Eddie Vedder delivers a sincere stripped-down solo set at Benaroya Hall

“I’m going to say something I don’t get to say often enough … good evening Seattle.”

That was the greeting Eddie Vedder gave his hometown Seattle crowd during the first of his two sold-out solo concerts at Benaroya Hall Monday night. There was a warm sincerity that came from the truthful greeting (Pearl Jam’s last Seattle concert was more than five years ago and his last local show with his band The Earthlings happened in early 2022) and that same sincerity carried on throughout his 18-song, two-hour set.

After his opening remark Vedder began his set with a “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” and from there he played a set filled with choice covers, a healthy peppering of Pearl Jam cuts and a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll story time.

For most of the evening Vedder was solo and switched between acoustic and electric guitars. The sparse instrumentation gave his voice more room to breathe than usual and the 2,500-person capacity room, which is the home of the Seattle Symphony, allowed for some truly remarkable moments with its exceptional acoustics.

After hearing Vedder play a bare-bones version of “Corduroy,” a song that is a highlight of any Pearl Jam set, in such an intimate space any future arena performance will feel like a disappointment. The room also made Vedder’s covers of Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers” and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “The Ship Song” sound massive, each given a beautiful fragility that Vedder’s vocals could never achieve in his standard arena setting.

And right when it seemed like the show had reached peak acoustics perfection, the night got better when Vedder was joined by a string quartet during the back half of the set. The quartet, which included Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron’s wife April on violin, joined Vedder for “Just Breathe” and “The End,” both of which sounded sublime. It wasn’t the first time Vedder has played those songs accompanied by a string section in Seattle. In 2009 Pearl Jam played the same songs with the Octava String Quartet at KeyArena, but Monday’s performances were taken to another level thanks to the symphony hall’s beautiful sound.

In total Vedder performed nine Pearl Jam songs, accounting for exactly half the setlist and surprisingly, no songs from Vedder’s excellent 2022 solo album “Earthling” made their way into Vedder’s set. There also was no ukulele as one might expect. But the night wasn’t all Pearl Jam songs and covers. A few of Vedder’s songs he wrote for the soundtrack to the film “Into the Wild” were performed.

The concert was the first of two benefits for the EB Research Partnership, an organization founded by Vedder and his wife in 2010. EBRP assists with research for finding treatment and a cure for the disease epidermolysis bullosa. The disease, which is incurable, effects the skin and causes painful blisters and sores. It is most commonly seen in young children and is caused by a genetic defect where proteins that bind skin together are missing in carriers.

Several doctors and researchers who specialize in EB treatment as well as many children who suffer from EB were in attendance. Vedder sincerely expressed his gratitude for the doctors and researchers and his awe of the young children many times during the show.

One of those children, a 6-year-old named Eli, was in attendance with his family. Vedder wrote the song “Say Hi,” which he released as part of a 7″ single in 2021, about Eli and he sang the song at the show. The song’s chorus of “I’ll come and say hi when I see Eli, I’ll come and say hi” became a crowd singalong. After the song Eli received a standing ovation from the crowd, which made for a touching, emotional moment.

Throughout the show it was clear Vedder was not only grateful for those who support EB patients and research but also for his own success and ability to use his platform for a good cause. The intimate setting gave the show a slower pace and let Vedder share stories between songs. He shared stories about his 50th birthday party in California which was attended by Tom Petty, receiving playoff baseball updates by getting text messages from John Fogerty and a funny anecdote about his mother-in-law mistaking Cat
Stevens’ voice for his own.

The show concluded with Vedder plugged in and the house lights on for a lively rendition of “Hard Sun,” which became a crowd clapalong. The song put a punctuation mark on what was a special, intimate performance but it wasn’t the highlight of the three-song encore. The highlight was the one-two combo of a haunting “River Cross” from Pearl Jam’s 2020 album “Gigaton” followed by the “Backspacer” deep cut “Unthought Known” during which Vedder’s vocals effortlessly soared through the beautiful symphony hall.

Vedder wasn’t he evening’s only entertainment. An unannounced standup set by comedian Jeff Ross was also part of the show. Ross, who is friends with Vedder, is known as The Roastmaster General, roasted several audience who volunteered to be playfully insulted. Ross’ 30-minute set was a pleasant reminder that everyone should be able to laugh at themselves and his biting comedy was the perfect contrast to Vedder’s heavy dose of warm sincerity.

Eddie Vedder setlist, Benaroya Hall Oct. 23, 2023

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
Keep Me in Your Heart
Wildflowers
Trouble
Wishlist
Far Behind
Rise
I Won’t Back Down
Corduroy
Say Hi
Better Man
Just Breathe
The End
The Ship Song
Porch
Encore:
River Cross
Unthought Known
Hard Sun