On night one at PPG Paints Arena, Pearl Jam dropped some serious gems — the debut of the full Hand Trilogy, a Bruce Springsteen cover, and the long-overdue return of Grievance after nine years.
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
5/16/2025
Opening Act: Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
Setlist: Footsteps, Low Light, Given to Fly, Mind Your Manners, React, Respond, Corduroy, Dark Matter, Wreckage, Even Flow, Sleight of Hand, Severed Hand, Upper Hand, Grievance, Daughter/It’s Ok (Dead Moon), Jeremy, Got to Give, Porch
Encore: My City of Ruins (Bruce Springsteen), Man of the Hour, Comatose, Do the Evolution, Black, State of Love and Trust, Alive, Baba O’Riley (The Who), Indifference
The night kicked off on an intimate note with Footsteps, followed by a beautiful Low Light and a soaring Given to Fly that set the tone early. Eddie Vedder took a moment to thank the crowd for the warm welcome and showed off the birthday gift he’d just received from the band: a Joe Strummer signature Fender Telecaster, which he immediately put to use on Corduroy.
Things kept building from there with high-energy takes on Mind Your Manners, Dark Matter, and Wreckage — the latter introduced with a heartfelt tribute to Franco Harris, a reminder of how sports and music can bridge different worlds. Even Flow lit up the arena, with Mike McCready once again stealing the spotlight during one of his fiercest solos of the tour.
Then came a real first: Sleight of Hand, dedicated by Ed to all the working-class heroes, kicked off a never-before-seen run of songs — Sleight of Hand, Upper Hand, and Severed Hand — all back-to-back. That’s right: the mythical Hand Trilogy, played in full for the first time ever.
Right after Severed Hand, Eddie scanned the crowd and picked out a fan request.
A young woman shouted Grievance, a song that hadn’t been played in nearly a decade. The band jumped right in, delivering a powerful version. There was one tiny flub — Matt Cameron wrapped up a bit early, leaving Eddie hanging on the last line. But it turned into a laugh for the whole band and crowd. Classic PJ charm.
From there, Daughter featured the usual It’s Okay tag, and a passionate Jeremy got momentarily paused while Eddie helped a fan in trouble near the front. Then came Got To Give, and Porch, with Eddie rocking a Pittsburgh Pirates helmet gifted by a young fan up front.
After the break, the encore opened on a quieter, reflective moment. Eddie took a breath before launching into My City of Ruins by Bruce Springsteen, saying the band didn’t know when they’d be back (even though the second Pittsburgh show would officially close the North American leg of the tour). The song hit hard — as did the rare Man of the Hour and Comatose, giving the set even more emotional depth.
The closing stretch brought it all home: the always-electric Do the Evolution, a soul-crushing Black, a raging State of Love and Trust, and the grand finale with Alive, Baba O’Riley, and Indifference.
A few notes from the original setlist:
- I Got Id was listed but got swapped for Grievance
- Indifference wasn’t written in the original setlist
- This was the first full performance ever of the Hand Trilogy (Sleight of Hand, Upper Hand, Severed Hand), which had only been partly sequenced before
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.