On the second night of a two-night stint at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Wednesday (May 22), Pearl Jam brought the energy with a powerful, no-frills rock show that delivered on the hits. More than 30 years after the band catapulted to stardom with its diamond-selling, grunge-era classic Ten , Eddie Vedder ’s voice (oft-imitated, never duplicated) remains a vital instrument, while the rest of the band — including guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard , bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron — boast the tight, well-oiled chemistry of a lineup that has, remarkably, remained consistent ever since Cameron joined up in 1998.
Though it brought the firepower in spades, Wednesday night’s show — which marked the latest stop on Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter World Tour that launched in Vancouver, B.C., earlier this month — started on a somber note when Vedder launched into “Long Road,” a track off the band’s 1995 Merkin Ball EP.
Leading up to the performance, Vedder paid tribute to his late uncle, John Vedder, noting that Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of his death. “He kinda shaped me from an early age,” Vedder said from the stage. “I just had to get it out of my system before we played tonight.
” That was far from the only tribute paid by the band on Wednesday, bringing a melancholy undercurrent to the roughly two-and-a-half-hour set. At one point during the evening, Vedder also paid homage to a host of iconic rock drummers who have died with.
