Pearl Jam in Atlanta — when the second night hits harder. Photos by Matt Streyle (thanks to ConcertPants).
Pearl Jam
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA – 04/29/2025
Opening Act: Dead Pioneers
Dead Pioneers’ set (only the songs with Jeff Ament): Dead Pioneers
Setlist: Present Tense, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Why Go, Do The Evolution, React, Respond, Wreckage, Dark Matter, Even Flow, Immortality, Dissident, Upper Hand, Corduroy, All Those Yesterdays, Wishlist, Hail, Hail, Better Man/Save It For Later (The English Beat), Porch
Encore: Off He Goes, Black, Rearviewmirror, Leash, Alive, Rockin’ In The Free World (Neil Young, w/ Dead Pioneers), Yellow Ledbetter
After a killer first night, Pearl Jam rolled back into the State Farm Arena on May 1st and straight-up blew the roof off Atlanta. This second show wasn’t just a repeat — it was a whole new ride, packed with deep cuts, stories from the road, and the kind of raw energy only these Seattle legends can bring.
The night kicked off with the Dead Pioneers, who fired up the crowd and even got a surprise assist from Jeff Ament on one song — yeah, you heard that right. By the time the house lights dropped and Dark Entry hit the speakers, you could feel the whole arena buzzing.
Pearl Jam opened with Present Tense, and let’s just say — that’s not your everyday opener. Sure, it’s been played early in sets before, but as the first song of the night? That’s only happened five times in the band’s career, so Atlanta got a rare treat right outta the gate.
From there, it was a perfect mix of old-school bangers and fresh cuts. Eddie Vedder, feeling a bit under the weather (“Bad room service… or maybe just too much damn news”), still brought the house down, especially on Wreckage and Dark Matter. Mike McCready? Shredding as usual — Ed even threw him some love onstage.
A real highlight came before Better Man, when Eddie shared that the song’s intro was actually recorded right there in Atlanta at Southern Tracks Studios with Brendan O’Brien and Nick Didia. And here’s a cool little nugget for the die-hards: the drum track you hear on Better Man’s studio version? It’s Dave Abbruzzese’s live take from Atlanta back in ’94 — they scrapped the original studio take because it just didn’t hit right. Legendary.
Ed also rocked a shirt with “end gun violence” across the chest and dedicated the song to “Pistol” Pete Maravich, giving the local crowd a sports moment to cheer about.
Mid-set, the vibe turned intimate with All Those Yesterdays, with Eddie sitting center stage, and then lifted again with fan faves like Wishlist and Hail, Hail.
But man, Rearviewmirror? That was the punch-in-the-gut moment fans didn’t see coming — it’s become a rare gem on recent tours, and hearing it live felt like a gift from the band’s early years.
Now here’s the twist: Setting Sun was on the setlist, ready to close out the show, but got swapped last minute for Leash, marking its debut on this tour. A total blast from the past, and the crowd went nuts.
During the encore, Eddie gave birthday love to a fan named Chad, shouted out Dr. Matt Jaffe, and paid respect to Mookie Blaylock — yeah, the guy the band was named after back in the day.
They closed with a straight-up rock blowout: Leash, Alive, a wild cover of Rockin’ In The Free World with the Dead Pioneers, and the always bittersweet Yellow Ledbetter to send folks home floating.
Once again, Pearl Jam proved they’re masters of their craft — mixing old and new, loud and quiet, chaos and tenderness. Atlanta walked away sweaty, hoarse, and ready to chase them to the next city.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Dead Kennedys, Mark Lanegan, Cat Power, R.E.M.