From Corduroy’s punk screams to Better Man’s soft lullabies, and the dark, haunting takes on Immortality and Jeremy—this is your A-to-Z guide to Pearl Jam’s wildest live reinventions.
BETTER MAN
In 2010, at the Bridge School Benefit, Better Man got stripped way down and turned into a gentle acoustic lullaby, with Vedder barely whispering the vocals. One of the most emotional live versions ever. Technically, this version first showed up during Eddie’s solo tour back in 2008.
CORDUROY
Two totally different vibes: the slow Corduroy at the Bridge School Benefit in ’96 was raw and introspective (VIDEO), while the one Eddie played shortly after at Goa in Rome—just him and some Roman buddies—was a full-blown punk explosion. Super tight and unhinged. A similar version popped up at VAX Live ’21 with Eddie, Josh Klinghoffer, and the White Reaper rhythm section.
DAUGHTER
At a 2013 show in London, Ontario, Daughter was reworked with all kinds of melodic and harmonic tweaks—so much so that hardcore fans started calling it New Daughter.
FOOTSTEPS
Starting in the early 2000s, Vedder began adding harmonica to Footsteps, giving it a gritty, late-night folk-blues feel. That intense vibe made it onto Lost Dogs too—unlike the Jeremy B-side, which didn’t have the harmonica.
GARDEN
During the 2006 World Wide Tour, Garden kicked off with a much heavier instrumental intro, dipping into almost stoner-rock territory. That version got shelved after the tour ended.
IMMORTALITY
On September 4, 2018, in Boston, Vedder changed the lyrics for the first two verses of Immortality, singing a version he’d only ever done once before—also in Boston, back in ’94, before Vitalogy even dropped.
IN MY TREE
At their Fargo gig in 2003, PJ played In My Tree slower and more introspective than usual. It lost its tribal stomp and took on a softer, more spiritual tone that stuck around throughout the Riot Act tour. Still, that Fargo version on June 15 hit some unique emotional heights that the others didn’t quite match.
JEREMY
At Red Rocks in ’95, Jeremy got a total overhaul—no chorus at all. This version, nicknamed No Jeremy, stripped away the song’s most iconic section and turned it into something way more haunting. It eventually showed up as the B-side to Falling Down, sent out to Ten Club members.
LUKIN
At a legendary The Garden show in 2010, Lukin—one of PJ’s fastest and shortest tracks—got slowed way down and morphed into what felt more like a spoken-word confession. Super intense.
PORCH
Since the 2006 tour, Porch has had a totally different vibe: it kicks off with stripped-down, bluesy chords that kill the original punk energy. But actually, the first time they did it this way was at the Target Center in Minneapolis on June 30, 1998. That night, a bluesy cover of My Generation flowed right into Porch, setting the tone.
SUPERSONIC
During the Backspacer promo tour, Supersonic got a lyrical makeover at a Seattle show—all about the city’s legendary basketball team, the Supersonics.
W.M.A.
The Bonnaroo 2008 version of W.M.A. might be the boldest yet, with chopped-up grooves and tons of layered percussion loops. A modern rework that hit perfectly for the festival crowd.
WASH
Late in ’92, the band started playing Wash way faster, turning it into what fans call Speed Wash. Originally dark and moody, it suddenly felt fired-up and urgent—pure early-tour energy. There’s even a partial studio recording of that take, which shows the band was seriously into this new version at the time.
BONUS: Black
At the 2010 Bridge School Benefit, the band busted out a faster, acoustic version of Black. Totally a one-time-only —never played it that way again.
P.S. Shoutout to Tomislav Petricevic for reminding us about this version!
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.