PLANET CHOCKO – art/music/movies/beyond » Pearl Jam played Fenway Park

Pearl Jam played Fenway Park

August 8th, 2016 by chocko

Pearl Jam at Fenway Park August 5, 2016

Pearl Jam are rounding the bases, nearly completing their 2016 tour but made a stop on Friday night at the home of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park. The 3 hour show featured no opening act and a career spanning, 32 song set list that featured covers and surprise cameos from some Red Sox baseball players. In the middle of the epic show, frontman, Eddie Vedder took the time to share some old polaroid photos projected on the big screens surrounding the stage. Most of the photos were of the small crowds that watched the band play their early years in clubs in Boston, Providence and NYC (damn, wish I went to their Wetlands show!). Two other photos were of Fenway Park which Vedder took after climbing a fence and sneaking through some corridors. Fast forward to the present, and here we are in center field and PJ is playing a sold out show in front of thousands including The Green Monster towering over left field!

Former Red Sox pitcher, Bronson Arroyo strapped with a guitar, joined the band on stage for “Black” and Kevin Youkilis made a cameo appearance to hand Vedder a ukulele. The Boston love continued throughout the show when veteran sportswriter Peter Gammons was invited on stage. Pearl Jam dedicated “Faithfull” to David “Big Papi” Ortiz and “Down” was dedicated to American historian and social activist, Howard Zinn. The show features some songs the band rarely plays including Bob Dylan’s “Master of War” which was followed up by a punked up version of Little Steven’s “I Am A Patriot.” Other covers included Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” and Aerosmith’s “Draw The Line” which was followed by a little shout out to Joe Perry. The show went into extra innings but the final two hits were also covers: “I’ve Got A Feeling” (The Beatles) and “Baba O’Riley” (The Who). Pearl Jam will be swinging for the fences once again for a second show at Fenway and at Wrigley Field in Chicago Aug. 20 and 22. Check out more photos and some videos below!