Pearl Jam wraps Madison Square Garden stand with special guests Stevie Van Zandt and Andrew Watt

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Pearl Jam wrapped their two-night stand at New York’s Madison Square Garden Wednesday and were joined by two very special guests, E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt and producer Andrew Watt, who produced the band’s latest album, Dark Matter.

Eddie Vedder gave a shout-out to Little Steven before performing the Dark Matter track “Won’t Tell” and again mentioned him before performing another track from the album, “Waiting for Stevie,” although the song isn’t about him. The performance featured Watt on guitar, and Watt also joined the band for a performance of the Vs. track “Rearviewmirror.”

Eddie again paid homage to Bruce Springsteen’s old friend and guitarist during his solo portion of the encore, performing “I Am A Patriot,” which was written by Van Zandt and made famous by Jackson Browne.

And Little Stevie finally got in on the action during the show’s penultimate song, a roaring rendition of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World,” featuring not only Stevie, but Watt, show opener Glen Hansard and Hansard’s band. 

Elsewhere in the show, Pearl Jam performed the Vs. track “Glorified G” for the first time on the tour, with Eddie letting fans know it was a request from a friend. He also discussed how he doesn’t like performing the song because it’s about guns, mentioning Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Interestingly, the set also included a performance of the Ten track “Jeremy,” which was inspired by gun violence.

Other highlights of the night included a performance of John Lennon’s “Gimme Some Truth,” Eddie and Glen collaborating on Glen’s tune “Song of Good Hope” and the tour debut of the band’s cover of the Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer.” 

Next up, Pearl Jam bring their Dark Matter tour to Philadelphia for two shows, Sept. 7 and Sept. 9.

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