Pearl Jam kicked off their two-night stand in Raleigh with a powerful, emotional and socially conscious show.
PEARL JAM
LENOVO CENTER, RALEIGH, NC
5/11/2025
Opening Act: Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
Setlist: Release, Present Tense, Given To Fly, Mind Your Manners, Scared Of Fear, Corduroy, Dark Matter, Daughter, Even Flow, Light Years, Wreckage, Jeremy, Hold On, Do The Evolution, Upper Hand, Severed Hand, Porch
Encore: Just Breathe, Smile, Satan’s Bed, Unthought Known, Alive, Baba O’Riley (The Who), Indifference
After a killer opening set from Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, who hit the stage right at 7:30, the band took over at 8:48 with a haunting Release, setting the tone for what would be a special night.
They rolled right into Present Tense and Given to Fly, and Ed took a moment to shout out all the hard-working moms out there — especially the women on their crew: “Kille Knoble’s been running lights for decades, and Karrie Keyes has been doing monitors for over 30 years.” Then he introduced Mind Your Manners with a smile, calling it “Mind Your Mothers.”
The band kept it heavy with Scared of Fear, Corduroy, and Dark Matter. During Daughter, Ed spoke about the right to self-identify and reminded the crowd that they once skipped a Raleigh show in protest of the state’s anti-trans bathroom bill: “I’m thinking of everyone who just wants to be seen as they are. They deserve that.”
They tore through Even Flow, and then Ed slowed it down to honor Tim “Skully” Quinlan — a beloved crew member from their earliest tours who recently passed away. “We miss him. We love him. This one’s for Skully.” The band then delivered a stunning version of Light Years.
The surprises didn’t stop. After two years of fan requests, they finally busted out Hold On, which hadn’t been played since 2018 — a real treat for the hardcore fans. Then came a unique moment: two back-to-back tracks with “Hand” in the title — Upper Hand followed by Severed Hand — a punchy one-two that felt totally fresh live.
The main set wrapped with a fiery Porch, sending the crowd into overdrive.
During the encore break, Ed gave love to more fans, including Jeff and Robin, and recognized Elyse Skye for hitting her 100th show. Then he got the whole crowd to help him wish his mom a Happy Mother’s Day — “I forgot to call her… don’t tell her.”
The encore kicked off with a heartfelt Just Breathe with Boom, and they kept it going with Smile and the rarely-played Satan’s Bed, always a wild card when it shows up. The night closed out with a rush of big hitters — Unthought Known, Alive, and a full-blast Baba O’Riley, before ending on a beautifully subdued Indifference.
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.