When they first emerged in the Seattle grunge boom of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam’s classic rock leanings were viewed with some suspicion, but now they’re probably key to their longevity. Although they’ve long been viewed as one of the great modern American rock bands, the No 2 chart position for much-praised new album Dark Matter is their equal UK best in the last three decades.
They play four tracks from it here, and emotive album opener Scared of Fear along with the edgier React, Respond are definitive Pearl Jam. Rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, Crass T-shirted bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron’s wonderfully creative grooves are topped off by Mike McCready’s piercing, hypnotic guitar melodies and Eddie Vedder’s trademark holler.
However, the frontman soon explains that he is struggling with his voice – which he puts down to catching a bug after glad-handing the front rows in Dublin. So the Pearl Jam crowd muck in even more than usual to help him out. Given to Fly and Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town become vast, communal, almost spiritual singalongs. Vedder adds to the strangely hymnal atmosphere when he pours from his unsipped wine bottle for the sweltering front rows and jokes: “I can turn wine into water … I can’t do it the other way.”
The Smiths T-shirted McCready also takes the pressure off his ailing bandmate, playing out of his skin and maximising the showmanship, soloing with his teeth and while lying on his back. Where many arena shows are identical each night, Pearl Jam setlists are still remarkably unpredictable. This one ranges from the rarely played All Night to, some two hours later, Neil Young’s Fuckin’ Up. Vedder thanks the crowd for “keeping me up when I needed it”, and by the time they pile into a gloriously elongated Black, he seems actively rejuvenated by the togetherness of band and audience. “I’m still alive,” he sings in their 1991 signature tune Alive, and around 20,000 voices roar along with him in agreement.
• At Tottenham Hotspur stadium, London, Saturday 29 June.
