You could see it in Eddie Vedder's responsive grins and twinkles. You could feel it whenever Mike McCready kicked into a guitar solo. You could hear it every time the sold-out audience roared out a familiar lyric.
Nine years since they last played in Minnesota and one year since their last gig anywhere, Pearl Jam proved at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday night that it remains the too-rare band that thrives off live shows and excels at them — one that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as its heroes the Who and the Clash.
This was exactly the sold-out show Twin Cities fans had waited impatiently for. It featured just enough songs off recent records and deep cuts to feel fresh, an abundance of older fan favorites such as "Alive," "Even Flow" and "Daughter" to feel nostalgic, and exactly the right amount of intensity. Yes, a lot.
Outside the arena, the preshow scene felt a bit like Taylor Swift all over again, except dads of Swifties were the ones lining up for hours to buy T-shirts and other tour merch on opening night of the group's 2023 schedule. The itinerary continues again Saturday at Xcel Center after a night off in between, then it heads to Chicago for another two-nighter next week (with many Twin Cities fans following the tour buses).
After a riveting opening set from Seattle music wiz Jessica Dobson and her band Deep Sea Diver — well worth an on-time arrival for Saturday's show — Pearl Jam started its nearly 2½-hour set on a mellow note: All the band members remained seated on stools through a string of five songs that slowly increased in tempo, starting with the 1993 nugget "Indifference" and newbie "Buckle Up," and then peaking with "Black."
It was an effective way of building up the energy in the room. The stripped-back start also assured the nearly 18,000 fans that Vedder — who has struggled with voice issues on recent outings — was starting out strong on this tour. Very strong, in fact. "Black" was chills-inducing, along with McCready's lengthened and drama-heightened guitar solo.
When the band finally kicked in and turned it up, it did in a big way; first with the anthemic "Born to Run"-style rouser "Given to Fly" and then the heavy, punky blasters "Mind Your Manners" and "Why Go." There wasn't much worry Pearl Jam on the whole can still crank like a bunch of flannel-clad 20-somethings, but here, too, came assurance.
Between songs, Vedder was all over the map topically and emotionally. The singer talked about everything from the band's "MTV Unplugged" taping ("We didn't know what the [expletive] we were doing") to their first time in town to play First Avenue in 1992 (setting up the rare oldie "State of Love and Trust"). He also dedicated songs to Duran Duran (playing a few miles away at the State Fair) and his "all-time favorite Minnesota Twin, Justin Morneau (who tipped his ball cap toward the stage from a club seat).
