiltered energetic rock spectacle helmed by guitarist Mike McCready and bass player Jeff Ament, both sporting noteworthy headgear. Providing the vocal element was Vedder, the group’s loveable frontman.
Pearl Jam’s influence in the grunge era is undisputed, outshining even Nirvana. They made their stance evident, challenging the self-centeredness and double standards of the generation before. The band famously opposed Ticketmaster in 1994, foreseeing the giant it would develop into, and have persistently amplified their voices on social justice issues.
Their socially conscious spirit continued on loudly at their recent performance. Whilst Vedder was introducing their track ‘Better Man’ from the ‘Vitalogy’ album of ’94, he broached the subject of violence against women. He alluded to a local demonstration that confronted an American military personnel’s partial sentencing after he confessed to assaulting a woman.
Vedder described the protest as potent and commendably orchestrated. He was pleased that women’s rights, safety and equality were brought to the fore in a positive way, asserting that a balance of gender in the judiciary would be beneficial. He commended the participation of men in the march and called out for more protective action for our female relatives from the justice system. The audience reacted to the potent music and strong words with displeasure.
Promoting their recent crowd-pleaser of an album, Dark Matter, the band takes to the stage on tour, introducing several fresh tracks in addition to their old ones. Their new songs like Scared of Fear and React, Respond resonate with midlife confusion, mirroring the perplexities of fathers whose hearts fill with despair as they watch the news and see the world’s deterioration. Pearl Jam, once advocates pushing against injustice, now find themselves bewildered and focused on their children’s future.
Despite the profound themes and intense music, the performance primarily delivers an uplifting concert experience. It’s like stepping into a time machine back to the ’90s as the band energetically performs old favourites such as Even Flow, Daughter, and Jeremy – emotive anthems that carry the crowd back to the days when soul-patches were fashionable, tie-dye T-shirts were ubiquitous, and alternative rock dominated the radio.
The band’s leader, Vedder, is an engaging conversationalist who enjoys sharing his anecdotes with the crowd. He shares a meeting with actor Ed Burns during his flight to Ireland and recites a poem he wrote for Dublin on a hotel napkin. He dedicates a song to the late teenage girl, Amelia Ferguson, from Dublin, who recently lost her life while attending a summer course. He also treats the audience to a walk down memory lane, reminiscing about Pearl Jam’s debut performance in Ireland with Neil Young back in 1993.
He recalls, “Shane MacGowan tried to nick our beer from the dressing room. When we ran out, I had to swipe some from Van Morrison’s dressing room to give to Shane… I was reminiscing about Shane and Sinéad.”
This sets the stage for a tribute to both MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor, with a rendition of Warren Zevon’s emotional track, Keep Me In Your Heart, that lights up the venue under the Dublin night sky. The band surges into another cover, Rockin’ In The Free World by Young, in the end. Vedder and company transform the raw outcry that is Young’s song into a story of hope and defiance, a testament to the show’s unafraid exploration of deep issues and ultimate celebration of perseverance, unity, and rock ‘n’ roll’s transformative power.