Midway through his set at Benaroya Hall Monday night Eddie Vedder jokingly called the venue, which is home to the Seattle Symphony, a building “made for important music.” And that’s exactly what it was during his two-hour-and-15-minute concert. It’s just that the important music happened to be played by six people instead of the near 90 who typically take the stage as members of the symphony.
The sold-out show featured a 24-song setlist that was a delightful romp through rock ‘n’ roll history as delivered by Vedder and his all-star band The Earthlings. Songs representing nearly every decade of rock were sprinkled into the performance. Covers ranging from selections by The Everly Brothers, Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols to George Harrison, The Who and The Pretenders all fit perfectly alongside songs from Vedder’s latest solo album “Earthling.”
Released earlier this month, the album wears its classic rock influences on its sleeves with splashes of Springsteen, Petty, R.E.M. and others easily discernible throughout its 13 tracks. This made the covers all the more appropriate, the first of which was a rousing rendition of Tom Petty’s “Room at the Top.” It was the second song of the set and an immediate indication this would be an Eddie Vedder concert and not an imitation Pearl Jam show.
Solo concerts are nothing new for Vedder, but in the past his solo shows have been quieter affairs. This was different. This was bigger, louder and a whole lot more energetic than his previous solo efforts.
Yes, he plugged in his guitar and played rock ‘n’ roll songs at past solo shows. But he also played a heavy dose of ukulele ballads, leaned into his singer-songwriter side and typically played alone at those shows. This was Eddie Vedder with a backing band, and that band was quite obviously not Pearl Jam.
Now if you’re Eddie Vedder and you’re putting together a backing band, chances are your Rolodex is filled with more than a few collaborators who could deliver the goods. And for The Earthlings Vedder managed to put together quite a murderer’s row of experienced musicians.
The band – drummer Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, former RHCP guitarist and current touring member of Pearl Jam Josh Klinghoffer, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, guitarist Glen Hansard and guitarist/producer Andrew Watt – not only brought an impressive sense of urgency and depth to the “Earthling” material, they also expertly handled the other material in the set.
The name recognition and rock pedigrees wouldn’t mean a thing if the band wasn’t able to play well together and they more than impressed. Smith was animated and often funny behind the kit, tossing dozens of sticks into the crowd throughout the set. Chaney always kept the groove in the pocket, never overpowering songs. Klinghoffer was subdued enough to not be noticed often but when he was it was clear he could shred with the best of them.
Watt, who produced “Earthling” and has worked with Pearl Jam on unreleased material, was a revelation as a lead guitarist. He was the Mike McCready to Klinghoffer’s Stone Gossard. And at times it was vice versa with Klinghoffer laying down some nasty leads. The Earthlings played so well and sounded so good it would be a shame if this short, six-city tour is the only time this lineup plays live together.
Additionally, The Earthlings seemed to bring out a slightly different version of Vedder, which was refreshing to watch. Vedder as a solo artist withThe Earthlings seemed to play more fast and loose between songs and was much more chatty than he usually is with Pearl Jam. Perhaps it was the more intimate room that brought out a more vibrant and less serious Vedder (Benaroya Hall’s capacity is 2,500 compared to the 25,000-capacity arenas Pearl Jam plays). Or maybe he was feeling energized by having a new batch of his own songs to play in front of a home crowd for the first time. Whatever it was, he was in a jovial mood.
He talked about how when the band started playing together they bonded over their common influences leading into a fiery cover of The Who’s “I’m One.” And a rendition of “God Save the Queen,” which came after talking about Queen Elizabth II’s recent covid diagnosis, was particularly playful.
What was even more playful, and possibly the biggest signal Vedder wasn’t playing with Pearl Jam, was Vedder’s introduction of Smith’s drum solo which ended with the band getting the Led out jamming together on “Moby Dick” complete with a gong hit at the end. Maybe the next time Pearl Jam hits the road Matt Cameron will have a gong behind his kit, but something tells me that’s not likely.
Since this was the first of two hometown shows, Vedder made it a point to acknowledge he was amongst family and friends several times. And as mentioned earlier, when you’re Eddie Vedder your Rolodex of friends, especially local ones, is impressive. One of those friends, Duff McKagan, joined the band during the encore for a hard and heavy cover of The Pretenders’ “Precious.”
But McKagan wasn’t the most impressive local guest. That distinction goes to Vedder’s two daughters, Olivia and Harper. Olivia joined Hansard earlier in the evening during his opening set for a beautiful duet of “Falling Slowly.” During her father’s main set, dad took a back seat and left the stage leaving her to perform “My Father’s Daughter,” off last year’s “Flag Day” soundtrack.
For a somewhat inexperienced performer, she appeared confident and poised and her voice soared effortlessly through the venue. The acoustics helped her vocals carry emotion and if she decides to pursue a singing career she showed the potential to do some great things.
Harper, Vedder’s younger teenage daughter, didn’t seem as comfortable onstage. She didn’t get the solo spotlight like big sis, instead she shared a mic with Watt for backup vocals on “Earthling” single “The Long Way.”
At first it took a little bit of playful prodding from Watt to get her to sing. When Vedder noticed his daughter was looking stiff he made his way toward her near the end of the song. She looked a little annoyed, possibly embarrassed, that dad was coming to the rescue. Then Vedder leaned his head and body onto his daughter while playing guitar and she was all smiles. It was an endearing moment and also proof that even rock stars have teenage kids who roll their eyes at them every once in a while.
Other highlights included Vedder and Hansard testing out the acoustics of the symphony hall by duetting the Everly Brothers’ “Sleepless Nights” with only a ukulele and no amplification, and the fast-paced “Try.” The latter already comes across as the most punk rock song on “Earthling” and live the band played it as if it was the b-sided cousin to “Vs.” opener “Go” or the underappreciated “Vitalogy” cut “Whipping.”
Speaking of Pearl Jam material, four songs from the catalog of Vedder’s main gig made their way into the set. The first, “Wishlist,” showed up about halfway through the night and the band took a pretty straightforward approach with no real deviations from the source material. During “Porch” Watt played the role of guitar hero, respectfully mimicking McCready’s guitar wizardry while also straying a bit in parts to leave his own stamp on the iconic breakdown’s solo.
The other two Pearl Jam songs in the set – “Corduroy” and “Dirty Frank” – were a bit of a mixed bag. The former was what’s referred to as the punk version of the Pearl Jam classic and what that means is that it sounds heavier and a lot more sinister. It was the only misstep in the set.
The deep cut and fan-favorite “Dirty Frank” made an appearance near the end of the encore. It featured Watt running around his side of the stage in a whirlwind of activity while impressively blazing through his guitar parts as Vedder gleefully squirmed, swayed and danced onstage.
The night ended with the one-two punch of George Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity” and Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” The latter is a Dylan standard, but of course the Hendrixified version closed the show. This made for both a fitting salute to a Seattle icon and the perfect cap to an electrifying night of “important music.”
