Pearl Jam Live at Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul MN – September 2nd 2023

Pearl Jam Live at Xcel Energy Center Saint Paul, Minnesota

Review and photos by Todd Johnson

I have seen a lot of bands over the years….especially in the last three years. However, one of the main bands I wanted to see was Pearl Jam live. Although I don’t own every album, I have been a fan of them for as long as I can remember. However, it never has worked out for me to see them live in concert…until now.  When they announced they were going on tour in 2023 and they were starting their tour in St Paul I knew I was going to go, it was just a matter of which dates and where at in the venue (they do GA aka General Admission aka crowded in a small area like sardines, but you have to line up really, really early to get towards the front.)  However, because of another ‘bucket list’ concert (Duran Duran) that I wanted to go to that was happening on the first night of Pearl Jam’s 2 concert visit to St Paul, I decided to go the 2nd Pearl Jam concert instead. I almost didn’t get to go, but I lucked out and bought a great ticket on the lower level thanks to one of the amazing staff at Xcel Energy Center.

Pearl Jam’s setlist are the stuff of legends. I found out after I went to the show that their setlists are written in calligraphy which is a very nice touch (to so to speak.) Since i had never been to a Pearl Jam concert before, I had no reference point as far as other shows. It seemed to be a nice and varied playlist though. The 2nd song into it was “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” which I personally love, but it is a bittersweet song because it reminds me of the small town I grew up in and always thought that person could’ve been me if I wasn’t careful and didn’t take more chances in life.They played “Corduroy” which is a great song and originally didn’t think they would play it. The also played a cover of a Tom Petty song called “I Won’t Back Down” and it was dedicated to a boy that Eddie and the band was friends with who passed away. That was a heartbreaking story.