While it's not the outdoor concert fans were hoping to see this summer, Pearl Jam will finally end an eight-year absence in the Twin Cities at Xcel Energy Center on Oct. 19.

Tickets go on sale May 30 through Ticketmaster and the arena box office at one price only, $69.50, which applies to the general-admission arena floor as well as reserved seats. There will be a four-ticket limit, one of several ways the band fights ticket scalping. Pre-sale offers already began when the show was announced via the band's fan-club site, which pioneered in-house ticketing.

The St. Paul date comes near the end of an 11-city fall trek through Middle America built around the band's two appearances at the Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, Texas, in early October. Midwest fans could also catch them Oct. 9 in Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 17 in Moline, Ill., and Oct. 20 in Milwaukee. These shows are mostly being billed as "evening with" performances, meaning there will be no opener and the band will play extra-long sets.

Pearl Jam's last time in Minnesota wasn't even as a headliner, but rather it opened for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the X in 2006 as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations for Petty's crew. The last time PJ played a headlining date was way back in 2003, also at the X. You owe us, boys.

Here's a list of Pearl Jam's entire gig history in the Twin Cities, courtesy of the Star Tribune's in-house Tenclub charter member Jim Foster:

  • First Avenue, July 22, 1991 (added late third on a bill headlined by local faves Trip Shakespeare).
  • Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Nov. 30, 1991 (with Smashing Pumpkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers).
  • First Avenue, March 25, 1992 (first headlining show, soon after their "MTV Unplugged" episode aired).
  • Harriet Island, Aug. 28, 1992 (part of the second Lollapalooza lineup, opening for Soundgarden, Chili Peppers and Ice Cube).
  • Target Center, June 30, 1998 (with Frank Black opening).
  • Xcel Energy Center, June 16, 2003 (with Idlewild opening).
    Xcel Energy Center, June 26-27, 2006 (with Petty & the Heartbreakers).
  • Target Center, 2010 (three-song set at Target's annual corporate meeting in conjunction with the exclusive release of Backspacer at Target stores; which fans interpreted as insult to injury amid the lull of public performances).