On Thursday, May 30, Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena witnessed a deeply poignant and electrifying finale to Pearl Jam’s first North American leg of the Dark Matter tour. The two-night tour closeout, shortly following a previous two night stint in Los Angeles, marked the band’s first hometown shows since 2018, bringing plenty of emotion for frontman Eddie Vedder and the rest of the band’s homecoming.

According to SPIN, before the band launched into the encore, Vedder took a moment to acknowledge the significant absence of close friends and fellow musicians who have passed away – Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley, and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell among them. 

“There’s no other guest list as big as the one we have when we’re in Seattle,” Vedder remarked. “San Diego, Chicago… nope. Seattle. To be honest, I wish it were longer. There are certain names that I so deeply wish were on the guest list tonight, but we lost them too early and in ways we could never imagine. Damnit if I can’t stop thinking about them, but that’s a good thing too, I guess.”

In a heartfelt tribute to the legends Vedder keeps alive and well in his thoughts, he performed a solo acoustic cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” in the style of Johnny Cash, marking the first time the song has been played at a Pearl Jam show. (Vedder has previously performed this rendition five times at his solo concerts).

As the set neared its end, Vedder hinted at the possibility of a Pearl Jam residency in Seattle, much to the delight of the local fans. “Goddamnit, we might not play again in Seattle for a while,” he teased. “[Arena staff] did say that we can play anytime we want, and they’ve made it pretty nice for us. This could be something maybe we do more often. Tuesdays at Climate Pledge, something like that. Thursdays…”

The evening concluded with the band’s closing song “Setting Sun,” during which Vedder expressed his gratitude to the fans, “I’ll see you in the car next to me. Thank you for 33-and-a-third years. Imagine that.”

Last night’s show was broadcast live on the band’s Pearl Jam Radio channel 22 with SiriusXM, allowing fans around the world to share in the memorable occasion. The band will resume stateside performances in August – and will be featured as a headliner at this year’s Ohana Festival in Dana Point, CA.