Eddie Vedder is 50 years old today (yes, you’re old), and to celebrate this day in rock history, let’s look at some of his and Pearl Jam’s best live performances. Over the years Pearl Jam have earned a reputation as one of the best live bands around, and Eddie’s trademark howl is a big reason why. Here’s some evidence of the legendary band and its always-passionate frontman at their very best.
“Rearviewmirror” – Saturday Night Live (1994)
A classic clip of Pearl Jam on SNL from their 1994 appearance. This was the same episode where Operaman declared his love for Eddie Vedder on Weekend Update. With this strong rendition of one of their best early singles, it’s not hard to see why he was such a fan.
“Why Go” – The Late Show David Letterman
This was about as raucous as the crowd at the Ed Sullivan Theater had gotten in quite some time (Vedder described it as “the warmest this place has been since the early 60s”), with the crowd angrily demanding that the band play their song “Leash.” When Vedder shows a cue card from the show to the crowd reading “‘Leash’ will not be played tonight,” the fans just get rowdier. They never do get their request, but when the band goes into a driving version of “Why Go” — one of the more vitriolic tracks from Ten — everyone’s complaints are long forgotten.
“Love, Reign O’er Me,” “The Real Me” (VH1 Rock Honors 2008)
Pearl Jam first released their cover of “Love, Reign O’er Me” on the soundtrack to the Adam Sandler film Reign Over Me (again, Operaman’s a big Pearl Jam fan-o). But their definitive take on the song came during the VH1 Rock Honors tribute to The Who in 2008. Vedder howl’s throughout the rendition and “The Real Me” matches Roger Daltrey’s original performances. It was the highlight of the show, and yet another documentation of Pearl Jam’s exceptional prowess as a live band.
Eddie wipes his you-know-what with Rolling Stone magazine (2006)
Okay, I’m mostly just including this clip because I think it’s really funny, but there’s also some genuine importance to it. See, in 2006, shortly after Pearl Jam released their self-titled album (the one with the avocado on the cover), and after the success of the album and single “World Wide Suicide,” they were asked to do a cover story for Rolling Stone. They agreed, but only on the condition that the cover feature the whole band, and not just Vedder. Rolling Stone apparently went back on this, and Eddie decided to respond by… well, you can see in the above clip. But while this video is mainly good for a laugh, it also reveals a lot about Pearl Jam’s dynamic; Vedder has never entertained the notion of being a Rock Star in the Gene Simmons sense of the phrase, and the band has always been more important than any individual member. This clip demonstrates that ideal better than any other.
“Comfortably Numb” – Roger Waters with Eddie Vedder (2012)
At the 12-12-12 concert for relief from Superstorm Sandy, this was probably the biggest thrill of the night: Roger Waters inviting Vedder onstage to sing on “Comfortably Numb,” one of Pink Floyd’s most essential songs. Once again, Vedder’s brings his immortal howl to a legendary song of another band, and easily does it justice. Through the eight-minute performance, Vedder never feels out of place next to Waters; after more than two decades with Pearl Jam, his status as a rock legend is firmly cemented.
MTV Unplugged (1992)
Finally, we close with Pearl Jam’s performance on MTV Unplugged in its entirety, along with a few extras that were left out of the original show. While the band has lost none of its fire over the years, it’s nonetheless interesting to watch them as a young group, performing blistering songs from Ten, such as “Porch” and “Jeremy.” At this point, Pearl Jam’s place in rock was hardly guaranteed, and with the passion they poured into their music, and into every live performance, they ensured that they would not be a flash-in-the-pan.
